![Laughing :lol:](./images/smilies/icon_lol.gif)
Yesterday one of the employees working at the tip called out to my 15 year old daughter, "the hard plastics go over there darling".
He was genuinely being helpful. I was his "buddy" and the fifty something year old lady emptying her car skip, was a luv. He was being helpful and he wasn't crossing any boundaries of taste, dignity or respect. He was being himself and he was earning a living.
Many would find the way he addressed them as disrespectful. I couldn't. I found room for him in a place that I could tolerate. I hasten to add, I could have informed him that my 15 year old daughter wasn't his "darling". I didn't want to. His tone, body language and timing were all synonymous with wanting to help.
The Oxford Dictionary is often updated to include new words. Now we are having to "cancel" words, regardless of their intent and intonation.
How long before I cannot call my mate, mate? How long before I cannot call my buddy, buddy? How long before I cannot say sweet FA because someone with way too much time on their hands, wants to cancel my interaction with the world?
What can we say? What do you say?
AiY(D)