Competent in Snark

So today I got to go to an amazing inservice training. I know, those words don't typically go together, but this one was really great. It was basically about how ignoring differences between people is just as bad as being prejudiced. You can't learn anything if you don't recognize that obviously we all have different experiences. We watched the clip from "The Family Stone" where SJP manages to insult numerous people at the table by asking questions that seem fairly logical- except it wasn't the right time or place. Pretty damn funny actually. As a teacher, you have to walk a fine line between questioning and judging, and it's like that in your real world too, especially in your village. I tend to get in trouble there, because I do have a tendency to resort to snarkiness. For example, on a post asking for great, easy, recipes, my standard response is "Grab phone. Dial". While amusing, and most people "get" me, I could totally see how that would piss people off. Cultural competence has sort of replaced the concept of political correctness in my view. How do we acknowledge and respect differences without offending? Why do we even care? Well, the answer to that is simple. Doctors take an oath to "first do no harm", and it's pretty much the same with most of the people I know. No one wants to hurt another, or upset them in any way, and yet it happens, ALL THE TIME. If we didn't disagree and discuss things with each other it would be really boring. There are hot button issues in the mommy world, especially in no particular order: vaccination, circumcision, breastfeeding, and bed sharing. No matter how you approach it, in the virtual world, someone WILL get pissed off because you are missing so much of the context. I mean, saying something with a wink face to face changes it so much, but when you write it, that just doesn't translate. I have taken to using "snort, wink, chortle, giggle" to lend my comments more of a context. Pretty soon I may have to start using a disclaimer; as a hothead (which I have just recently discovered about myself) I am going to offend someone. And I can't shut my mouth once I start. Then the snark sets in. I have been apprenticed to the Jedi Masters of snark and so far I'm doing pretty well with it.

It's not too hard, especially when you're overtired and have puke in your hair.