18 August 2006

If I was a hobo. / Etiquette

I had to go to the airport today, and I'll say, hobos are getting to be real slackers. If I was a hobo, I'd totally live at the airport, under one of the many overpasses. I have lots of trouble sleeping in extremely quiet environments. In fact, I'd fall asleep really quickly at an airport. Something about jets taking off and landing is very comforting. Also, the council can hitch rides without having to resort to using their C-class jets. Win-win.

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Originally, I was going to make some diagrams illustrating rules of etiquette I try to follow when shadowing, but that's troublesome, so I made ONE diagram, and that should be enough.
1. Doctor + Me.

This is easy. A flanking position (assuming Doctor at E) would be G or I. These two positions provide 1) humbleness (behind) and 2) communication (following at H would make it difficult to communicate).

A, B, C don't make sense, since I'm always following. F, D are reserved for other doctors, people of similar standing.

2. Doctor + Doctor + Me

This second scenario is tricky. If both Doctors are at [D,F] or [A,C], then problem solved; the ideal position would be H and E, respectively. Yet often, this is not the case. Doctors often follow a humble code themselves, and one finds an arrangement with a Doctor at A and F. Here, rules go out the window; there are no correct answers (although there are wrong ones). D is sometimes acceptable, but B,C are forbidden. Sometimes, the Doctors are at [A,E]. This is even wierder.

I suppose the main point is stated in 1). A flanking position is always ideal. Honorific and humble systems make lots of sense. Ideally, the subordinate behaves humbly to an upper, and the upper sports a paternalistic attitude towards the lower, offering advice not only on work issues, but also life, hobbies, free time, etc. The lower is encouraged to reveal details, and this works to his benefit, as leniency can be granted during difficult times. Over time, the subordinate would be come an upper, only to teach another.

This system would have a hard time being implemented here, as most people would have a hard time differentiating between a "lower" (who should be thought of as a student) and a "personal slave", since most white people are idiots*. The power would be abused and dissent would rise. Also, there's always this strive for equality, which isn't bad, just that when you know two things aren't equal, there's no point in forcing it.

The strive for equality also leads to girls cursing like truckers. Is it so necessary? I know girls that cuss 20x more than me, and complaining always brings up the gender issue. I can't quite put a finger on why girls shouldn't cuss so much, so I'll keep mum for now. I can't tell why anyone should cuss at all, actually. "releasing emotion" through words seems barbaric, especially since the problem still exists.

[Problem + Emotion] - Cussing = [Problem]

Just fix the problem. Like how I'm going to watch some dramas, and fix my problem.

*: See US Presidential Elections 2000 and 2004.

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