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The Wire 4-9

🕑 Added 2021-11-17 18:55:01 +0000 UTC

Comments

Dexter Goad

Great comment. I know about code switching because I grew up in a really poor neighborhood but what I hadn't thought about is how we all do it (not just when a poor person is applying for a job) because of our parents. You're exactly right about that. Never thought about it that way

Jazz

So I think there are a couple different things happening in regards to your story about the woman with the kids in the food court. Soft power is something women utilize a lot more than men. I think it was Teddy Roosevelt who said, "Speak softly, but carry a big stick." More plainly, don't start shit, but be able to finish it. If her main goal was to avoid a confrontation, approaching the other people apologetically creates an implicit social contract that we're all just going to be chill about the situation. By putting herself in that submissive role, she's hoping to cut the bystanders off before they can say anything about it. And nobody is only one thing. I'm not sure how common this term is outside of academic circles, but there's a concept called code-switching. Basically, people behave differently depending on their social environment. People might use cleaner language with their parents, but use slang and cuss around their friends. So when the other man escalated the situation, he altered the social dynamic that she was trying to enforce, which triggered the code switch that you noted. Who knows? Maybe she is usually more confrontational by default, but was doing an act that day for whatever reason and couldn't keep it going when she was provoked. And all that of course is without any consideration to who was right or wrong in that situation. Or how any number of those people could have been going through any number of stresses at that time. And that's why they're social "dynamics," they're fluid and dependent on countless other factors. It really is fragile, as you said. My degree was in psychology, and I had a minor in creative writing, so I definitely get where you're coming from though. I also think that's part of why it's so important to avoid cliches when writing characters. There are simply too many social variables to ever lock someone in to a single set of behaviors.

Dexter Goad

Good point about Michael

KlausBerndUWE

maybe also the way they talked to her sounded like the old guy did say she does a bad job as her kids are behaving bad instead of something neutral or so. michael seems to also have been sexualy abused by him he doesnt trust older males or maybe even older black males didnt want to be alone with cutty and on every moment when he was getting closer to him seems to me he was sexually abused. nice Story at the and and a pretty funny image :)