Yes, People Speaking a Different Language are Talking About You
As a Public Service Announcement, Harlem Fur wants you to know that people speaking a different language are talking about you.
Tourists seem to forget that our little town has a cosmopolitan thing or two about it. People speaking something other than English feel free to openly critique and discuss those right next them. But strange as it may seem, some of us take our understanding of other languages beyond "Donde esta el bano?" (Where is the bathroom?) and "Ich bein ein Berliner" (I am a jelly donut). This evening's subway ride home was one such example.
(A little bit of background: Cheryl speaks 'language.' Having a gift for picking up languages, she studied a host of them, taught a couple, and understands many more than a normal person should. Cheryl's caught people talking about those right next to them, sometimes us, in Spanish, French, Italian, German and more. So, on with the story...)
Packed in this evening with roughly 46.1 million people on the uptown 2, I leaned over and gave Cheryl a quick kiss as a means of saying 'Don't worry, we'll get through this together.' When I did this, Cheryl could swear she heard the mother from a family of four standing right next to us say in some language 'Look, he kissed the black one.' Wondering if she heard it right, she asked me to give her another kiss. I did, and the woman said, roughly translated, 'Oh my God, he kissed the black woman on the lips!'
This wasn't 'Oh my God, we are in this great big diverse melting pot of New York and look, everyone gets along!' It was more like 'Gross!' Always able to entertain ourselves, Cheryl and I started exchanging small kisses and saying, in English, 'Oh my God!'
As the ride continued, the four of them (mother, father and two teenage children) kept talking about us in their language, and we kept doing things in response. Finally, they caught on that we just might understand them.
The mother sent the male child over to stand by us and listen to what we were saying. 'Over by us' meant he moved all of 5 inches. Remember, we were all crammed so close together on the train that I'm shocked none of us are pregnant. So when Lorenzo (because at this point we knew his name) came over and leaned in to hear what we were saying, Cheryl and I looked directly at him and continued lightly making fun of the four. He then made the 5 inch trek back to the group, and told them 'She understands our language.' They then continued to talk about us, but in lower voices.
Anyway, the family stayed on the train until 116th St, and then got off with us. Thinking this was too much fun to pass up, we guessed they were staying at the new hostel on 118th (correct!) and planned to walk behind them all the way. Looking to ditch us, the parents ducked into Fine Fare as the kids continued on to the hostel. Cheryl and I easily lost interest, and headed across the street. We would have continued home, but looking back, we saw the parents come out of Fine Fare, see us, and go back in.
This was too much. We hung out on the other side of the street, waiting them out. When the parents finally emerged from the safety of the grocery store, Cheryl and I walked over with big smiles and asked to take a photo with them. Totally confused, they agreed, and we posted the photo here for your enjoyment.
Comments
Too funny. I just drooled on myself I was laughing so hard.
Posted by: Anonymous | August 25, 2008 11:46 AM
It's always oddly reassuring to be reminded that there are people from other industrialized nations who can compete with Americans on ignorance.
Posted by: Pete | August 25, 2008 12:39 PM
I've always had a feeling that the managers and checkout people in Fine Fare are talking about me in Spanish. I need to bring in a Spanish-speaking friend a la Elaine and the Korean manacurists on Seinfeld.
Posted by: MMP Brownstoner | August 25, 2008 03:14 PM
Europeans, assuming they are european, are often mistaken as racist but a better description is politically incorrect as in their culture race is not such a flashpoint and certain language (not including the N word) is not so heavily censured. This is because Europeans do not have such a recent troubled history of racial conflict as America so are not so overly sensitive with language i.e. “the black one”. They may have also been observing a racially mixed couple which is not common in America but is not uncommon in European cities.
Posted by: ann@yahoo.com | August 27, 2008 10:10 AM
Ann@yahoo -- have you ever been to a soccer match in Italy where a team from the south is playing? "Politically incorrect" is definitely not the phrase that I would use to describe the chants and comments shouted out throughout the match.
Posted by: mich811 | August 27, 2008 10:27 AM
Mich811, The chants and taunts at European soccer matches directed at certain players ethnicity and their family members is probably the most vulgar and shameful part of current European behavior, not just the Italians, thankfully contained within the stadium and a to minority of the supporters. However, these folks do not look like soccer thugs, more like the typical European tourists who are genuinely interested in American culture including the legendry Harlem. So like all prejudice, do not assume all Europeans are soccer thugs or approve of that disgraceful behavior. These folks are guilty of coming from a culture that is not so sensitive on political correctness and what is the currently PC language in today’s America. This article may be described as a culture clash, ignorance on both sides.
Posted by: Anonymous | August 27, 2008 11:48 AM
Hey all- I could have been a bit more clear. The point I am trying to get across is 'this is New York, don't be an idiot.'
Just as the guy counting his change at the deli counter might be a millionaire many times over, the homeless guy on the street might hold a Ph.D. in nuclear physics, and the slob standing next to you at MoMa be a scholar and collector of early 20th Century avant-garde works, so too might the average people standing 5 inches from you on a packed uptown 2 train understand the language you are speaking and have a blog with a decent readership.
Posted by: harlemfur![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.harlemfur.com/nav-commenters.gif)
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August 27, 2008 12:36 PM
So what country are they from. And I disagree with Ann's remark about Euros not being racist...who exactly started enslaving people of color and colonizing whole continents? Chris, you opened up a can of worms here. In any event, Ann needs to visit Paris to get up on how "not racist" Europeans can be.
Posted by: Anonymous | August 27, 2008 02:55 PM
Anonymous @ 2:55PM, Good question, who started slavery, well I think everyone has had their turn, do you want to start with the Ancient Egyptians. If you look at history, all peoples are guilty of it at some time, and yes it goes on now, and in greater numbers than ever in our history, some put it at 27 million or higher. But the blame whitey mentality is getting old, history has shown we are all capable of good and evil.
Obama 2008
Posted by: Anonymous | August 29, 2008 10:26 AM
thanks for that!
Posted by: ahkilah | October 21, 2008 01:13 PM