The point about veiled threats is that they are veiled.
My favorite veiled threat came from a client of mine, whose wife was flirting with another man. He sent the other man an email, to wit:
"I understand that you and my wife have been spending some time together.
I got a new 9 millimeter pistol for Christmas. It's a beauty. I'd really like to show it to you."
As an engineer, you, no doubt, would focus on the fact that the client never actually said that he wanted to shoot the other man. Thus, no overt threat was involved.
Which is true. There was no overt threat.
Nevertheless, most of us (maybe not engineers?) would see the threat. Veiled? Not to me, it's pretty damned overt to me, but that's because I have no problem putting two and two together.
Nor did the other man, who called law enforcement to register a complaint. Of course, there was nothing they could do, because the threat was veiled.
That's the beauty of veiled threats. Typically, they aren't actionable. Nevertheless, they are real. |
