"Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer" - good or bad advice?
Depends on the nature of your "enemies." If you mean people who openly dislike you, and nothing more, then forget about them and just enjoy close friends.
However, if your enemies are plotters, if they are prone to aggressive action against people they don't like, for whatever reason, then I'd keep 'em close. As another saying goes, for evil to triumph, good only has to do nothing.
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Shinier than a speeding bullet.
__________________ "The most merciful thing in the world, I think, is the inability of the human mind to correlate all its contents. We live on a placid island of ignorance in the midst of black seas of infinity; and it was not meant that we should voyage far." -CoC
Re: "Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer" - good or bad advice?
Or fail trying.
__________________ "The most merciful thing in the world, I think, is the inability of the human mind to correlate all its contents. We live on a placid island of ignorance in the midst of black seas of infinity; and it was not meant that we should voyage far." -CoC
If believe your friends know more about you and can turn on you. They know you trust them. "Et tu Brutus?" They are the ones to worry about. Your enemies, you already know where they stand.
I believe it's good advise.
__________________ Deja Moo: The feeling that you've heard this bull before.
I can't say that I agree or disagree, but I want to chime in that I had a messed up experience where my high school principal gave me that advice as he was asking me to rat out some friends who defaced a wall.
The quote itself as well as what you said above is very much what Sun Tzu said in Art of War.
I believe the quote is also attributed to him, although I do not think it was him who said it.
What is implied by the statement is that knowing your enemy is your biggest strenght over them.
It is only your enemies who speak the truth, in a sense. You know your enemies dislike you and mean you harm, that is why they are your enemies. Your friends, however, you don't truly know what they think, and are those people who know you the best, hence are bigger threat.
Which ties in with what I said above.
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"If your life is such that you're placing all your hopes in a politician, then may I humbly suggest you get yourself a crate of superlager and a cardboard box and stop wasting everyone's time''
Well, it depends what you mean by enemies. I'm sure there are people around who dislike me, but I would consider someone an enemy if they were to actually do something about that dislike, like attack me, or go out of their way to screw up my life.
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"All morons hate it when you call them a moron." - Holden Caulfield
That's what I mean. In any group, be it a classroom, or the workplace, there's always gonna be someone who doesn't like you or you don't like. That's just the way group dynamics work. And why do they have to attack you, or do something brazen before considering them an enemy? The ones who smile at your face are the most dangerous.
Its applicable today, otherwise undercover work and espionage wouldn't exist.
Well, I wouldn't consider them an enemy unless they've done something worthy of that word. I don't consider them not liking me being worthy of the word, because it really doesn't matter to me if someone doesn't like me, why would it?
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"All morons hate it when you call them a moron." - Holden Caulfield
KMC Community Forums
Jul 23rd, 2008 05:12 AM
You are correct.
