The Straight Dope 05/30/2003

The Straight Dope -- By Cecil Adams
http://www.straightdope.com

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THE STRAIGHT DOPE 05/30/2003

Dear Cecil:

What exactly does it mean to say that someone is
"passive-aggressive"? I hear this term used frequently,
usually with reference to a coworker, child, parent,
etc, who is being a pain in the ass. Surely there's
a more rigorous clinical definition than that.
--Frank Caplice, Chicago

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Cecil replies:

You might get some argument there, Frank. It's true
that if you look under "passive-aggressive personality
disorder" (PAPD) in the Diagnostic and Statistical
Manual of Mental Disorders (the older editions--more
about that below), you find the syndrome solemnly
described as a "pervasive pattern of passive resistance
to demands for adequate social and occupational
performance." But once you delve into the history of
the term, you realize that--at least in the eyes of
its critics--it's mostly useful as a high-flown way
to call someone a pain in the ass.

The term "passive-aggressive" was introduced in a 1945
U.S. War Department technical bulletin, describing
soldiers who weren't openly insubordinate but shirked
duty through procrastination, willful incompetence, and
so on. If you've ever served in the military during
wartime, though, or for that matter read Catch-22, you
realize that what the brass calls a personality disorder
a grunt might call a rational strategy to avoid getting
killed.

For more, see:
http://www.straightdope.com/columns/030530.html

STAFF REPORT

Dear Straight Dope:

Now that there are oil wells on fire in Iraq, how do
those fires get put out? I'm under the impression
it's a real pain in the ass, but I don't understand
what they have to do differently from other fires.
Do they have to order up unbelievable amounts of
baking soda? --Josh Evans 

Guest contributor Tapioca replies:

It may come as a big surprise, but in most cases
they don't put out the fire. At least not like
in the movies. Unlike the movie Hellfighters,
John Wayne doesn't turn up with a stick of dynamite.
There is no explosion which results in oil-slicked
rig workers cheering at an erupting spout of gas.
They may have done that in the old days, but these
days everything is a lot more boring. 

For more, see: 
http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/moilfire.html


STRAIGHT DOPE CLASSIC - 09/08/1974

Dear Cecil: 

Could you explain why all the wrist slashers of
popular literature, television, and film make a
practice of running water (bath, shower) during
their exits? Is it intended to keep the hemoglobin
from coagulating, or is it merely some kind of
embellishment from art forms whose true origin
has been lost to the mists of time?
--H.C.E., Washington, D.C.

Dear H.:

The idea is that very hot or very cold water will,
to a small extent, anesthetize the area to be carved.
Cold water discourages bleeding, and hot water
promotes it, and the suicide may use either
according to his or her preference. Although the
running water bit is almost standard procedure in
Hollywood, it is apparently not overwhelmingly popular
among suicides in real life. (Ha!) The movie men have
no doubt latched onto it because it is a convenient
form of cinematic shorthand--depressed person brandishes
razor, turns on water, sticks arms into sink, and you
think suicide without ever having to see any of the
gory details. 

For more, see:
http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a1_204.html

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