You know, you can make a small mistake in language or etiquette in Britain, or you could when I was younger, and really be made to feel it, and it's the flick of a lash, but it would sting, and especially at school where there's not much privacy, and so on. You could, yes, undoubtedly be made to feel crushed.
Interpretation
Social mistakes in language or etiquette can have a significant emotional impact, particularly in a school setting.
This quote by Christopher Hitchens highlights the sensitivity of social interactions, especially in a structured environment like a school. A minor error in language or manners can evoke strong reactions from peers, leading to feelings of humiliation or emotional distress. The pressure to conform and the lack of privacy in such settings can amplify the impact of these small missteps, making individuals feel vulnerable and exposed. Ultimately, it underscores the importance of understanding cultural nuances and the potential consequences of social faux pas.
In practice
Discussing the importance of social skills in a classroom setting.
In a public dialogue with Salman in London he [Edward Said] had once described the Palestinian plight as one where his people, expelled and dispossessed by Jewish victors, were in the unique historical position of being 'the victims of the victims': there was something quasi-Christian, I thought, in the apparent humility of that statement.
What can be asserted without evidence can be dismissed without evidence.
Never ask while you are doing it if what you are doing is fun. Don't introduce even your most reliably witty acquaintance as someone who will set the table on a roar.
[E]xceptional claims demand exceptional evidence.
The worst days are when you feel foggy in the head - chemo-brain they call it. It's awful because you feel boring. As well as bored. And stupid. And resigned.
Let me tell you something: for hundreds of thousands of years, this kind of discussion would have been impossible to have, or those like us would have been having it at the risk of our lives. Religion now comes to us in this smiley-face, ingratiating way — because it’s had to give so much more ground and because we know so much more. But you’ve got no right to forget the way it behaved when it was strong, and when it really did believe that it had God on its side.
Travel is rich with learning opportunities, and the ultimate sourvenir is a broader perspective.
I was never born to write. I was taught to write. And I am still being taught to write.
Black is beautiful when it is a slum kid studying to enter college, when it is a man learning new skills for a new job. . . .
It is a miracle that curiosity survives formal education.
It is African scholars themselves who will create the ultimate Encyclopaedia Africana.
No fiction is worth reading except for entertainment. If it entertains and is clean, it is good literature, or its kind. If it forms the habit of reading, in people who might not read otherwise, it is the best literature.
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