No time for niceties
Good morning, good morning.
Good morning, good morning.
Good morning.
Nothing to do to save his life call his wife in
Nothing to say but what a day how's your boy been
Nothing to do it's up to you
I've got nothing to say but it's O.K.
Lennon/MCartney 1967
Not far from where I work there's a small diner where I stop for take-out coffee. It's a run-down ramshackle place that looks like a converted railway carriage. The outside walls are covered with badly weathered cedar shingles, and the inside ones are decorated with Mets posters and paper money from all over the world. Latin music blares from the television which is never turned off and the patrons, like the bills decorating the walls, come from a multitude of countries.
With the blaring music, the Caribbean food, and the laid-back look of the place, you'd expect a certain grace and ease in your dealings with the proprietors and fellow patrons. But this is New York and not an island in the sun.
So rushed are the customers that the easy ways of the proprietors have long since disappeared. No one has time to talk about the weather or to chat about the Mets latest loss. It's all coffee-to-go and no time for niceties. So much so, that in line with the latest Soup-Nazi inspired practice of imposing rules on one's customers, the owners have established a new regime in order to speed up service and to dispense with the last bastion of social chit-chat.
We are now required to say "good morning" five times in quick succession, every Monday. This gets it all out of the way, leaving Tuesdays through Wednesdays free of the need even to acknowledge anyone else's existence. It is no surprise that the customers have adapted to this new rule with enthusiasm. Come Monday morning and the counter area is crowded with customers saying - "Good morning, Good morning, Good morning, Good morning, Good morning". Nothing like getting social chores out of the way.
Of course I am happy to do it too. Seems like a good idea to me. No point and no time for social niceties in this town!
Tea and Sympathy
What with innocent black men being shot by police in this city, and the concerns over "racial profiling", you'd think the young in this city would be out there demonstrating for the rights of New Yorkers for a fair go for all. But the times they are a'changing and if you expect 70's style outrage from today's young, FUHGEDABOUDIT!
A week or so ago a number of youngsters from the suburbs were arrested for smoking pot at Battery Park in Lower Manhattan. Several hundred people had stopped there after a marijuana legalization rally - the Millennium Marijuana March.
The police rounded up almost 300 people. The vast majority were charged with smoking marijuana in public, a misdemeanor. A number of them were put in vans and locked up in cells overnight. It seems a bit over the top to me, but what I found interesting about the story (reported in the New York Times May 9) was that these mostly white, middle class kids were complaining about the food and beverages provided.
Although they were provided with water, food and telephones in their holding cells, the quality just wasn't what they were used to at home. One kid just couldn't eat his dinner. Another said there wasn't adequate catering for vegetarians. Two arrested protesters complained of being given tea without sugar.
David Kapner, the arraignment supervisor for the Legal Aid Society is quoted in the Times as saying, "When middle-class people come and see what happens to poor people when they are arrested, their reaction is always the same: 'Oh my God, look at how terrible it is here. But if it wasn't for their loved one, or their child, or their brother being caught smoking marijuana or driving drunk or jumping a turnstile, they would still be indifferent to it."
Now that these young people have been exposed to the realities of life in NYC, let us hope that we see some of them out there calling for justice in cases such as that of Patrick M. Dorismond, the unarmed son of Haitian immigrants who was shot to death in a confrontation with the police on March 16 this year.
I'm not holding my breath...
Culture to Go
I saw some generation-whatever people on Good Morning New York the other day. They all looked around 14 years old and were heading up different Manhattan companies. In their sound-bite interviews they were explaining how people of their generation are used to instant gratification. They want everything and they want it NOW.
This is apparently a "good thing". These people, it was explained, cannot stay in one job for any length of time. They need change. That's why they like the gym, one of them elaborated - There's lots of different equipment and you can move around a lot and do different things. And even within a job, that they might only keep for a few weeks, they need variety.
The interviewer, an elderly woman in her early twenties summed up. These people were "the future". They invented the internet (news to me). They were the promise of the new century.
The marketing companies are all set to make a fortune from these kids who have money to spare and believe in a throw-way society. Even academics are catering for these leaders of the new society, by publishing guides to the older disciplines such as philosophy, which explain in simple sentences in a time-to-read time of 90 minutes or less, such topics as the philosophies of Plato and Descartes. I can't concentrate, therefore I am.
With no solid educational background, these people are free to invent and think laterally to an extent that history becomes a complete jumble of replays, sequels and prequels. Using themes borrowed from past cultures where discipline and concentration were misguidedly valued, even food packaging now reflects the creativity of their restless spirits.
What do an Elizabethan ruff, Paul Newman and Balsamic vinegar have in common? As the shop assistants say in Bloomingdales, "Don't ask me, I only work here".
New York
May 15th 2000
Your Questions and Comments
Ivelise, a New Yorker from Brazil emailed:
I have been reading your letters for a while and I have to tell you that it's great to have a "alien"" point of view about living in the "capital of world". Most of times, I completely agree with you.
However, I have noticed that you has never discussed a topic that I think i is very relevant in American culture. What do you think about prejudice in USA ? I understand that, once you are a woman of English descend, maybe you had not experienced this kind of prejudice, but have you ever witnessed some kind of prejudice against immigrants in general, and more specifically against the called Hispanic people ? ( I think I am a Hispanic woman, once I live in a South America country ( Brasil ), but I speak Portuguese ( not Spanish ) and have so little in common with our "Spanish" neighbors ).
I have not ever lived in NYC, but I have already traveled to the city many times. As you can imagine my accent is very strong, and unlike yours, it is not considered sophisticate at all. The good thing about NYC is that there are so many foreigners living in the city that you don't feel like the any one like in others American cities. But, I have to tell you, the city is not what TV and movies advertise, I don't think it's a melting point, it's more like a great group of different cultures living side by side, but not really together. And, like you once noticed, I am no sure if the "lack of prejudice" against foreigners is because new Yorkers are more advanced in social aspects than their American brothers or just because they don't care about others at all.
Anyway, I really love NYC and I think it's my kind of a city. I am used to the fast paced environment because it's so much alike my city ( São Paulo ), and I prefer people who are not "too polite" ( like people from LA who are so cynical about being nice .. ). Although I can imagine it's difficult to live away from your home country, your family and friends, I think you can be considered a very luck person. Good for you !!!
So, if you could write something about prejudice against Hispanics and others, I think it would be great. Your letters are a real inspiration for a lot of people.
Adriana emailed:
Dear "Living in New York"
First an introduction is in order, I am Adriana Castillo and I work for
Prudential Intercultural.
The reason for contacting you is that I am coordinating a Business Training
program for
a group of reporters, journalist and photographers who will be going to
Australia to cover the
Olympics. I am in need of people who are native Australians, who can talk about
business
protocol as well as cultural values. These potential consultants would be
compensated for their
participation, and I would be happy to provide interested parties with more
information.
I would appreciate it if you can direct me to contacts in the Washington DC area
(preferably) or if you
can share this information on your web page Thanks in advance
your assistance.
Regards,
Adriana Castillo
International Program Manager
Prudential Intercultural
475 Park Avenue South, 22 Fl
New York, NY 10016
212 252- 7701
adriana.castillo@prudential.com
I seem to be getting this question weekly lately. Try Eight Mile Creek .
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