Five Levels of…Deception

We’ve all felt it..but maybe we just didn’t know what to call it.

Whether it’s as simple as driving and being caught by the red light at EVERY intersection..or as maddening as believing that YOU are the one that the U.S. Postal Service has decided to troll by: a) delivering damaged; b) delivering half open with items missing; or c) not delivering at all — the package you’ve been eagerly awaiting (we’ve all been there) — there are levels to this kind of deception.

Allow me to elaborate. This comes with a huge helping hand from my wife Karen who has experienced every rung of this ladder.

Wait…What??: The opening level that results more from the literal shock and unexpectedness of the weird stuff that’s happened. Most often..you’re left trying to rationalize it by saying, “It must be me.” or “Maybe I’m overreacting to this.” This level should never be dismissed entirely..because it’s that ‘flashing yellow light” that means danger (or dumb stuff) ahead.

2. Foolery: This is that “deja vu” stage when it hits you that “this has happened to me before..IN THE VERY SAME WAY!” There is some more rationalization that goes on by telling yourself that this can’t happen again..right? But you realize you may be on the verge of “getting got”..as Karen likes to say. She also says “There are no coincidences.” It’s at this stage when you come to realize that there just might be a problem.

3. Shenanigans: Yep..the pattern has now almost fully developed and the shock of the ‘Wait..What??’ has worn off. It’s at this point that you eyebrow becomes permanently arched with disbelief. Whatever is going on is happening just a bit too frequently for anyone’s taste. As off-putting as this is..we’re only halfway up the chart.

4. Skullduggery: Okay..there’s evil happening here. Whatever the madness is..it is deeply rooted in whomever is doing it. It’s so wrong to you…but so normal to them. The problem is they know it’s wrong…but they’re hoping that you don’t notice it. The foolishness is happening often enough that some kind of deeper investigation is usually warranted. “Random” cannot describe this anymore.

5. Straight BS: Self explanatory, really. Karen says now that it’s apparent that things on your watch have gone completely left, “It is clear..this is your way of life! This is you..and what you do!” No matter how hard anyone tries..you’re not likely to change how things are done unless others (with authority and usually adept at intervention) are brought in to change things.

I’m sure you’ve reached some level of this hierarchy with some person of entity. Feel free to share.