Refraction (Bent Thinking) of the Day #25

Straw and Camel’s Back Defense: Attempting to minimize a series of past problems and claiming that the other party is being petty by ignoring the past series and focusing one only the last event. Refutation: The last straw did not break the camel’s back; the weight of the entire load of straw broke it.  Example: A man with a long history of alcohol abuse comes home 30 minutes late and only had two beers.  When his wife throws in the towel and says she if leaving him, he tells her she is being petty and selfish and divorcing him over 30 minutes and 2 beers, attempting to focus ONLY on the last event. She of course is looking at the whole series of events and sees the last one merely as proof that he is never going to change. Sidenote: this is a very subtle emotional manipulation, working on getting the injuries party to look like they are the one in the wrong.