Who's fooling who?
A few days ago, Rodney Wayne Branche and I had our weekly chat. It is not unusual for us to discuss every subject under the sun. Both of us love to talk, and during a single telephone conversation, we can subject-hop like you wouldn’t believe. Without fail, we always wind up in my area of expertise (i.e. relationships), and that is why I’m a firm believer that relationships affect everything we do. No matter what the subject matter is, we wind up discussing it from a relationship perspective. Such is life – no matter what happens to us, there is a relationship perspective involved.
Ever since the Sterling/Stiviano scandal broke, we’ve had much to discuss, and what comes out of the Sterling/Siviano discussions is amazing. This week, we talked about the conversations that Ms. Stiviano recorded. What struck me initially about this week’s chat was how differently men and women digest and process information. One of the questions Rodney posed to me was, “Why would V. Stiviano tape their conversations over a period of time?” He says he’s still trying to figure that one out. Men are usually fixed in their thinking. So Rodney dealt strictly with the present facts. His male-influenced line of thinking didn’t include the small or seemingly insignificant incidents that led up to the tapings; the emotions that would cause one of the parties to tape their conversations; or what gave rise to the train of thought regarding the value of the tapes when all hell broke loose. For Rodney the facts are that: (1) Donald Sterling and V. Stiviano had some type of intimate relationship; (2) V. Stiviano decided to tape their conversations; and (3) the tapes have had major impact on Donald Sterling’s personal, as well as professional life. Now women tend to be more analytical when it comes to relationships. We will dissect them to death to understand the dynamics of what is going on or what happened. We will delve into the emotions because we understand that emotions are what spark most controversies, arguments, chaos, or destruction. So for most women, it isn’t hard to figure out why V. Stiviano taped the conversations. In this regard, I shared my analysis with Rodney and gave him insight into the female psyche.
Given what characteristically happens in a May/December romance, and the dynamics thereof, I offer the following analysis. Mr. Sterling, who is at least 50 years older than Ms. Stiviano, imagined (and I place emphasis on the word “imagined”) that he was lucky, rich, and powerful enough to entice a young woman into an intimate relationship and do with her as he pleased. Given the age difference, it isn’t unreasonable to conclude that he was of the opinion that she was naïve about a lot of things. Being the worldly, wealthy, and powerful man that he is, there was no reason why he would have to consider whether or not he could handle a relationship with her. Mr. Sterling may have been of the opinion that given Ms. Stiviano’s age, life experience, and ethnic/cultural background, there was nothing she could ever do to harm him. What resources could she possibly have at her disposal to harm him in any way? Then given her socio-economic status when they met, she could be lured into an intimate relationship because she would be gifted with material possessions that only a uber-wealthy man could bestow upon her.
~Copa
Ever since the Sterling/Stiviano scandal broke, we’ve had much to discuss, and what comes out of the Sterling/Siviano discussions is amazing. This week, we talked about the conversations that Ms. Stiviano recorded. What struck me initially about this week’s chat was how differently men and women digest and process information. One of the questions Rodney posed to me was, “Why would V. Stiviano tape their conversations over a period of time?” He says he’s still trying to figure that one out. Men are usually fixed in their thinking. So Rodney dealt strictly with the present facts. His male-influenced line of thinking didn’t include the small or seemingly insignificant incidents that led up to the tapings; the emotions that would cause one of the parties to tape their conversations; or what gave rise to the train of thought regarding the value of the tapes when all hell broke loose. For Rodney the facts are that: (1) Donald Sterling and V. Stiviano had some type of intimate relationship; (2) V. Stiviano decided to tape their conversations; and (3) the tapes have had major impact on Donald Sterling’s personal, as well as professional life. Now women tend to be more analytical when it comes to relationships. We will dissect them to death to understand the dynamics of what is going on or what happened. We will delve into the emotions because we understand that emotions are what spark most controversies, arguments, chaos, or destruction. So for most women, it isn’t hard to figure out why V. Stiviano taped the conversations. In this regard, I shared my analysis with Rodney and gave him insight into the female psyche.
Given what characteristically happens in a May/December romance, and the dynamics thereof, I offer the following analysis. Mr. Sterling, who is at least 50 years older than Ms. Stiviano, imagined (and I place emphasis on the word “imagined”) that he was lucky, rich, and powerful enough to entice a young woman into an intimate relationship and do with her as he pleased. Given the age difference, it isn’t unreasonable to conclude that he was of the opinion that she was naïve about a lot of things. Being the worldly, wealthy, and powerful man that he is, there was no reason why he would have to consider whether or not he could handle a relationship with her. Mr. Sterling may have been of the opinion that given Ms. Stiviano’s age, life experience, and ethnic/cultural background, there was nothing she could ever do to harm him. What resources could she possibly have at her disposal to harm him in any way? Then given her socio-economic status when they met, she could be lured into an intimate relationship because she would be gifted with material possessions that only a uber-wealthy man could bestow upon her.
~Copa
