“Now I am working as a server at that new fine dining restaurant in the country. I can tell it is a strange little town. Everyone working in the kitchen is Black and they never speak first. If they have something they want to say to you or ask you, they stand near you until you acknowledge them. Only then will they speak. It is like being in a time warp. I did not know these customs had been preserved.”
I imagined the scene, agreed in my mind’s eye that it was antiquated. This is one of those towns without a police force of its own, but with an all-powerful sheriff. Later I realized that I and many others at the university behave the same way with secretaries and administrators. We have been trained to it. Not to behave in this manner is “insubordination” – yes, I have had that word used to my face. It is not for nothing that we are said to work on a plantation.
That is why I have this blog. It is why my voice on the blog is not the same as my voice at work. Georges Marchais used to claim that the blog voice was ‘fraudulent’ because I do not speak on campus as I do here. ‘Fraudulent’ is an odd term, but the difference in the voices is real.
Axé.
coldhearted scientist وداد 
you should get into playing practical jokes on these secretary types.
Ah no – that would be to engage!
Hey,
Excellent observation or a very skilled social critique through eavesdropping. I can’t decide which one.
I have tried to explain to people why I have a problem working and living in the South. That is a perfect example.
Oh, I did not end up using your contact for my research paper on interlanguage. I had to have a far more linguistic set of sources concerning the formation of creoles, rather than Creole as a manifestation of cultural intermixing in the Francophone world.
But thanks. I will send you copies of my paper and presentation. It may be useful to you.
All the best,
Unbeached
Good to hear from you, Unbeached! It will be fun and instructive to read your paper!