Separating players from gammas

Is it real? Women wrestle with this question all the time. But the answer struck me as I was driving down the road, listening to the greatest rock band of all space and time. The key was to be found in the lyrics of "Round and Separated", which are of course nothing more than the lyrics of "Separate Ways" by Journey.

Someday love will find you
Break those chains that bind you
One night will remind you
How we touched
And went our separate ways
If he ever hurts you
True love won't desert you
You know I still love you
Though we touched
And went our separate ways

Now, this superficially sounds like a love song. It is nothing of the sort, although "love" is referenced or declared no less than 13 times. The singer declares true love, laments how much he will miss the girl, and even strikes an pseudo-protective pose against the possibility that a future lover might wish to hurt her feelings. But - and this is the point - he is moving on nevertheless.

Beneath all the deceit, a fair warning lurks. True love won't desert you... but I am deserting you. This is classic player doubletalk. As Yohami so memorably put it:

I really want you, I want to see the rainbows and our children, lets take this dream home. Love love love.

Now, players aren't the only men who freely talk about love from the very start. Gammas do so as well. Gammas are just as inclined as players to bring up rainbows and children, they will likewise ramble on about "the dream" in the mistaken assumption that it is their willingness to embrace it that women will find attractive. The difference, of course, is that whereas the woman buys into vision that the player paints, she is alarmed by the gamma's.

Hence the easy distinction. If a man is expressing his love inappropriately soon, such as within one month of a first date, he is either a high-ranking player or a low-ranking gamma. If this speedy declaration of love is exciting and pleasing to the woman, he is a player. If it is distressing and troubling to her, he is a gamma. And in neither case should any such declaration be taken seriously.