You are quite right, one might use such activities to suck up.(Christopher was, though, reacting to the suggestion of complete, unmitigated hypocrisy, not mixed motive). On the other hand, there are a lot of things one might use in such a way.
Suppose I were AG. Someone who wanted to impress me might find out that I like modern art, and put prints by Matisse and Picasso in his office, read around the subject to have something to say, and let drop that he had seen this or that exhibition. Or he might look at my bookshelf in the office, and discern a bias towards classics. He might, then, imbed strategic quotes into conversation, like "he jests and scars who never felt a wound", or "things fall apart, the center cannot hold". Many things could provide the basis for "suck". Of course, anyone smart enough to become AG would know that, and be on guard against it.
The question is, is this uniquely dangerous, or just another thing that could become a factor in office politics? |
