“You'll never work in this town again.” “I will ruin you.” “I will make sure everyone knows about this.” “I will get you fired.” “I will sue you for everything you've got.” “When I'm done with you, you won't have a penny left to your name.” “You'll be living on the streets.” “I'll make sure you starve to death.”
These types of verbal threats are often made in anger. People making these threats don't even think twice about the implications of what they have said. They just know that they are hopping mad and that these threats are the best way for them to let off steam. They have no clue about the impact of their words or the possible resounding consequences.
It is extremely dangerous to threaten people by holding the threat of their basic existence up to them. In the classic book The Hierarchy of Needs, the famed psychologist Abraham Maslow discusses human being's basic need for air, food, and shelter.
When these basic needs are threatened, the consequences can be devastating. Biologically, it triggers basic survival instincts, such as the fight-or-flight mechanism. When this happens, the results are not pretty; they are pretty devastating. Through the ages, people have been killed for making verbal threats against one's basic needs.
To repeat: Never, under any circumstances, make threats to people, especially when it pertains to their livelihood! Tempers can flare to the point that they become out of control, and the results can be deleterious.
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