Hello? Can You Hear Me?

Remember when letters were answered, calls were returned and invitations were acknowledged? It really did happen once...I swear.

Then technology crept up on us and passive-aggressive behavior became the de facto standard. Just think about how easy it is to do nothing - treating modern communications as a screening tool or gating principle. This way, an invitation or email can be ignored because it's not as dangerous to the relationship or someone's self-interest by saying no or declining - and passive-aggressives can't do that anyhow.

So we've all adopted their very successful m.o. Pretend it didn't happen, and then both of us can be spared some imagined unpleasantness. You can pretend I didn't ask for something you didn't want to do or give and I can pretend I wasn't rejected.

Hell of a way to not run a railroad, if you ask me. But of course, you didn't ask me. As a matter of fact, you didn't answer me either.