We Hit Peak 2019

[GMDino]

(12-12-2019, 09:46 AM)Crazyjdawg Wrote: The term more often used is "articulate."

My wife is black and you'd be amazed how many people tell her how "articulate" she is. 

In college, she worked at a Car Rental place. She had one day where she made a reservation with a man over the phone and when he came to pick it up he said "I mentioned to Dominique on the phone that I wanted GPS but it doesn't show up here on the bill, did she add that to my reservation?" And she replied "yes, that was me, I put it on your order, it was complementary for [reason that I forget, probably a promotion]." And he literally replied "Oh, wow! I thought I was speaking to a white woman, thank you for the free GPS!" Then he just kind of stuttered and tried to correct what he had just said...

It wasn't blatant racism, of course. He just heard a "white voice" on the phone and was expecting the person he was speaking to to be white, but she wasn't and that threw him off enough that he felt the need to point out this discrepancy in his perception to her.

And this has happened throughout her life, especially over the phone. She had a phone interview where essentially the same thing happened. And, after meeting her, the interviewer complimented her on being so articulate (she didn't mention this or anything like it on the phone).

There's this stereotype that black people speak differently or speak more "urban" and informal than white people. Essentially, they speak improperly. And when someone who only sees black people in movies interacts with a black person that just...acts and talks like they do, they feel the need to point it out. Almost compulsively.

It's such a common trope that someone wrote a book about it in relation to Barack Obama.
https://www.amazon.com/Articulate-While-Black-Barack-Language/dp/0199812985

Have you ever been called articulate before? Because I haven't. I've never heard anyone that isn't black be called articulate. Well spoken is a more innocuous phrase, but it's the same concept.

But I understand that it does seem ridiculous to think it's racist if you don't know the historical context.

Not everyone has an ear for voices and we all make assumptions about people on the other end of the phone based on what "we hear".

As an aside my work involves a lot of time on the phone and I used to work in radio so I rely more on my ears than my eyes. I can tell my customers by their voice after a year faster than I could pick out their pictures.  And I'm proud of how well I listen and pick up on verbal cues.  However my first time in New Orleans I was speaking with an older lady (50-60's) and ask if she was from NY because her accent had a hint of Brooklyn in it.  She was born and raised right there.  I didn't have enough exposure to that particular tinge in a voice and learned something new.

I have been told I "speak well" but that is after I have done some kind of public event where I had to speak...not just because someone is surprised I speak well....lol.