Joyanna Adams

Scam Number 3…They Flatter You

I suppose flattery hurts no one, that is, if he doesn’t inhale.- Adlai E. Stevenson.  

Let’s face it: everybody likes to hear something good about themselves. The other day, a song came on the radio by Eric Clapton, and both my husband and I were working with the radio on. It was written for Pattie Boyd, his wife at the time, and the refrain went “My darling, you look wonderful tonight.”

Which was no doubt true. The next day, and every day since, my own husband always says, “Have I told you how beautiful you are today?” And I ALWAYS laugh, and wonder, what? What does he want?

I tell him to stop it, because for 30 years, he was silent on that issue, and trust me, I looked a lot better 30 years ago. No, I don’t take it seriously. I ask him why now?

He says, “Well, I heard that song.” Okay. But come on, we’ve been married over 30 years and he just started this? What? I don’t even want to think about it. I don’t even WANT to know the reason. Maybe he just realized that life is short, and I might actually DIE someday, who knows?

Do I want him to stop? No. I’ll take all the ‘flattery’ I can get.

Last week, I was listening to Glenn Beck, and he just went on and on and on about how WE, his listeners saved so many babies who are now born due to a charity that he runs and how incredible we all were.  And how, because of us, such wonderful contributors to his various charities, saved lives. He of course had nothing to do with it.

Rush Limbaugh used to do this too. In fact, most all radio and talk show hosts do this: thank you for listening to them. It’s not that it’s not appreciated, but truly, some of them really go overboard with the flattery.

And it works. They make people feel good, and then the people send in more money. Which brings me to the next scam:

From AARP:

“I can tell you know a lot about finance, so you know how much money you can make in cryptocurrency if you manage the risks. THE TRICK: Usually, at the beginning, it’s a lot of love bombing, says Anthony Pratkanis, emeritus professor of psychology at the University of California, Santa Cruz. They’ll frequently praise the victim, Cialdinin says. “That lends itself to a sense of connection and trust. “If this person likes me, well, then I can trust this person.”

We heard this praise from countless people during COVID. If you wore a mask, YOU were saving lives. It made good people feel GOOD about themselves because they were ‘saving’ lives. Fauci used this flattering tactic almost to perfection.

So, flattery has been used since the beginning of time. Hell, everyone has used it at one time or another trying to get something they want.

Sometimes, a compliment IS sincere. But other times?

Consider the source. Like this guy, who does nothing but flatter. Here he flatters Xi, a ruthless communist.

Klaus is an expert at BS flattery.

January 10, 2023 - Posted by Joyanna Adams | Uncategorized