All the thoughtful comments have really helped me process my feelings and I'm sorry if I offended or hurt anyone. I am in my own little world and it alarms me when I am noticed there. The frustration arises from this fact.
Writing is a solitary, introspective process, at least for me, and my choice of medium should not be so controversial as to draw the attention of (I'll say it again) autocratic flight attendants. To me, the typewriter, like jet engines, seatbelts, aisle carts and bathroom doors, is just so much white noise layered with the rest. A conversation loud enough to understand, however, is extremely disruptive to my writing process. So I was railing against the double-standard, and lamenting my own complete inability to effectively challenge it. That others are no more comfortable challenging it than I am is not a reflection on them but on society.
My major frustration is that I've had to silently choke on the inconsiderations of others all my life and no one sticks up for me. Even when law or rules are on my side they are not enforced. Yet I want to write a few letters in a 70Db noise can and somehow I'm the bad guy.
I can't complain because it's an airline I have to work with at my job, so all I can do is gripe on here and hope for a little sympathy.
So I'm sorry to have digressed from typecasts, but I'll be getting back to them soon. I'm trying to figure out how to fix the spacebar on the Navy mill. I'll start with that if I get time tonight.
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I have had to read and re-read your previous entry and the comments appended to it. Maybe my skin is too thick, but I'm not seeing anything that anyone here should be offended by... except the way overly-officious companies (airline crews included) treat their paying customers. It's not just typing in public that is offensive, but any non-conformist behavior.
ReplyDeleteThe sad fact is that the terrorists won a little victory on 9/11, in that they changed how we live and treat each other. I often rage against popular culture which "fears what it doesn't understand and destroys what it cannot control." If anyone steps out of line, the
fearful people don't know how to handle it.
Never attribute to malice what can more easily be explained by stupidity. I think a lot of us are sympathetic about your mistreatment by ignorant people. Some of us consider that part of our job description.
I've learned long ago that any comments over a medium such as the internet can be taken a myriad of ways (i.e. I have very thick skin, too). Communication is central to my job, so over the years, I think I've been honed to see this and anything (and I mean anything) that could come off offensive, needs a "feedback check". Meaning, check back with the sender and reiterate what you think they are saying to make sure what they "said" is what they meant.
ReplyDeleteLFP is a great example in the last entry. She wrote how she read into it instead of just dropping napalm.
Many times this is never done. Many times, the sender didn't really mean how YOU took it.
One of the great things about the typosphere is that we don't napalm each other, we actually engage in dialogue to get each other's meaning when there is question.
I'm glad you felt you could vent your frustrations. A burden shared etc. Personally, I don't equate affiliation with the typosphere as meaning I have to evangelise, attend type-ins (though they sound like fun) or take my typing out of the house. I do like the challenge of normalising the very existence of typewriters in modern life. I use networkedblogs to feed all my posts to my Facebook profile, so I'm well and truly 'out of the closet'. And that gives rise to friendly but curious comments which, in turn, are my excuse for a witty (hopefully) but positive reposte. That, and face-to-face, are the limits of my missionary work. I do admire those of you who run and attend type-ins.
ReplyDelete