treat you right

"When you've got them by the balls, their hearts and minds will follow"
was a phrase that became known to the public during the
era
of the
unfolding
of Watergate -- 1971 to 1974.
It was said that a man who was "high up" in the Nixon Administration had this phrase on a sign which hung on the wall in his office.

I remember hearing this, & thinking, "Well that's not very nice."
A person would think someone working for the President of the United States in one of those big, beautiful, dignified, grand buildings in Washington D.C., would comport themselves a little better than that.

No, a lot better than that.

And -- it'd be one thing, to slip, momentarily, & say a vulgar phrase, while in the heat of conversation or debate, but putting it on a "sign," or poster or whatever, and hanging it up on the wall for everyone who comes into one's office to look at, is kind of -- I don't know, seems like the act of a rebellious child, rather than a grown-up professional.  With a really prestigious job.  Career.

It's like -- Who are you trying to be?
Are you trying to get respect by being disrespectful?

arrogant
immature

seems like....

Those were stressful times.  Maybe it was a temporary Whoops....

Another common story that came out of Watergate and became widely known was Gordon Liddy, at a party, putting his hand in the flame of a candle and holding it there.  Someone asked, "What's the trick?"  And Liddy said, "The trick is not minding."

To me, that's similar behavior -- like, What are you trying to prove?  Who are you trying to be?  And -- how old are you?  And -- on the candle story, I'd add,

are you nuts, have you sought help from a mental health professional?

The most "out-there" thing about it being that he
thinks
this
is --

impressive.
? ? ?

===========================
In the movie Nixon there's a scene where presidential aides H.R. Haldeman and John Ehrlichman are reporting to Pres. Nixon some details about the Watergate burglary -- one of them mentions Gordon Liddy and Anthony Hopkins, who plays Nixon, jerks his head up, startled, and says, "Liddy?!  That fruitcake..."

And when I heard that I thought of the dichotomy of these types of personality-styles -- the dichotomy between
how the behavior makes that person look, to other people,
vs.
how the person thinks his behavior makes him seem.

Like --
the "got them by the balls" guy
and
Gordon Hand-in-a-candle-flame Liddy

probably thought these "displays" made them seem "tough," or "strong," or "powerful"...

while in reality, it just weirds people out.

("Liddy?  That fruitcake....")

When Mr. Liddy presented himself in various creative ways, he probably wanted to make an impression, but I doubt if
fruitcake
was the impression he was aiming for....

===============
It seems like in our current era we see more of that type of behavior among the population-in-general, not necessarily among people who work in Washington.  I had been noticing it for a while.

And after the mass shooting at the school in Newtown, Connecticut, some of the Comments from individuals on the internet seemed to relate to this:

-- Shut down news.  Stop the media-induced stupor of 21st Century America.


-- What good is material abundance when we devalue and destroy the lives of our own people on a daily basis?  Look at TV, Talk radio, violent websites....Almost everywhere you look, there's someone thumping their chest in pride for denigrating another human being, advocating violence and debasement using coded words "couched as comedy or humor."
> Colorado.

===============
-- "I'll bully you! I'll bully you! I'll bully you right out the door!" offered as appropriate workplace behavior...


(Anybody got a lit candle?)...
[Fruitcake, anyone?]
=============

Nixon is a heck of a good movie. 
There's one scene where he's talking with one of his advisers, trying to figure something out.  Referring to "special operations" -- some CIA projects which began in the 1950s when Nixon had been vice president -- the President says, "If there's anyone who knows more than me, it's Hoover and Helms."...and as this discussion / information sifting / strategizing is taking place, the song "Fever" plays in the background, very low.  (Think it is probably the Peggy Lee version...)

Fever
in the morning
Fever all through the night

Sun lights up the day time
moon lights up the night
I light up when you call my name
and you know I'm gonna treat you right

you give me fever
when you kiss me
fever when you hold me tight
Fever -- in the morning -- Fever all through the night

========= compelling, riveting, you feel a hypnotic pull, or a drag, on consciousness & focus....

------------------
{"Fever" -- written by Eddie Cooley and Otis
Blackwell, who used the pseudonym John Davenport.
Originally recorded by Little Willie John in 1956,
on the King 4935 record label
and subsequently covered by many other singers.}

-30-