Friday, September 17, 2010

Good english

  Hello fellow bloggers,

  Recently I have been looking for awkwardness in my every day life to write about.  I found that when I am looking for it, it does not happen for me at all.  So, I actively have been trying to produce it.  Staring someone dead in the face while walking by and say nothing.  Or doing a cartwheel before passing by someone.  Stuff like that but it doesn't really create any awkward situations sadly.  So I stopped trying.  After the day I stopped trying I was in the lunch line waiting for my horrible school ribs.  Two asian girls were in front of me speaking what to me sounded like korean. (I watch a lot of korean pro starcraft if you were wondering how I could tell) So it was their turn to get food, and the first one passes by and her english was pretty rough.  The two lunch ladies could not figure out what she wanted so she ended up pointing.  The next asian girl that was up said what she wanted and it was still pretty rough, but not as bad.  When she got her ribs the lunch lady said "Good English."  Now, she did not say this with hurtful intentions, she meant it as a legitimate compliment.  Granted, she probably hurt the other ones feelings for not being able to communicate what she wanted to them, AND the better speaker might have been offended because saying good english implies (at least to me) that her english was noticably bad, and since she did better than the other deserved a compliment.  Again, taken back by the ridiculousness of the situation I started laughing hysterically.  I got my shitty ribs though, there were fantastic even though my meat to bone ration was probably 20%.  But do you guys find that to be racist or demeaning eve n though it was said with good intentions?  Or is it my natural affinity to the hyper-sensitive-post-slavery feel in america these days?  I don't know, but I feel it was. 

9 comments:

  1. It probably wasn't intentional, and I wouldn't call it 'racism' so much as it was a small misunderstanding between two people of different cultures. I'd cut the lunch lady some slack, she probably realized the possible impact of what she said, right after she said it. At least, I know that I would.

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  2. Everything is racism these days. I didn't see the problem with her saying "Good English". If English is not their mother tongue saying that their English is good should be a compliment.

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  3. it's the effort that counts for those.
    so how's your english?? :D

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    hit me up

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  5. nice post, u made good points

    add me back i added u, i read ur stuf

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