Poser

The Urban Dictionary defines poser as:

1. one who pretends to be someone;
2. who tries to fit in but with exaggeration.

Ultimately a poser is one who must pretend to be something they are not. I’d not heard the term until my son poked a little fun at his girl friend’s father, calling him a poser for his sweet ride—a shiny black Jeep, which contrasted his own black Jeep (photo above).

The girl’s father drove a “sick” (his language. Back in the day, we’d have said “cool” or “boss” or “rad”) custom-built Jeep that included, big wheels and mud-terrain tires, steel bumpers front and rear, winch, custom soft top, with shiny, well-waxed, black paint. And he had never been off the road with it.

Seriously.

When my boy bought his Jeep, he outfitted it in a similar manner. And as soon as he could, he unintentionally added a few scratches out on a Georgia trail. And it still has remnants of red Georgia clay stuck in spots that are impossible to reach. They are reminders of those first few years of trail runs in the mud. And if I stick my head down close the the carpet (carpet in a Jeep? Really. Well, yes, ever since Chrysler bought Jeep. . .) I can smell that locker-room smell. He tried to outrun a storm one summer, and lost. He’d removed his top and doors and headed to the hills without checking the weather forecast.

Southerners don’t build their Jeeps for show; they are built to use. Like their trucks, which may shine in the sun, or not, they show the signs of usage when one looks into the bed.

It’s the “transplants,” (northerners that come down here to live) that build the Jeeps and buy the four-wheel drive trucks, for show. Posers. Pretenders.

In some ways, though, we are all posers in one way or another. It’s okay, too. It’s a choice we make. We do it sometimes just to get along. We need to project and maintain an image. It helps us to fit in, especially when we know we really aren’t like others around us.

There’s a song from a long while ago that speaks about a guy breaking down in his car while driving through a town in the rural South. In the song he tucks his pony tail under his hat and walks into a nearby bar—a bar filled with locals. Obviously he’s aware that his “long-haired hippie look” might be an issue, to put it mildly. He needs to fit in for a purpose, to conceal himself for his survival, if only from ridicule. So we pretend so we survive. Some try to survive more than ridicule, too. Like a young Jewish boy hiding with a German family during the WWII. Aware he might have to prove his Aryanism, he attempted to undo his circumcision. Survival.

We pretend to fit in, which may seem foolish to some. But it doesn’t hurt anyone. We pretend to survival, too. So that we aren’t hurt or murdered.

There are other posers. Pretenders that do so for other motives. There are the obvious ones that we hear about, or perhaps have encountered. The “con” men and women who attempt to use their charismatic personalities to rob their “marks,” their victims. These posers cross the line to the “dark side,” so to speak.

Hopefully, we’ve all figured out by now that an email we receive telling use that we can make a lot of money is bogus. We’re going to lose if we allow a guy with a real sob story to use our bank account. He isn’t doing us a favor while he, for a little while, uses our account to move a lot of money. He’s going to rob us. We should see that one coming. We aren’t naive. We are not blind. That’s what the delete key is for.

There are other posers, too. Ones that are much more harmful to us than a con man or woman. There are those that would take our soul with them straight to Hell.

“One of the major events to occur just before the return of Christ as Conquering King is the appearance of an individual called the Antichrist. Most people who have studied the personality and deeds of this individual have totally misunderstood the essential factors associated with this person.

“Many view the Antichrist, the image, the mark of the Beast, and the Beast’s alliance of nations as things that will be easily recognized as evil and sinister. The reality is that the Antichrist and his religious system of government will look like the greatest and most wonderful religious, political, and economic system the world has ever seen. The leader of this alliance of nations will appear as a dynamic and charismatic individual who will lead his alliance of nations and the world into a time of unparalleled peace and prosperity.” —B. L. Cocherell and Charles E. Barrett, Bible Research.

And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world? And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. (Matthew 24:3-5)

Be Safe. Be Aware. Don’t fall for the lie.

Lord Bless, Keep, Shine. . .

Written in response to Daily Prompt: Pretend