It seems to me that we need a new alternative for complaining.
Currently, there are only a few options when things start
to go wrong:
• You can complain to your friends.
• You can telephone the "customer service" people.
• You can post a comment somewhere on the world wide web.
• You can talk to a tree.
Of these, the tree is probably the most sympathetic.
It is true that sometimes your friends will listen to you, no doubt hoping that you'll return the favor in the future. But if you are so lucky as to have a friend who is actually interested in your complaint and concerned enough to want to help you -- well, you should be very careful about using such a friend for complaining about any but the most severe troubles.
On the other hand, if you call the telephone number presented on the web page of the offending corporate entity (or "person" in the Newspeak of the U.S. Supreme Court) you will have the opportunity of expressing your frustration to an individual who has been trained to ignore all your distress. Occasionally, when the underlying problem is specific enough, such a person (in the Oldspeak sense) will even be able to bypass the trouble for you.
Some people seem to find satisfaction is posting their complaints in various web forums. Perhaps just writing the matter down is sufficient for cathartic release, but I suspect that many who post such commentaries do so under the illusion that someone, somewhere, at some time will read their complaint with some interest beyond merely laughing at the unknown complainer. The chances of making such a connection with another human being over the web is, however, rather remote.
Now a tree is is physically present in front of you; in this way it is entirely the equal of any friend you might have. Like a friend, too, is the tree's gentle murmuring response to your running commentary. (Use a conifer during wintertime.) Unlike a human friend, however, the tree will never be exhausted by your complaining. Never! You cannot wear it down with talk. Indeed, if it is a mature tree, you may even beat your hands against it over and over without driving the tree away. Do not try that with a friend!
In actual reality, then, unless your troubles are so serious that you truly and honestly need to put a friend on the spot, your best course of action is to put on your jacket, step into the backyard or down to the neighborhood park, and address your complaints to the most sympathetic looking tree you can see there.