Man Hater and Harpy

Today brought a sadness into my life. I can't complain, I initiated the encounter quite deliberately, with good cause and good intentions. But the net result was a good long look at the absolute bottom of the female spectrum. Physically nauseating in point of fact, far below revulsion it was pity running under nitrous and a supercharger.  The story goes like this:

I have a favorite little greasy spoon diner, been going there for over a quarter of a century. Now this little place is on the lower fringes of society, always has been. Crew and clientele alike have always been an interesting and almost even mix of those with the reddest of necks and those who can lay claim to having left tracks across some of the strangest landscapes any of the alternate lifestyles have to offer regardless of blood chemistry. In short, not only do they serve a decent burger and great breakfasts and the cheapest cup of coffee in town the vibe has always been diverse and interesting. A bit of this, a bit of that, from an occasional soft growl of warning to a great many belly laughs shared table to table regardless of those enjoying the joke. One of those little dives that epitomize the phrase "down home." You get the picture.

Anyway, some months back all that began to change. A coldness crept in, an edgy tension around the edges that sapped at the spirit of the place. At first I thought it was just me, that my perceptions were being skewed by the other things going on in my life. But the longer I watched the more I was convinced that no, it wasn't just me. One by one the crew was drifting away, first to go the best of the waitresses... some great hearted country gals, some sweethearts from the strange side, but in common between them the fact they always offered a warm and genuine smile to go with the coffee, you know, the sort who earn every penny of their tips sending folks out to face the world feeling better than they had when they walked in. Replacing them were a crew of girls aloof and distant, at times almost hostile. Then the guys started going, the cooks who'd been there a long time started leaving, and leaving with angry looks at the girls for some reason. It was getting obvious some pathology, some infectious agent was contaminating the work environment.

About a month ago the nature of the pathogen revealed herself. The pathogen? A charismatic man hater who has demonstrated herself both a tyrannical control freak and a pathological liar attempting to establish dominance by destruction, a woman totally consumed by her hatreds. Her cover personality lasted just long enough to destroy what was wholesome among the women, turn girl against girl with lies and manipulations, attacking one after another with premeditated campaigns of slander and innuendo. But when she turned to attack the men on the crew her cover personality couldn't withstand the inner hatreds, it shattered and everyone has seen her for what she is. Well, almost everyone. Sadly, the woman who hired her was her first victim that now appears totally under her control, and a member of the owners family. It's a sad mess.

Today I confronted the harpy on her behavior. I did it in private, and I even extended a compassionate humanity towards her as I did, such hatreds are a soul burning burden and an affliction, compassion was the appropriate first approach. I tried, and for a moment I almost thought I was going to pull it off, establish a line of communication with whatever might be left of the human in her. For a moment there was a desperate plea in her eyes. And then the hatred fell like a curtain, such a powerful projection as to be painful, and she unloaded a spew of utter insanity and blatant lies in my direction, ending by calling my brother a pervert! Not me, my brother. She never attacks directly.

So much for trying. I walked away, laying plans to do battle with her evil. If the owners don't take action to remove her I think my first move will be to ask my brother to sue her for slander. It only costs $25 to file, and it doesn't have to be filed by a lawyer, just in the proper format available on line. She did slander him, and has slandered many others in public in front of long term patrons as witness. I also think he should name the owners as co-defendants. She was on the clock and on their property. I made this intention known to one of the last of the remaining decent hands, and told them they could quote me. Step the first: break her line of control over her first victim, the first one she infected with her hatred, and the one who has been keeping the owners blind as to the real cause of their current run of problems. It's going to be a nasty fight, but if someone doesn't engage battle with her soon she'll have destroyed two dozen lives to feed her insanity, including her own children. It needs doing.

Now you know what prompted my earlier post (Metaphor)^3... a metaphor is a thing of the imaginary, and when you cube the imaginary you wind up back in the real... wish me luck, I'm going to need all I can find.