The Bernie Goetz Type

[andrew in philadelphia]

Tom's story about his train companion from last week's show was so great. Who among us hasn't been roped into an unwanted exchange with a "bubbling cauldron of rage" just begging for someone to take their side before?

Anyone have similar stories? What's the best or worst way to deal with this personality type? At what point does your response put you in the same category as the overly aggressive offender?

[not that clay]

Tom's story about his train companion from last week's show was so great. Who among us hasn't been roped into an unwanted exchange with a "bubbling cauldron of rage" just begging for someone to take their side before?

Anyone have similar stories? What's the best or worst way to deal with this personality type? At what point does your response put you in the same category as the overly aggressive offender?

There's a checker at my Whole Foods that I'm pretty sure is going to murder me and everybody else in the store someday. His expression is permanently caught in that startled moment when someone has pulled a gun on him. I feel sorry for him, he ought to be working alone in the back somewhere.