The Mantis

THE MANTIS
    Once a mantis excelled at conducting grief-and-victim interviews.
    Both quick and aggressive by nature, the mantis benefited from a highly developed instinct for detecting any vulnerability in those it interviewed and for turning that weakness into a “narrative” it could then pass on to media audiences without a moment’s further thought or hesitation. Once targeted by the mantis, any recipient of its attention might expect the inevitable. 
    “I understand how painful and tragic this must be for you,” the mantis would typically begin in emotive tones, clasping its hands before it with a mesmerizing gaze, “but could you tell our audience, up close and personal, just how painful and tragic life is for you right now?”
    “I really don’t feel like talking about it.” 
    “Of course you don’t. I understand and fully respect that, and I certainly wouldn’t want to increase your suffering in the slightest way, so just between you and me, then, how would you describe that suffering in detail? Take your time if need be.”
    “What good would describing it do?”
    “It might not seem like a lot at the moment, I agree, but in the long run, it could help our audience draw an inspirational lesson from your heartrending ordeal and feel that warm sense of uplift that has become so essential to the public these days.”
    “What does my own ordeal have to do with anyone else?”
    “Certainly not as much as it has to do with you and your private agonies, of course, but helping us see what a wrenching experience like the one you’ve been through has meant personally will surely help everybody at some point.”
    “How would it do that?”
    “By providing an unforgettable illustration of something very, very important. Wouldn’t it help you put your own grief in perspective and feel better personally to know that others found in your devastating pain the strength to feel less devastated by whatever pain they themselves might have?”    
    “When?” 
    “Anytime. Wouldn’t that be worth something?”
    “What?”
    “Well, worth your having had to suffer through everything in silence up till now. Hasn’t that been worse than anything else? Not sharing your misfortune with wider audiences? Well, here’s the chance to take a moment and tell your heartrending ordeal, as I say, to millions of complete strangers listening and watching.”
    “Who?”
    “The largest audience in the history of grief-and-victim broadcasting, we estimate.”
    “Where?”
    “Everywhere we’re being seen or heard at this very moment. Living rooms, neighborhood bars, big-box stores, treadmill rooms at fitness clubs, airport waiting lounges, the biggest digital screen in Times Square, all across social, you name it. After this interview, you and your heartrending ordeal are sure to become household words, true beacons of inspiration and hope. All you have to do is tell the world out there about the unimaginably terrible thing you’re going through and how much it’s tested your faith but then ultimately made you stronger and how much you now realize the importance of the little things we all take for granted in life and how much you’ve grown because of your heartbreaking tragedy but you couldn’t make it without the support of loved ones and how going public like this with one’s private agony is such a big, big part of taking today’s healing process to a whole new level for everybody and—” 
    “Why?”