I've gotten flack for talking back to those above me for as long as I can remember. I don't do it just for the hell of it either--it's usually in self-defense and only happens after I've been exhaustively provoked. There were many times where I froze up, but I was delivering "zingers" as early as my mother can remember me talking, lol. I remember doing this to my IEI boss and getting a response in like, which on one hand, yeah, ouch, but on the other I felt pretty impressed at how similar we were in that area. My boyfriend is also IEI and I think we both sort of relish the other's "zest" when we're not stepping on each other's toes by accident (and even then, it's sort of a rush!).

I was thinking about this because I just had a minor altercation with an EII who uses the "condemn and escape" method. I ended our interaction in a concise, somewhat pretentious but (I believe) effective PM through a site we both frequent and within minutes after having sent, she turned off the music blaring from her speakers, unlocked her door, closed her laptop and starting doing chores--something she ONLY does when she's feeling really gross or conflicted about something. Usually her EIE friends have this effect on her--I consider it a victory. Through observing (and more than once being on the receiving end of) LIEs and EIEs owning their adversaries this way, I've become quite decent at the written bitch-slap. Could this be type-related though? IEIs, how good are you at coming up with an insightful argument on the spot or in a relatively short time at least, verbally or in writing?