Passive-Aggressive

People can really be annoying.

Anyone else notice that?

Here's a prime example:

In one of the volunteer capacities in which I am work, I have taken over a fundraiser that this group has done for years, even decades. The previous person--let's call him PA--set all kinds of parameters that just seemed completely perverse for someone backing out of the committee: he would be the one to contact the supplier, he would pick up the material and distribute it from his house, etc. And he needed to know NOW whether I wanted to do this. Since it's a huge moneymaker for the group, I indicated that "I think we'll probably be doing it."

I guess that wasn't a good enough guarantee. He had a snit-fit last week, offering it to another group since I "wasn't interested." Luckily, the head of that group called me, and told me we could work together if time was an issue.

Saturday, I found out that he was completely yanking his involvement, and no he wouldn't give me the name of his contact: "He'll only work with me."

Then I found out yesterday (through the grapevine--aren't small towns great?) that PA had called the biggest annual purchaser--like several hundred dollars' worth of purchases!--and told them we weren't doing it this year, they'd have to find another supplier. So my first call this morning is to that purchaser saying, "He's just wrong: we are doing this." I've spent a couple of minutes online this morning and found about 30 other potential suppliers.

Is it any wonder that his initials are PA, Passive Aggressive:

• Fear of Dependency--check
• Fear of Intimacy--check
• Fear of Competition, Tyrant variety--check
• Obstructionism--check
• Fostering Chaos--check
• Feeling Victimized--check
• Making Excuses and Lying--check, bigtime
• Procrastination (nope, can't use this one against him--he's a big deadline guy)
• Chronic Lateness and Forgetfulness (nor this one--he likes to be there before anyone else, and he remembers everything ever said by anybody, the better to use it against them, my dear)
• Ambiguity (nope, no dice: very clear)
• Sulking--check; he pulled out of every connection with this organization last week, all of 'em

How old would you guess he is? Thirty? Fourteen? How about late fifties?

I can't even be mad at him; it's just so pathetic.