Overly compliant
by Bob on December 17. 2007
Overly compliant. Someone once called someone else that. I had to ask just what it meant. Supposedly when one is "overly compliant" one is too accomodating or even just too polite or just too nice.
Well, for me it's hard to define where the line is drawn. Nice versus overly nice. I can imagine and remember ancient Greek and Roman comedy, especially the Greek Aristophanes and the the Roman Plautus and their odd manners comedies, or even later playwrights such as G.B. Shaw or especially Oscar Wilde and his "The Importance of Being Earnest", both with their acerbic wits on societal politeness.
But what I heard was said in the 1980s. The "Me" 1980s. And it just plain sounded oddly off-putting and morally wrong coming from this fine upstanding graduate of Princeton University. It really was saying "don't be nice" that it shows signs of personal weakness.
And so it has played out in later decades and into the 21st century now.
One hopes that kindness will return in our lifetime. But it's an unclear hope.
I am reminded in Chaucer and his Miller's Tale which was bawdy enough but worth quoting just to wake us all up and remember there was a long journey to the Holy Land from Europe. And these tales were recited in lieu of TV or iPODs.
The Miller's Tale -- the bit about the Nicholas, our lady Alison, and Absolon. Quite a tale it is about a carpenter. It's a but of a furtive wake up call, even in Chaucer's time and on a very long pilgrim's journey. Overly compliant indeed. But in true fun. And Procol Harum knew that when they included some allusions to it in their brilliant and classic song "A Whiter Shade of Pale". Her face turned a whiter shade of pale indeed. No over compliance there.