False Advertising

I think everyone can relate to the concept of false advertising…and I’m not just talking about being sold a useless piece of crap that has been heralded as the next best thing.  I’m talking about people who worm their way into our lives–or worse yet, the lives of our friends to which we are subjected to idly watching–who turn out to be the exact opposite of what they claim.

Violet the Bohemian used to tell me that when a person shows you who they are, believe them.  Years later she admitted she gleaned this wisdom from Dr. Phil, but whatever…it’s true.  I got that.  What I don’t get, and what I think we’re all struggling with, is finding genuine people to surround ourselves with–whether they are friends or potential luvahs or your friend’s potential luvahs.   If someone says they want to be in your life, one certainly does not expect to get shirked like unwanted responsibility.

Someone please help me understand.   Why don’t people mean what they say?  What kind of defense system should a person develop to ward off these offenders?  No one wants to be jaded, but at a certain point we do have to learn from our mistakes.  I guess the trick is finding the balance between being cautious and expecting catastrophe at every turn.