Day 47 – Savoir Faire

Sunday March 7, 2021

“The ability to act or speak gracefully in social situations.”

Is how the dictionary defines the term.

It’s from the French. The first word is “To know,” the second “to make.”

But that second verb is odd, in that I don’t think we in English really catch the meaning of the French because it shows up in odd idiomatic expressions. The French do not say, “It is hot” or “It is cold.” They say, “Il fait chaud,” or “Il fait froid.” “It makes hot” or “it makes cold” is how it would literally be translated. My favorite is the expression “Les jeux sont fait.” “The games are made” but translated as “The bets are placed.” It is what a croupiere would say in Monte Carlo before placing the steel ball in the roulette wheel.

Savoir Faire – we are missing that so much in today’s society. If we can call it society. I’m not talking because of the pandemic and social distancing. I am talking about how we interact with each other day to day. Civility, kindness, and understanding seem to have disappeared and has been replaced by the crude, the banal, and the unenlightened.

My parents used to use the term “doesn’t know any better,” as in he or she doesn’t know any better, and therefore should not be judged so harshly by those who do. It can be argued that is an aloof position, condescending even, but wouldn’t we be better off with a little more kindness and understanding?

But what of those who know better and do whatever transgression anyway? 

What of the politician who says things they have to know are false but thinks they have to say it because that’s what people want to hear? What of the politician who doesn’t know any better? Or the person on line? Or the next door neighbor? Or a relative? 

This was brought sadly to my attention once again by a Netflix special Michelle Buteau’s “Welcome to Buteaupia.” We had seen her in the movie “Always Be My Maybe.” I remember we thought she was funny. This show? Well, there were moments where it was close, but overall no. Part of a comedic stand up routine can be to talk about things that are familiar to the audience that most people don’t talk about in public. If this is humor Michelle was spot on. For me it was “unfortunate.” There were three things old Michelle wanted you to know about herself. She’s black, big (breasted at least), and from New Jersey. 

She played to the motifs of each. She’s light skinned enough to be considered otherwise. Not sure what, but like Meghan Markle. She talks about her ankles passing for white. Her breasts being so large she hasn’t seen her feet since seven, etc. But then she talked about sexual things. Oral sex and what you have to be comfortable doing with your spouse. It wasn’t uncomfortable as it was lacking in sophistication. So Jersey you might say. This was like a comedic version of Jersey Shore. The little bit of Jersey Shore I watched made me realize  that some people chose to live like that, which is their choice and that’s fine but I really don’t want any part of it.

It’s that they miss the point. The point of what life is all about. It’s not really supposed to be a soap opera drama. I guess that’s the same problem I have with “The Real Housewives” series. Kind of like the Hollywood sign. Looks great from a distance. Then you get up close and see the paint is faded and peeling.

Ah me. 

Moving on. The vote on the Covid Relief Bill split along party lines in the Senate. One of the Republican senators went home for a family emergency and wasn’t there to vote (Sullivan AK). The final vote was 50-49. Therefore Kamala didn’t have to break the tie.

Ron Johnson made sure to yell out “NO!” Okay, fine, but what ideas have any of these Republican senators advanced to save our country? I haven’t heard any of them suggest a single idea. Criticism? Yeah. Positive ideas? No.

Other than obstructing any progress I haven’t heard a peep. 

Then there’s the minimum wage idea. Why are so many opposed to it? The whole “it would hurt jobs” has been shown over and over to be bunk. Someone posted the point that if 25% of what you make should go to rent and if the average rent is $1400 a month then the minimum wage should be $35 an hour. Or to put it another way, at $7.25 an hour it would take 193 hours to earn $1400 and if you work forty hours a week for four weeks that’s 160 hours, you would be 33 hours short on rent every month. That’s without food, taxes, or anything else.

I hope that if this minimum wage thing comes up it gets tied to some economic yardstick.

And Texas? OMG. The utility manager won’t change the $16,000,000,000.00 in overcharges. Freedom! Don’t tread on me! Idiots.

PS Peas in a Pod bug (No, I made that name up.)