The Art Of The Flimflam
When I was a teenager, I had friends that successfully pulled off "confidence schemes" at some local gas stations. They were pretty basic crimes, and were pulled off with ease. They simply walked in the store with a ten dollar bill, chatted with the clerk while he or she was ringing up the goods, and when the clerk gave the change back, the perp would insist that they gave the clerk a twenty dollar bill. It worked because of the distraction. The distraction could also be enhanced by friends doing suspicious things elsewhere in the store. The classic flimflam.
When we set out to defraud a person or organization, we must first gain their confidence. It is neccessary to do this in order to make the person feel like they are not only part of your cause, but also confident in themselves to the point of "joining in" with whatever scheme they are being lured into. It is a simple play on their honesty or compassion.
In walks the "con" man. The word "con" has its own definition, but it is really slang for "confidence". I can think of a million con artists through history, from personal, to political. The most prevalent and relavent cases of these grifters can be found at the very top of our political ladder. It is actually the modus operandi of any political machine. "How can we package this harmful bill in a way that makes it look beneficial?" They do it the same way a pyramid scam operator does; they gain our confidence. They have been elected to be proffesional swindlers. For instance, House Rep Joe Bonner (R, AL) has a kind, sincere look on his face in public. He is the kind of guy that exudes the "trust me" look. He might well be trustworthy, but his job is to gain the confidence of his peers in Washington in order to funnel money back to his district in Alabama. By definition he is a con man, just like the rest of them. It goes much deeper than I know; most of the actions they take are kept quiet. The rabble must not be intelligent enough to understand...
Now that our grand leader has had time to prove his ability to flimflam everyone, it is no wonder that his stated agenda has been neutered. He told us that taxes would not go up, but they did. He had my confidence during the build up to the fiscal cliff deal. As it turns out, he is stealing millions from those of us that have a hard time eating, much less funding his drone exploits. He is now showing signs of military restraint, maybe in the wrong places, but his domestic policy on warrantless spying has bloomed even beyond the warmongering W, and his gang of confidence men.
The Patriot Act is a flimflam of epic proportions, and was passed unequivocally, using our fear and bloodlust for the 9/11 masterminds, and subsequently the demonizing of Islam. Congress tweaks this act perpetually, while we lose our right to privacy. Our current president embraces these disgusting principles as ardently as the Texan did. Why?
He can do this every day because he has the unique moniker of "Leader of the free world". My emails are subject to a comb through so he can maintain my freedoms, right? Yeah, we're all suspected of terrorism, but he and congress are not.
Aside from our terribly misguided government, there is another type of confidence artist that is just as destructive. It might be on a smaller scale, but it can effect real people directly, every day. It is the desperate opportunist. This person will reap destruction on your safety, money, and family. A desperate con-man can make family believe anything if it is overblown enough. They play on your love or sympathy, and gain your confidence by simply saying, "I want to kill myself because I am homeless." Everyone jumps in at this point, worried that this person might actually be facing their demise, only to find out that it was a stunt to gain a place to squat. Anyone with any compassin at all would try to help, but when this person is in a perpetual crisis, the flimflam becomes unworkable. Crimes like this have to evolve in order to keep working. We all have to do our part to be able to help others do their's. Do it honestly. Do it with integrity. Don't make a mockery of good people; you might need them one day.
When we set out to defraud a person or organization, we must first gain their confidence. It is neccessary to do this in order to make the person feel like they are not only part of your cause, but also confident in themselves to the point of "joining in" with whatever scheme they are being lured into. It is a simple play on their honesty or compassion.
In walks the "con" man. The word "con" has its own definition, but it is really slang for "confidence". I can think of a million con artists through history, from personal, to political. The most prevalent and relavent cases of these grifters can be found at the very top of our political ladder. It is actually the modus operandi of any political machine. "How can we package this harmful bill in a way that makes it look beneficial?" They do it the same way a pyramid scam operator does; they gain our confidence. They have been elected to be proffesional swindlers. For instance, House Rep Joe Bonner (R, AL) has a kind, sincere look on his face in public. He is the kind of guy that exudes the "trust me" look. He might well be trustworthy, but his job is to gain the confidence of his peers in Washington in order to funnel money back to his district in Alabama. By definition he is a con man, just like the rest of them. It goes much deeper than I know; most of the actions they take are kept quiet. The rabble must not be intelligent enough to understand...
Now that our grand leader has had time to prove his ability to flimflam everyone, it is no wonder that his stated agenda has been neutered. He told us that taxes would not go up, but they did. He had my confidence during the build up to the fiscal cliff deal. As it turns out, he is stealing millions from those of us that have a hard time eating, much less funding his drone exploits. He is now showing signs of military restraint, maybe in the wrong places, but his domestic policy on warrantless spying has bloomed even beyond the warmongering W, and his gang of confidence men.
The Patriot Act is a flimflam of epic proportions, and was passed unequivocally, using our fear and bloodlust for the 9/11 masterminds, and subsequently the demonizing of Islam. Congress tweaks this act perpetually, while we lose our right to privacy. Our current president embraces these disgusting principles as ardently as the Texan did. Why?
He can do this every day because he has the unique moniker of "Leader of the free world". My emails are subject to a comb through so he can maintain my freedoms, right? Yeah, we're all suspected of terrorism, but he and congress are not.
Aside from our terribly misguided government, there is another type of confidence artist that is just as destructive. It might be on a smaller scale, but it can effect real people directly, every day. It is the desperate opportunist. This person will reap destruction on your safety, money, and family. A desperate con-man can make family believe anything if it is overblown enough. They play on your love or sympathy, and gain your confidence by simply saying, "I want to kill myself because I am homeless." Everyone jumps in at this point, worried that this person might actually be facing their demise, only to find out that it was a stunt to gain a place to squat. Anyone with any compassin at all would try to help, but when this person is in a perpetual crisis, the flimflam becomes unworkable. Crimes like this have to evolve in order to keep working. We all have to do our part to be able to help others do their's. Do it honestly. Do it with integrity. Don't make a mockery of good people; you might need them one day.
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