I didn’t have to throw Alex in jail. Alex returned this moring with the radio. The Chief saw it, and complained it was pretty much in the same state it was in months ago before it was supposedly fixed. The chief tried to blame Alex, but I called bullshit on that. It was broken before. I told the chief that I would go to the repair guys place, and we would chat about what the problem was. Alex and I headed up to the repair-man’s place.. and when I say repair man... I mean a guy who has a room with a few old stereo parts.. and a screwdriver. He doesn’t really know a whole lot more than I do about electronics. So, we open it up, and he says: “It’s the chip”. There is a little chip in the radio. He says they go all the time. Yeah. Whatever. He basically says that when there is lightning, it causes the batteries to send a power charge through the chip and blow it. I think the problem is that it is a cheap pirated piece of shit, and the chief has been using it for a year or two, and he dropped it.
I ask him a few more questions, and we leave… or at least I pretend to. We get a few steps away, and I say: “Alex, can you wait a second?”and head back. I noticed during our conversation that he said something about the radio having been there for a while. So, I asked the repair man how long it had been there.. to which he said: Depuis.. which roughly translates as: a while. I asked again, and he said: Depuis depius… a long time. Basically, confirming my belief that Alex had put it in hawk (the repairman is also runs a pawn shop). Alex lies like a rug, but its not my problem anymore. I have the chief’s radio. So, we head back, and Alex starts to plead… he was terrified I was going to throw him in jail. I told him no. I have the radio, and that is all. He kept insisting that he didn’t leave it in hawk… I tell him to go find a cheap radio for me, as I don’t have one. One that is like the Chief’s. He finds the exact (almost.. paint job is different) radio. My plan is to give the new one to the Chief while I get the old one fixed in Yaoundé.
The chief has to take that deal. See, what has been going on here is that the Chief has been trying to get me to buy him a new radio. a real one. He has been telling me all about his high quality radio that comes from Japan that he left me. Insurance scam style. I’m not going to spend time telling him that Panasonic doesn’t label their radios: Pansoanic. I’m just not going to play ball. So, he’s been trying to play me for a sap, and I’m going to let him hang in is own shit as well. I will fix his old one for a dollar or two, and take the other one back (which I have wanted for the house), which is new. He gets to keep his pride, or the better radio. I get a radio for cheap which I wanted, and I get to have this whole thing end. Alex gets, well, nothing. I told him today I wasn’t punishing him.. I would only punish him if I wanted him to change, and since I want nothing from him, why would I bother punishing him.
I had a little breakthrough today. First of all, I am, and have been in a foul mood these past few days. Between Alex and the Chief, and everyone else in town trying to fuck me over on a daily basis, its starting to wear thin. Seriously, I don’t think there is one person in town who hasn’t lied to me since I’ve been here. I don’t think there has been one person in town who hasn’t tried to get something off of me since I’ve been here. Even the kids. I have a high tolerance for this, and am pretty good at setting boundaries that I can live with. I say no a lot. I argue, and negotiate with relish. I understand that ruthless opportunism is a pretty fundamental part of the culture. None of that even really bothers me. My breakthrough?
Oh yeah. I realized that I would be much less annoyed if I could play the same game that they play. I mean, if I could use all the techniques and tactics that I want to, it would be much easier. If I start to play hardball, they all get shocked, and start to cry foul. If I could just say to the Chief: you are lying, and you are trying con me out of money because you think all white people are made of money and stupid, and that is insulting and racist, so fucking stop it, or get out of my house. I say that shit to people I don’t know all the time, and while it is never pleasant, it works. Its part of why many people here are scared of me. The problem is when you know the person, or they are supposed to be someone I should be paying respect to, I can’t. Or at least not without serious consequences. What happenend with Jen was exactly that. Sorel didn’t like getting what she was giving, so she tried to get Jen thrown out of town.
I’m just going to have to keep shutting people down in my own special way: hoisting people in their own petards, patiently wearing them down, making people do work before I do anything, keeping everyone at an arms length, and watching every person who comes in my house, and saying no a lot. The problem is that it takes a lot of energy to do that all the time. Sometimes a good old fashioned ass kicking would be much more satisfying.