. . . Or, more IMPORTANT, or SMARTER, or WEALTHIER, or . . . The implications are always the same --- something like: " We are more God-Blessed, than you" or, "We are more entitled . . ." or other insults intended to "put you in your place" (and it is not where WE are). Words like snob and elitist describe such rude and disrespectful behavior. For many humans, such is an all too common 'put down' whether due to gender, race, national origin, socio-economic, religious, political, occupational, etc. factors. Has it ever happened to you ?
Here is a kind of litmus test: Do we speak to, acknowledge, converse with persons in service professions such as (but not a full listing) service persons such as restaurant wait-staff, check-out people and baggers at the grocery, house-keeping staff in places such as hotels and schools, sanitation workers. Such people often seem to 'blend into the wood-work'.
In the 1970's, Haverford College President John Coleman took a short sabbatical during which he worked in a succession of 'blue collar' jobs. He wrote Blue Collar Journal telling about his experiences in three jobs. The last one was as a sanitation worker in College Park , Maryland. He wrote of picking up garbage while people were going about life's routines and never "seeing" or acknowledging him and the suburbanite who castigated him for refusing to move her trash can filled with cinderblocks.
Recently after we checked in to a facility for a vacation, my wife was making adjustments to our unit door with a cloth towel. When a couple in the adjoining room were exiting their room, she greeted them with a sincere "Hello" only to be met with a supercilious sneer and no words. Somewhat like what the old timers called 'looking down your nose' at someone . Perhaps they assumed that she was part of the housekeeping staff and thereby unworthy of a courteous reply.
Her reaction was to be amazed, shocked and somewhat incredulous by such blatant rudeness. How would you have responded?
Satchel
I think that Ralph Waite (John Walton) played in a dramatisation of Coleman's blue-collar adventures.
ReplyDeleteMike Wenger
Raleigh, NC
YES.
DeleteI would have reacted the same way she did. She was being polite. Shame on them for their reaction!!
ReplyDeleteGreat editorial essay, Dr. Ron. Part of it is the atomization in our individualistic society. But yes, a large part is our rude penchant for making invisible some of the most essential, socially and functionlly valuable people we (almost) come across. Waiters, trash collectors, Spanish speaking people who may or may not be here legally but who perform so much of the essential but hard and often dangerous tasks we count upon getting done.
ReplyDeleteThat one probably fell into the "Mutterings" category
DeleteRon, what good can come out of Nazarath? I experienced that in my younger days as I was from Bynum. I won't mention the place where the citizens by and large practiced that.
ReplyDeleteI have heard several "for instances . . ."
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