Chris & Plath: LMAO... confrontation was great! :-) To top it off, my family, especially my mother's brothers & sisters, knew "everything" and they loved to argue all the time, so I also learned the confrontational behavior from them.
I can't think of the phrase right now, but the comment about using "sugar" with people is so true. I'm amazed at how much further I get when I'm kind rather than confrontational (& my blood pressure is a lot lower). :-)