Friday, February 22, 2008
No Miss for me
I have now had several experiences with people trying to call me Miss Delilah. Apparently this is really common in the South, but to me it's a strange phenomenon. I don't like it. It sends a creepy feeling down my spine, and I've been trying to figure out why. The current theory is that titles such as this are designed to put people in their place, and I don't subscribe to such tools of discrimination disguised as necessary ways to show respect. I have had conversations with several teachers at the kids' preschool, trying to understand their point of view and explaining mine. We seem to have reached an understanding. I obviously don't object to my children calling their teachers Miss ....., but I refuse to correct the other children when they call me Delilah. And every time a teacher calls me Miss Delilah or Ms. VanSciver, I will ask them to call me Delilah. I'm not more important than them or the children. We're all people. And we should all respect each other simply by the way that we speak and not by using titles.
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2 comments:
I can understand not wanting to be called Miss Delilah - but what is the problem with Mrs. Van Sciver?
That is indeed your proper social title - actually it's Mrs. William Van Sciver, but - I know you won't subscribe to that!
That's my point, I guess. I don't like proper social titles. Now I'm not saying that I make a big deal out of it every time somebody I'm never going to see again uses a title to address me, but I see these people every day! They know me, and I'd rather they know me as just Delilah.
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