There's Just Something About Mary II

Poor Mary. In the past week, on two occasions, once in a bar and once in a Starbucks she has had men say “I’m just not into you.” Once she was simply asking a guy where the ATM was and before she could even utter the question, the guy said “You’re not my type, missy” and acted all cool in front of his friends. At the Starbucks, another guy randomly told her something similar and they had not even initiated any remnant of a conversation. Don’t fret for Mary, though. One, she is blissfully married to a great guy so she does not need those losers. And two, it turns out she was a victim of what Maxim terms the “Neg.” (OK, yes I do subscribe to Maxim but it was a gift from my soon-to-be-former wife. It was one of the nicest things she did for me in the latter stages of our marriage. In fact, she got me a three year subscription. Of course, I failed to mention that she was snookered into buying $400 worth of magazine subscriptions by one of those teens who sell them door-to-door. At any rate, clearly, I do read the articles). Supposedly there was a recent book for men called The Game and one of the pointers they give is to try to pick up an attractive woman using reverse psychology, in this case, opening with an insult or back-handed compliment. The theory is that it supposedly makes the woman want you more. The reality is that not only do they now not want you, but they also think you are an ass and will communicate that to their other hot friends. Sure enough, the two guys who “neg-ed” Mary did end up trying to hit on her. The guy at the bar came up to her and apologized saying he was just trying to impress his friends. So women do not fret the “Neg;” it is the purveyors of the “Neg” who should fret.