Opportunism—The conscious policy and practice of taking selfish advantage of circumstances – with little regard for principles, or with what the consequences are for others.
Opportunist—A seeker of opportunity. A person who maximizes his/her benefit in every action he/she takes.
How to spot an opportunist: Maybe you know one, (or a few) of those people who want to go hunting with you because you’ve got a great spot. You arrange it because you’re a trusting person. Afterwards, they promise to take you to their great site, but that never seems to materialize. The next time you go to your spot, there are telltale signs someone has been digging the heck out of the place, and there is only one other person who knows about it…
Or maybe you spent weeks coaching and teaching them every technique and trick you know, thinking you were helping them become successful, but in reality, they are not interested in learning how to interpret signals and become a good detectorist, they are just interested in memorizing numbers on a machine, and once they think they have it down pat, you are of no use to them anymore.
These are the same people who, when you show them your recent finds, barely comment, yet are interested to know with whom you went detecting. You casually tell them you went with Joe, John, Billy or Jake, thinking nothing of it, all the while they are making mental notes to get to know that person, and/or find out where that site was.
Yup, they want to meet all your detecting buddies, the more influential, the better, and being good-natured, you are more than happy to introduce them. A week later when you call them, they entertain you with stories of their hunts with your buddies. You rationalize and try to be adult about it, but intuition takes over, and you’re like WTF?
These folks have no concept of boundaries, and have a knack for acting uber friendly and playing dumb. When confronted they will say something like “I didn’t think you would care”, and the truth is, you probably would not have cared, and gladly shared your friends, sites and knowledge, had they not been so sneaky about it.
They say imitation is the greatest form of flattery, and that may be true, but if someone is trying to emulate your equipment, gear, buddies, lifestyle, etc… It may be time to reevaluate.—is it flattery, or is it someone trying to gain an advantage from a situation—like maybe the huge discounts you arranged on their behalf for their new pinpointer, digger or machine?
While the opportunist continues charming the heck out of everyone, you can sit in the corner and stew, for if you dare call them out, the remainder of those under his or her spell will assume you’re a bit off, or jealous, or something along those lines.
Fortunately, over time, those people usually burn out, or are eventually found out, hey–it took you a while to figure them out also. So in the meantime, surround yourself with people without hidden agendas, and who want to be successful, and want to help others be successful. ~Happy Hunting!
Have had a few friends like that over the years as well. They usually call you out of the blue after many days or months, asking how you re doing, but you can pretty much count on the fact that they are calling you because they want something…
I’ve always remembered the following saying…
“The only difference between your friends and your enemies is you know who your enemies are.”
So true Dick. So true.
Great blog Allyson! Exactly why I never tell people how I find my sites. Countless people always ask me but I will never give out that info.
Thanks Todd. If you gave up the info on where you guys found those GW’s, next time you went to hunt it, it would look like a mine field exploded. Guess we learn the hard way sometimes.
Believe me, he really does have ‘few’ friends. I took him to all my top roman sites in Gloucestershire…got him loads of goodies…and guess what….when it came pub time, he’d left his wallet at home in the US. You know, I’ve seen Halle’s Comet more times than his wallet. I once saw a pack of his cigarettes that had, “Good luck from Woodrow Wilson to the Doughboys in the trenches,” printed on the side.
Howland, stop trying to paint me as cheap…..Fay and I are still looking for household items missing after your last visit.
And you to learn where to send your comments. The word is “reply”….
Just ignore him Diva! However, I will say that when I stayed with him and Fay they had the fluffiest, freshest bathroom towels I’ve ever experienced. You know they where so fluffy I could hardly press them down to fit into my suitcase.
Must be that good old American fabric softener their using. Might I suggest on your next visit you bring an extra suitcase?
I have heard these rumors about him having razor blades in his pockets, and seen a few blog posts regarding his lack of wallet-on-him-ness. Dick–I think you need to defend yourself on this one, as I have no personal knowledge of your true razor blade in pocket status.
Great post Allison. You almost sound like you have first hand experience with this problem.LOL I call them bottom feeders, always looking for scraps and freebee’s. These hunters are the one’s that will kill the sharing information aspect of this hobby! I don’t recomend sharing hunt spots unless it is a diehard hunting partner that you know will call you when he/she finds another great.spot.
HH
Great point Ron. I have a couple die hard partners that share new spots with one another but other than that, keep your lips zipped.
Thanks Ron–yes, I can say I have first hand experience–sounds like you might too. Some people just always have to go and ruin it for others. I’m with you on the sharing of spots, better to keep them to yourself or only share with a trusted friend.
Allyson,
Since I’ve got a few years on you….well ok maybe decades…lol…
In life I tend to put most people in 2 categories…..givers and takers….generally I prefer sharing my time and sites with the givers in life and the takers can find their own sites or other people to mouch off of.
Regards + HH
Bill
I don’t know how old you are Bill, but I’m probably a lot older than you think.
I totally agree with you. Let the takers mooch off someone else.
One of Karl von Mueller’s favorite sayings….”I’m developing an attachment for you-and it fits right over your mouth”.