Yet another of life's little lessons for the bureaucratically disempowered: Just had a visit from a "nice, smiley" lady, who knocked on the door and announced she was here to talk to my flatmate about a certain debt (as if the poor bugger doesn't have enough already). If I'd been the one who got to the door, probably I would have made a spot decision to just close it in her smiley face. The visit, and the discussion which followed, happened at the kitchen table, and I facilitated, by deciding a cuppa was in order; so made one, while shoulder-surfing the tabled sheet, in front of the interloper. My mate (a Thai national, who is way too accommodating and accepting), was being asked about why the last payment for the debt wasn't made. I jumped in to talk over the top of our visitor, to tell her and my mate that someone appearing at the door, claiming to represent some bureaucracy or other, is only acting like the face of said faceless bureaucracy. That someone smiling and making friendly chat, etc, is really only trying to make you think that you're dealing with human beings. Since the whole thing was a misunderstanding, resulting from a lack of knowledge about vehicle purchases - this guy bought a van off another Thai mate, who had not paid "road user charges", amounting to over $2000, for the thing. The faceless wall, however, only cares about extracting dollars, and so about finding someone ignorant enough to sign an agreement. I told this woman that her attempts to fool us into believing she was doing any more than trying to present a human face, for something that isn't actually human, was quite transparent. Her response: "I'm not here to talk to you. I don't have to say a thing to you." My response to that: "But you are here, and I am talking over the top of you. I don't have to say, or not say a thing to you." As she made light of this and carried on trying to convince my plyable friend, I continued with: "don't try and convince anyone that you're here to do anything more than get some money, or that you give a shit if someone can afford the usurious penalties the bureaucracy you work for does. It's a faceless wall, right? Next time, the door will be closed on your faceless face ." I also tried, probably to no avail, to tell my friend that he doesn't have to pay anything, he just got suckered. And as this persuasive female smiley-face left with a parting "OK, so that's all done, 'chuckle'." I yelled out from my room: "There's nothing funny about it is there? Not even slightly humorous, so don't try to make out there is, you will not be welcome here again, OK? 'chuckle'."
There is always a human face representing the opposing side... in court, which is the appropriate place for most disputes of this kind. If it was a legitimate debt, you should welcome someone trying to come to terms about it that is agreeable to both parties.
I suppose I would, if such a person existed; unfortunately, faceless people who put faces on before they knock on your door to tell you you owe them money, aren't generally in that category. Why is buying a vehicle, then being told the previous owner owed $2000 in legitimate fees, the new owner's problem - since the previous owner has done a runner, disappeared, leaving the new owner holding the faceless baby? Tried telling my Thai mate he should get legal representation and get a judge to cancel the debt, seeing as how he had absolutely zero knowledge of it when the purchase was made. But he's way too accepting of all things bureaucratic, so hard to say if it made any dent. Me, I'd just close the door, as if there was nobody there (seeing as how there isn't).
