It's not a compliment

"I'll take it as a compliment" is an intrinsically Gamma reaction. Why? Because it is a willfully dishonest denial of reality. One does not know, let alone dictate, the motivations of others. What is relevant is the reality of the other party's disapproval, contempt, jealousy, hatred, or simple desire to insult, not the particular insult delivered.

There mere existence of an enemy can be a compliment; we tend to think well of those who are hated and attacked by evil men. And there are, of course, incompetently delivered insults that may genuinely be compliments of one sort or another.

But to unilaterally declare that X is Y is not an action of strength and confidence, but rather a weak and insecure retreat into delusion. And that sort of retreat is habitual for the Gamma male.

There are many ways one can respond to an insult. But "I'll take it as a compliment" should never be one of them. Accept reality and deal with it, don't redefine and run from it.

This exchange illustrates the problem with trying to help Gammas:

Indicates indifference to the other person's opinion to me. Deliberate positive reframe.

That's the point. It doesn't do so at all. The indifferent don't need to reframe. The indifferent don't care.

And perhaps more to the point, you're not fooling anyone with your faux-indifferent deliberate positive reframe. You're just deluding yourself.

Posted in: Gamma