the hooked staff of a shepherd

Online Dictionary.


Crook.


1.  The hooked staff of a shepherd


2.  a person who is dishonest or a criminal.  Synonyms:  lawbreaker, offender, villain, delinquent, felon, malefactor, culprit, wrongdoer; rogue, scoundrel, shyster, cheat, scam artist, swindler, racketeer, confidence trickster, con man, shark (shark?), malfeasant, hood...


Realizing you've been ripped off causes a lot of pain because -- well aside from the cash, it's the feeling that all along you were operating with one set of standards and the other person's set of standards was completely different from yours:  Your point was, "Fix it -- thanks" and their point was, "How much money can I get from this person"...


I remember a friend of mine being just in shock -- really astonished -- when a car dealership's repair dept. seemed to be clearly over-charging her...she really could not believe they would try to cheat her in order to get a larger amount of her and her husband's money from her, to give to themselves.  I couldn't believe it, either.  She consulted with her husband about it and he took over from there.


Later on when we talked about it the husband, prefacing his statement with a knowing, magnanimous chuckle, said, "That's called checking to see what the market will bear"...  I thought that meant that because he was wealthy, the car-repair dept. was going to see how much more money they could get out of him.


(Mechanics whispering to each other:  "He has such a big money-pile:  may'n't we take a little more...??  More is so -- like -- nice".  For us.)


When they check to see how much the "market will bear" in my case the answer is zero.  (Not "zero-tolerance" -- just zero...!)  (Must practice a magnanimous, knowing chuckle...)


I felt so hurt -- I'm out hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of dollars and roof still leaks -- so then you're consumed with worry and hopelessness and fear.  Experience has taught me that when you don't have economic superiority, people work hard to make your existence impossible.  You wake up in the morning already worried before you remember what day it is or why you're worried...  I felt so angry -- thought of Richard Gere





(always nice to think of Richard Gere) in Pretty Woman:  "I was angry.  Ten thousand dollars in therapy to finally be able to say, "I felt... angry."


I could relate to that.  (Again -- always nice to relate with Richard Gere...)  But it's like -- to even let yourself feel angry, or admit to it -- even to oneself...Nonono, I am never angry, I am always happy...that's the rule that's my policy...





Theory:  if you are wealthy crooks try to cheat you because the Money's There. 





And they imagine that it might be "there-for-the-taking" so to speak.  You can spare it -- and heck, they might figure, you may not even notice.... 


And if you are not wealthy crooks (malefactors; villains; swindlers; hoods) cheat you because they can:  they know they can easily intimidate you because they know you are powerless and always filled with fear.  Like being mugged.


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