Give ’em an inch…

When Sneaky Millie shows up, watch your back because the person executing the attack is not on your side. Especially when your opponent confuses the issue and makes it look like they’re being helpful or doing you a favor. Are they helping or hurting?

Here’s an example of (1) a law that’s creating confusion and (2) an attempt to control and minimize distress caused by police officers enforcing the law. “Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R) is being urged [by State Senator Nikema Williams] to suspend a law against wearing masks in public that was initially passed to crack down on the Ku Klux Klan, to allow Georgians to protect themselves against the coronavirus.” Source: The Hill, Georgia urged to suspend Jim Crow-era mask law

“That’s a catch-22. Damned if you do. Damned if you don’t.”

― said somebody, somewhere.

Oh dear, we have a catch-22. One argument to solve a problem, creates an opportunity to undo the solution to a previous problem. How is that helpful?

A “friendly” trap is still a trap

Using fear of one possibility to release the constraint over a known problem is a high-level use of the DramaGuru Sneaky Millie attack.

“Williams also warned that without an emergency order suspending the law, it will likely exacerbate racial profiling among black Georgians who wear masks or homemade cloth coverings. ‘At a time when the Black community is overrepresented in COVID19 cases, we need to protect our communities and ensure that they will remain safe when trying to flatten the curve and save lives,’ she wrote.” Source: The Hill, Georgia urged to suspend Jim Crow-era mask law

A well-executed argument focuses attention on certain details to swing the listener in a chosen direction. If you don’t examine the framework of the argument, you could end up rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic.

That means, you’re wasting time. Your attention is on the wrong thing. You’re about to hit an iceberg. There are bigger problems ahead.

Luckily, the people who have boots on the ground, working on the front lines of the city of Atlanta came up with an answer to the problem.

“Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms (D), meanwhile, ordered Atlanta police not to enforce the anti-mask law, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.” Source: The Hill, Georgia urged to suspend Jim Crow-era mask law

Williams vs Bottoms

Here’s my guess for time spent determining best direction:

• 60 minutes for Senator Williams to consider the problem and write the letter to the governor
• 3 minutes for Atlanta Mayor Bottoms to consider the problem and make a phone call

DramaGuru Analysis

When you drive attention to yourself by using a hot topic like “racial profiling”, you take Peacock position, ready to receive positive or negative attention.

In this case, Senator Williams took center stage, clocking the intelligence of the Atlanta police force. And, I imagine, forced Mayor Bottoms to call the Chief of Police, Erika Shields, to tell her to remind her people that masks worn for protection against Covid-19 droplets are allowed.

Maybe cops would arrest black people or women wearing veils in the middle of the Coronavirus pandemic. Or maybe they’d prefer to social distance as much as possible. I don’t know. What do you think?

I guess Senator Williams would say that someone needed to speak up to protect people from the cops who would take advantage and enforce the law. To take that worry off the table, Williams chose to err on the side of caution.

Sometimes, taking DramaGuru Peacock position as the center of attention, is a risk. Arguments, for and against, pour in from all sides. You’ll need thick skin.

How do you see this playing out in your life?

“Just because you’re paranoid doesn’t mean they aren’t after you.”

― Joseph Heller, Catch-22

Woman wearing blue veil, photo by andri onet on Unsplash