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There seems to be a lot of commenters here saying Johnny is playing the long con. Whereas I don’t entirely disagree, I think they are missing the point of the s

There seems to be a lot of commenters here saying Johnny is playing the long con. Whereas I don’t entirely disagree, I think they are missing the point of the story. The point is not just that Johnny’s life improved from below average to average. The other point is that Maria’s life improved from average to above average. At an age where many Americans are retiring and spending their days trying to stay busy, Maria is traveling to Africa and working with aspiring artists. Maria took what could have been a financially crippling event and used it to launch herself into a new endeavor. She’s taking her passion for art and helping others pursue a similar passion in a climate where they may not normally have that luxury. Regardless of whether Johnny is still conning her, Maria’s life is now better because of it. She took a situation that would normally make a person critical and suspect of others and decided to learn from it and become a better person. My take away from this story is that bad things will happen to me. Some will be my fault and some won’t. However, how I react to it will make all the difference. Sometimes it is better to light a candle than to simply curse the darkness.

easytiger 10y ago
> Although they have not met each other again since, she continued to provide him with financial assistance until he completed his degree a few years ago and got a job in the American oil sector.
- tedmiston 10y ago
  That's the point though, he went from scamming people on the phone for money to having a college degree from a U.S. school and having a regular job with a legitimate paycheck, and now he gets to live in the states too.
jrochkind1 10y ago
I don't think Maria _cares_ if Johnny is "playing the long con". That's what I like about it. (Hell, how many 'normal' friendships/romantic relationships are "playing the long con", if you want to put it that way, call me cynical, but people aren't entirely honest with each other and take advantage of each other all the time, with varying levels of self-knowledge. It's being human.). It does sound like her financial assistance to him is part of their relationship, just like that of, say, Donald Trump and Melania, or people who pay professional dominatrixes, or your aunt with the picture and bio of the 'african orphan' he's donating to every month.
dahart 10y ago
Thanks for this. I don't understand the presumptuous armchair commentary concluding its a long con. That seems like the least likely explanation of what actually happened, and seems to miss the entire point of the article. Maria chose to meet and help Johnny and in effect willingly gave him a scholarship. Good for her, I aspire to be more charitable like that, and not be so pessimistic to suggest that someone's conscious willing charity and scholarship and financial aid amount to them being scammed.
hongloumeng 10y ago
I don't think it is quite a long con. Johnny might seem to be exploiting her my Western norms of social relationships. But if he has turned her into a patron of sorts, it is still out in the open, and he might sincerely care for her. After all, it would probably seem less weird if their genders were reversed.
J-dawg 10y ago
I'd really like to understand your worldview better (and I don't mean that in a belligerent way) because I hope I can learn from it. I really cannot muster any level of compassion for this guy. Sure he's poor, but he committed a planned, systematic, manipulative and horrible crime that can destroy the lives of very vulnerable people. Just look at the current top comment in the thread for a personal experience of it. Somebody is systematically emptying that woman's retirement savings. This is not like a hungry person stealing some food or a bit of cash, people have their entire lives / retirements ruined by this stuff. I find it easier to have compassion for a pickpocket in the street than somebody like this. And yes, I believe he really is playing the long con. I'm all for trying to understand people who have wronged us, and forgiving them too. But there is no way I could imagine giving money to somebody who had tried to pull something like that on me. I'm not denigrating your way of looking at things. You are possibly a happier and less angry person than me. I just can't bring myself to agree.

easytiger 10y ago

> Although they have not met each other again since, she continued to provide him with financial assistance until he completed his degree a few years ago and got a job in the American oil sector.

tedmiston 10y ago
That's the point though, he went from scamming people on the phone for money to having a college degree from a U.S. school and having a regular job with a legitimate paycheck, and now he gets to live in the states too.

jrochkind1 10y ago

I don't think Maria _cares_ if Johnny is "playing the long con". That's what I like about it. (Hell, how many 'normal' friendships/romantic relationships are "playing the long con", if you want to put it that way, call me cynical, but people aren't entirely honest with each other and take advantage of each other all the time, with varying levels of self-knowledge. It's being human.). It does sound like her financial assistance to him is part of their relationship, just like that of, say, Donald Trump and Melania, or people who pay professional dominatrixes, or your aunt with the picture and bio of the 'african orphan' he's donating to every month.

dahart 10y ago

Thanks for this. I don't understand the presumptuous armchair commentary concluding its a long con. That seems like the least likely explanation of what actually happened, and seems to miss the entire point of the article. Maria chose to meet and help Johnny and in effect willingly gave him a scholarship. Good for her, I aspire to be more charitable like that, and not be so pessimistic to suggest that someone's conscious willing charity and scholarship and financial aid amount to them being scammed.

hongloumeng 10y ago

I don't think it is quite a long con. Johnny might seem to be exploiting her my Western norms of social relationships. But if he has turned her into a patron of sorts, it is still out in the open, and he might sincerely care for her. After all, it would probably seem less weird if their genders were reversed.

J-dawg 10y ago

I'd really like to understand your worldview better (and I don't mean that in a belligerent way) because I hope I can learn from it. I really cannot muster any level of compassion for this guy. Sure he's poor, but he committed a planned, systematic, manipulative and horrible crime that can destroy the lives of very vulnerable people. Just look at the current top comment in the thread for a personal experience of it. Somebody is systematically emptying that woman's retirement savings. This is not like a hungry person stealing some food or a bit of cash, people have their entire lives / retirements ruined by this stuff. I find it easier to have compassion for a pickpocket in the street than somebody like this. And yes, I believe he really is playing the long con. I'm all for trying to understand people who have wronged us, and forgiving them too. But there is no way I could imagine giving money to somebody who had tried to pull something like that on me. I'm not denigrating your way of looking at things. You are possibly a happier and less angry person than me. I just can't bring myself to agree.