SHYNESS IS A SHAM

Q: Is this picture a) Dangerous tiger lurking behind a rock  b) a shy person  c) both
A: = c

The cover story of Time magazine this week is: The Power of Shyness. The idea of the article is that some of the world's most powerful people have been 'shy' and that this quiet reticence and apparent lack of confidence with others is just divine modesty. I BEG to differ. There is power behind their shyness but it is of a completely different nature.

All the shy people I have ever known have been secret control freaks. Either too arrogant to bother with the right avenues of communication with others or simply, pathologically unconcerned about the existence of the human race. Far from lacking in confidence, most shy people have tons of the stuff, so much so that they never feel the need to display anything about themselves to others. They simply do not care what others think of them. As children they are pitied, nurtured, helped and encouraged. As adults they are treated as somehow mysterious and special. I know shy people who behind the scenes are scarily horrible. Outwardly bland, fake-ishly modest, quiet and always making a point of dressing down and behaving in an unassuming manner, inwardly the opposite. Often, this kind of exaggerated humility or 'shyness' masks insecurity over talent or abilities. When pushed, such people will subtly belittle others and absolutely refuse to ever go along with anyone who could be a threat to them. They are the ones who are unpleasant to you when you begin a new job, or who never congratulate you on an achievement. All the while, they appear, generally to be 'shy' and 'quiet'. Well they are not, see above pic.

Now, what's on the cover of Newsweek?.......