Let's shake hands..It couldn't stay away - I experience a blogger's block, which means I can only talk about trivial things such as Spring, the wheather, how I spent the day, how etc. No in-depth analyses, I'm just a bit tired I think. On the other hand, I enjoy my new camera very much and experience how photography works. I have decided not to install photoshop, but mostly I have to use Windows Picture Manager, fur simple adjustments. As we say in Holland: "puur natuur" (no translation needed I think). Many Photos are like pieces of art, gradually elaborated in the computer, only started by the shot itself. Beautiful results, but for the time being let me experiment with my simple 150 Euro camera.
Today I wrestled with my electronic tax report 2006, to be submitted before 1 April. Earlier this year we got the message that we should use a code number which we should receive by regular mail, after a request by electronic form. So I had requested one, and received my code. I had everything ready to fill in my tax data to submit to the tax bureau, and then the program said it was too late: my code number was expired. I read the letter again and yes, it said that I had to confirm and activate my code number within 20 days, if not please request a new one, and within 5 days I would receive another code number, of course immediately to be activated. On top of that, I should also remember (register!) a user name and a password.
I was outrageous, I would trespass the deadline of 1 April, but I decided to be (too) late. They would never be able to handle all 9 million tax forms in one day so they wouldn't notice my lateness. I got quiet again.
Yesterday evening I watched a typical Dutch problem in a talkshow on TV: in Utrecht lives an Moroccan imam. Half a year ago, he refused to shake hands with a female Minister (member of government, not a vicar) which caused a lot of rumor in the media. Other sins were: he ordered an audience to separate men and women (women of course behind the men) during his speech, and he encouraged people not to pay their taxes, in order to bring damage to the Dutch state. In the TV studio he ordered the two or three glasses of wine to be removed from the table, otherwise he wouldn't participate in the program. A new fact was brought to light: he had brought his son with him because he could hardly speak a few words of Dutch (although he lives a couple of years in the Netherlands and has Dutch nationality next to his Moroccan), and this son was engaged to a muslim lady who had been in conflict with her employer, a high school, because she refused to shake hands with men. Now she has been dismissed. I know that shaking hands in the U.S. is not a big deal, but here we always shake hands at a first meeting with someone, at the start of a meeting, an appointment etc. Refusing a hand is a serious insult, it is a symbol of serious controversy or contempt. Anyway, for me it's not a big deal if an unimportant imam or school teacher shows these misbehaviours, but it gets so much attention! Press, TV, the government, etc. everybody feels urged to give an opinion. I hope these people now think that it's easy to draw attention: simply don't shake hands, make a fuzz about it and lots of attention will be the reward. I think we should ignore it, and only get alert when there are signs of real threats and conspiracies. Let them keep their hands with them and keep the wine out of sight, if they want to, what's the big deal? I think a smile and a nod can have lots of erotic connotation more than a handshake, because that's the reason: keeping clean of erotic arousals.
2 comments:
Well that’s new; I have shaken the hands of many many people male and female of allsorts of nationalities, race and religion but never been aroused! Isn’t that ridiculous! We all have different ways of greeting each other and we I hope respect each other’s customs and honour each others’ view where this hurts no one. Where a custom is designed to oppress or hurt a fellow human being, then it may become an issue to be discussed, views understood and then resolved mutually.
What you describe may be designed to stir up more hatred between peoples.
The Way Things Were!
As a child we live for a time in Africa. It was “part of the course” for us to employ a night watchman. I was very fond of him. Every night as he arrived he would say his prayers on his prayer mat on the veranda outside our window. In those days it was necessary to have “a local” nearby for protection from the animal kingdom, (principally snakes, and spiders) and “Watchnight” was almost a friend. He was of Arab descent rather than Black African and his English was quite good. I remember helping him with his writing. He almost certainly had a day job (as he slept most of the time at night!) but as I say it was part of the course, he was paid and this helped with his cash flow. We felt more secure believing we would wake up with a teddy bear not a green Mamba beside us!
We respected his religion and enjoyed his company. We trusted each other. We were different but that was accepted as the norm.
I was made a member of the BOAC Junior Jet Club. We had a very smart little log book which looked like a passport which the Captain of the aeroplane filled in each time we flew somewhere. I was always invited to visit the flight deck too.
Needless to say I grew a passion for aeroplanes.
The first time my younger daughter flew on her own I told her to ask the stewardess if she would be allowed to visit the flight deck, of course this was before the 11th of September. She had a ball and asked the same question on the way back.
I once flew home from Africa in a Pan Am Boeing 707, there were only four passengers, three of my friends and me (aged 20). The Stewardess (pl) invited us to stay on board and fly home to Pennsylvania with them, sounded wonderful. The Pilot flew properly, he threw it around the sky as if it was a fighter plane. It was a lot of fun and he was showing off. When we arrived at Heathrow there were no proper steps to get off so we had one of those railing jobs to climb down, the pilot thought that very funny.
Robert I think you are right. Some people have a need to, and are experts in blowing up small incidents because they know it will arouse anger in other people; it seems to enhance their self-esteem. But anyway. You mention an interesting story and I think tha's the way it normally goes. But as soon as political leaders and ideologies get hold on these relationships, then it seems as if the devil is interfering (cf. Yugoslavia, Lebanon)and fear replaces trust.
The story about the stunt flight is unbelievable, but marks well the difference with the old days: so you got an invitation for a retour flicht all the way from Pennsylvania to London, or the other way? I didn't understand the where's and to's. But apart from that, we now realise how careful and suspicious we have become nowadays, we lost our innocence so to speak.
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