| guilt trip |
with this method, the host relies on the guest's sense of moral duty. the shift of the debate to moral grounds is accomplished by implying that a failure to finish the food is wrong for its own sake. note that this is a radical departure from other techniques - its not that you should overeat because doing so is instrumental in bringing about some other good (its healthy or it will make me happy); rather with this tactic, the host suggests that you should eat because doing so is intrinsically valuable and therefore completing your meal is the right thing to do.
|
illusion |
| kind request | inebriation | |
| shock and awe | humor | |
| respect/etiquette | conspiracy | |
| culture | body language | |
| history | morality | |
| lineage | metaphysical | |
| request for opinion | competitiveness | |
| compliments | insult | |
| bribe | nagging | |
| trade off | connection | |
| compromise | peer pressure | |
| physical char. | imperative | |
| temporal char. | threat | |
| need | duress | |
| preemptive strike | forced feeding | |
| trickery | timing | |
| chemical | the future... |
i have relatives that live in croatia, slovakia, hungary and israel and it is of utmost importance that their guests consume massive quantities of food. these hosts seem to feel personally insulted if you do not eat three, four or even five portions of the food that they are offering. initially i was critical of this forced-gluttony, but after reassessing the phenomena, i have become a connoisseur of their brilliant methodologies. my analysis of their techniques is intended to serve as the first step in the process of developing an effective counter-strategy.
although someone who eats large amounts of food on their own accord is the ultimate guest, those guests who succumb to these techniques generate a surprising level of joy for the host.
i have also not noticed a significant difference between the consumption of food that was prepared or purchased. one might think that a host would take more offense if food they slaved over was 'under-consumed'. it seems however, that the labor involved is not critical - all that matters is that massive quantities are ingested.