In article , "Lew Hodgett" wrote:
Somebody wrote:

What exactly is the point in going through all this rigamarole? Some jerk
calls that you don't want to talk to -- how hard is it to just hang up the
phone? Why do you need to make him hang up?

CONTROL!

The SOB makes the decision do so something that is counterproductive at
best, a most unpleasant task, which is the point of the exercise.

Basic Psychology 101.

Had your blood pressure checked lately, Lew? I'll bet it's higher than mine.
Control? When you keep talking to somebody that you don't want to talk to,
perhaps it's time to rethink your ideas of who is controlling whom in that
conversation. I prefer to think of it from the perspective of controlling my
_time_, rather than controlling another _person_. Simply hanging up the phone
the moment I realize the caller is someone I don't want to talk to is the
simplest and most comprehensive method there is of controlling my time in
that situation. I don't care at all what the caller does with _his_ time, as
long as he's not wasting _mine_. By hanging up, I prevent him from doing so.
OTOH, when you keep talking to him, you allow him to continue to waste your
time even as you waste his. Why? What's the point?

Common Sense 101.

--
Regards,
Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)

It's time to throw all their damned tea in the harbor again.