#1 2022-06-26 08:36:55

And if words fail you, you call on other means of communication.

...There are a lot of slang terms for cocaine, but frequent users rarely call it anything at all. There is no need to specify what you’re talking about.

...I’m not sure what the basis of her complaint is; whether it’s about the book’s title, or the fact I’m reading at all. I don’t take the call, so am deprived of the only part of my job I truly enjoy: saying “I am the manager” when customers demand to speak to the manager.

I am the manager, though this is an entirely theoretical distinction. I don’t earn any more than the kitchen staff. I have no authority. They hate me telling them what to do. At first, I put this down to my being a woman. As time goes on, I start to think that maybe they just hate me. It is an anti-authoritarian town. They are opposed to authority on principle. What have the authorities ever done for them?

...In recent years, there has been a constant flow of stories about the government’s plans to shame this sort of user into sobriety.

...In life it offends our notion of progression, the capitalist credo that hard work yields rewards. Perhaps this is why our customers are so rude. And after a long night biting down the urge to answer back, it feels good to rack up a few lines and speak your mind. I never appreciated this in my old job at the magazine: the privilege of being paid to communicate. People in service roles are paid, in part, to shut up. Holding your tongue, in the face of provocation, is a skill. It’s a shame the market doesn’t value it.

Online

 

#2 2022-06-26 10:04:40

That's a great article!  The kind you used to get in the Rolling Stone about forty years ago.  For those who are not British or familiar with the language difference, when they say "middle class" they mean the rich.  Upper class is reserved for peerage.

Offline

 

Board footer

cruelery.com