Who's The Beatdown?

A while back there was a Magic strategy article written called Who's The Beatdown. Don't worry, this isn't an entirely Magic post, but it does relate to that topic. The article describes a concept that is today concidered almost basic, but at the time it was written it was revolutionary. In every game of Magic, one player is always in a control role and one player in "the beatdown". The winnner is going to be the player who correctly identifies his role and performs it best. While some decks are only fit to play one role, which is kind of limiting, but the best decks are the ones that can adapt to either role well.

So, I promised that this wouldn't be about Magic. What the hell am I talking about. I've found that I've spent a lot of time engaged in conversations comforting friends. For the purposes of my analogy, the person with some problem is the Beadown, and the person doing the consoling is the Control. Usually I find myself in a control role, trying my best to take people feel better. I guess I do well, but I can't help feeling guilty about how I do about it. I mostly go with the Socratic Method, asking them questions until I've gotten to the root of the problem, then when I can't dig any more, I start with a lengthy repitition of stuff like "It's okay," and telling them al how much I care about them (which I do, I'm not ever lying to them). I did that today while glancing back and forth at the end of Sports Night. I feel kinda guilty. I mean, I'm trying to help too... I dunno, should I feel guilty about multitasking?

And then, for all those friends worried about burdoning me too many problems, don't bother. I've been the Beatdown my own fair share of times, too. So I'm fine, thank you. ^_^ And to all my Control players out there, well... Thank you.