Cases: Larry the Toady Liar

Cases in Gaslighters

Larry the Liar

Larry was an adept liar. I knew him as assistant manager for the well-known grocery store I worked for.

A short and pudgy man, and a Mormon, he found his way into any circle by being a toady chameleon. If the “boys” were talking about a something nefarious or had a dirty or prejudiced joke, he could up them. Did the gang in the stock room discuss dirty details of “with whom they’d do such and such dirty deed with if they had a chance”, he was drawn in to be discussion promotor. When his wife was not in the store, he’d follow “buxom babes” around the stories, and then share snide and lusty comments. “Boy, I’d like to do that one.” “Don’t you think she’s …..was both a dirty comment and a test of your loyalty to his way.  

If it was a Saturday, Larry was his usual dirty gang leader wanna be. One would imagine how he used this in High School to fit in to any rough crowd, while all along his family would be sure and ship him off to his two year required LDS Mission, then he’d be given a selection of one of many local “good looking” LDS young women, where dorky men were assured of intelligent and sexy wives. If it was Sunday, Larry would be his old entitled and narcissistic self, but in a more religious sense. On Sundays, you’d get a spiel about the correctness of the LDS Church rather than the correctness of philandering.

Larry extended this chameleon behavior and a lifetime of compulsive lying into Gaslighting. He was the less sophisticated criminal in the world, but criminal non-the-less. He had the characteristics of narcissism, entitlement, grandiosity, and self-serving down well. He thought he was above and beyond the law or rules and would never get caught. But, he got caught several times, and in the end, was caught for embezzlement.

Many stories stick out where Larry Gaslighted himself into position or goods, and he walked on others threw allies under the bus. Some knew to avoid him at all costs, which wasn’t too much help: he was assistant manager and could punish those both against him and those avoidant. There were many scandals regarding his giving raises, promotions, and favors to his allies, while his enemies and those neutral got lost in confused time cards, time schedules, and pay that Larry perpetually foiled for them.  He knew that system of keeping them “crazy” very well. It was the Gaslight or “not me, but you”, in all ways.

While many stories of Larry the Lifter of Goods are very long, one short one is the Steak Robbery:

Larry held onto a powerful role as manager of the annual summer party. His control was so refined that he’d determine who’d get a free beer. He never paid for the beer, nor did the store, but he’d tell each person in whispers, “Jeff, I got 12 free beers from the Coors Distributor for your party. There’s not enough to go around, but I’ll set aside 2 for only You. They’ll be in the Blue Painted Cooler. Don’t tell others where you got it at all”.   This was a part of Gaslighting people with favors, then for favors. It was all to serve Larry in the end: he’d get some goods. In fact, the only boat allowed at the party for water skiers (which he controlled the list priority of water skiers, his favorites were up front and got to ski and others never), was Larry’s: he’d gotten the $ for the boat from various store embezzlements.

Larry also controlled getting the food supplies, giving and trading favors to vendors. He got free wine, but kept if for himself.  But, the steaks.

“Hey, we’ve had such a profitable year that we ought to get steaks for all.”

Everybody liked the idea. He go much approbation. Larry, then just went to the meat counter, and put the steaks in two giant paper grocery bags.

He found it all so easy. He bagged steaks, told people why he had them, then took them home to his freezer. The next day, because it was all so easy, he took two more bags of steaks.

Then, the party and there were no steaks. Larry has some last minute excuse. Several days later, the store manager got wind 4 bags of steaks were taken out of the store by Larry, and did not show up. Larry, later that day, showed up and gave the 4 bags to the store manager. Shouting at Larry could be heard. Larry, though, as Chameleon or as sly fox came up with some story fast that saved him…..and made him almost hero…. Who knows what the Gaslight lie was, because it could have been any of one million fibs, one of thousands in Larry’s skilled Gaslighter life.