There's So Many Frauds...

One of my favorite groups ever, Morcheeba (check them out, they rock), ask in one of their album titles "Who Can You Trust"? Let me help you kids out with this one, no one (but family, and dogs of course). Blame in on altruism, survival of the fittest, perhaps social responsibility theory can explain it- but the fact is that if you trust, nine times out of ten, you will be beset with regret. If you close your eyes for a second, turn your back for a moment, drop your guard just a bit- I assure you deceit and dishonesty will ravage you like a wild tiger (and no one loves big cats more than me). It’s pervasive. Really. Let me give you some examples.

I call the phone company to inquire about a problem with my landline (namely that a convict from the state pen keeps calling my house- but anyway...). The man I speak with tells me that he has to discuss the situation with a manager and he'll call me back. While I can't say with certainty that he didn't speak with his manager, I can tell you that he didn't return my call. What's sad, is that I was actually disappointed and found this situation completely disheartening- and this doesn't even pertain to my social or personal life. But speaking of...

How often do we run into people that say "call me", when what they really mean is "Damn, I hope I don't have to run into them again anytime soon...". Why do people say things that they don't mean? Why is deceit an acceptable social interaction between intelligent, free-willed, might-otherwise-be-honest-and-not-suck individuals? In fact, I am so used to people's bullshit that recently after getting in touch with an old high school friend through e-mail, she sent me her phone number with instructions to call her. Being so used to FAKERS (puke), I wrote her off and did not call her. Imagine my surprise to receive a follow up email, "what’s up with that girl, call me!!"

Some might call me cynical. Some might blame it on the drama in the LBC... because after all, it's kinda hard being... but that's not really the point. In my opinion, it’s this realistic and untrusting attitude that made living in L.A. so easy for me. Yeah there are some fakers (unlike Pittsburgh where everyone’s so fucking real), yeah there are some users but at LEAST they’re upfront about it- their like, real fakers- you know what they want from you (to pass their reel to your music producer roommate- whatever).

My friend Jess told me recently that she trusts everyone until they give her a reason not to. Not me, I don’t trust a soul in this universe without condition- and very little could convince me otherwise. To be honest this has served me well, and I don’t even mind getting that little reality check of minor deceit occasionally- because it's liars and fakers that keep me on my toes. It's not my fault that people are fakers, and personally, I’d rather be a cynic than a faker.