Hi PreciousNpolite,
Two weeks ago, when plain Jane Scottish lady named Susan Boyle marched on stage on Britain's Got Talent and introduced herself as a singer who would like to follow the footsteps of Elaine Paige, everyone sneered on her looks. That was definitely an insult.
Yes, it
is an insult when someone introduces herself as a singer and people call her "ugly."
However, it is
not an insult if you tell a singer he can't tell a flat from a sharp, if he really is off-tune. Simon Cowell says worse things, but people call it at best "professional criticism", and at worst "snarky criticism".
In the same way, I reserve the right to tell someone who hangs an MD sign by his door an "inept doctor" if he can't tell a hypothalamus from a hippopotamus. I am not insulting him, I am calling attention to his professional qualification.
I myself get criticized by my clients sometimes for errors in my translation work. I call myself a translator, so neither do I cry a river over being faulted for a lapse in my work. Criticism is the risk we take for the trade and the title we take for ourselves, whether we are paid or not. But these bitter pills are necessary to better ourselves.
Against the wave of unfavorable reaction, it certainly could have been easier for Susan to scamper backstage and say, "you don't pay my bills, the heck with you!"
But she stood up to the cynical crowd and sang like an angel, to everyone's shame and amazement.
I am sure you would shame me the same way, Precious, when I do get to see you in person, if we do ever get the chance. We are not always what we say. I am not all of what you read. The internet is not the best place to meet real people. But it's a good starting point.
I can see that you are a woman full of passion for the things that you do, so don't let my snarky comments spoil your day.
You deserve a day off. These crimes make all of us tense. Perhaps on another topic, we'll see each other with sunny smiles reflected on our computer screens.
After all, we share the same concern--keep Bohol safe for everyone, foreigners and Boholanos alike.
Peace!
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