Does it ever feel like some people expect more that you are willing to give?  They expect you to drop everything and run after them despite how this may affect you or your plans.  Sometime those requests become demands, sometimes those demands come with veiled threats sometimes those veiled threats come with physical or mental abuse.

The need for some to control others and to use threats of various types is becoming more prevalent in our daily life.  The pattern often starts with a simple “do this or else” conversation.  You can see it everywhere, in various states of escalation, you have even used it on your children and friends.  The general threat is along the lines of “Do as you are told or I will take away your toys”.  Here are some more examples:  Do the speed limit or I will fine you.  Do that job or I will take away your income.  Do my washing and prepare my food or I will hurt you. Pick up your toys or I will not give you any dinner.  Buy an eco friendly car or I will fine you. Dress how I want you to or I will hurt you. Give me your money and stay indoors where I can control you or I will hurt you so bad that you wont be able to go outside…….. the list goes on and on.  Does this sound familiar.  If Someone doesn’t want to do something is the only answer to threaten them.  Perhaps it’s a case of I don’t know how else it get the desired outcome I want so I will bring out the treats to try and achieve it.

Throughout our daily journey we encounter all sorts of situations, all sorts of people and we simply ignore whats right in front of us. We ignore the mental and physical manipulation of strangers and friends.  We ignore the financial manipulation of employers, banks, businesses and governments.  We even leverage manipulation to suit our own goals.  For example when we cant accept the answer we are given we try and work around the answer and change the way we ask the question in an attempt to get the answer we want.

When did it become acceptable to manipulate / threaten / force people to do things they don’t want to do.  When did it become acceptable for your unreasonable expectations to be more important than someone else’s desire to simply live a happy wholesome life without conflict and aggression.