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Open Poetry #41
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Thou Shalt Not Hate Call Centres
| Open Poetry #41 |
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Thou Shalt Not Hate Call Centres |
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OwlSA Member Rara Avis
since 2005-11-07
Posts 9347Durban, South Africa 
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THOU SHALT NOT HATE CALL CENTRES 21 November 2007 Sidestepping fireside smiles and the gift minutes of ubuntu, a chaotic mêlée swirls nowhere to a dead costly nothing. - Owl |
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| © Copyright 2007 Diana van den Berg - All Rights Reserved | |||
Midnitesun
since 2001-05-18
Posts 28647Gaia |
The title gave me a giggle, as I am currently employed by a call center (after making the decision to leave the full-time care field) due to lack of jobs in my community. Ubuntu...we are, who we are...and we are all the same (basically), and we are all bits of the cosmic chaotic dust of eternity. (Am I close????) |
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Artic Wind Member Rara Avis
since 2007-09-16
Posts 8080Realm of Supernatural |
enjoyed ARCTIC WIND |
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OwlSA Member Rara Avis
since 2005-11-07
Posts 9347Durban, South Africa |
Long giggles to you, Kacy. You would be the part of the "Sidestepping / fireside smiles / and the gift minutes / of ubuntu" and not the rest! What I was saying that there are some who care about answering the question and solving the problem, but many don't and the system often doesn't allow it and some take extra advantage of that. You were sorta close. "Ubuntu" (pronounced ooboontoo with the accent on the middle syllable) is a lovely Zulu word that means according to the dictionary "humaneness", but it is currently understood in a metropolitan sense, more specifically as "love of community/interaction with the community/for the good of the community" which, I suppose is much the same thing. It was interesting looking it up in the dictionary which is not as easy as it seems - my pronunciation of Zulu is good and my extremely basic Zulu is fairly grammatical, but my vocabulary is extremely limited. To look up (particularly) a noun in the dictionary, uou have to know the prefix which is not "u" as one would imagine, but, in this case, "ubu". (With longer words it is much more difficult - but great fun.) Just a little bit more etymology - "umuntu" means person and the plural is "abantu" (pronounced abaantoo). However, presumably because of the stupid (and a whole lot of other adjectives) apartheid (pronounced "a part hate" - not "hite") system, there is a separate word for a white person, which is "umlungu" and the plural is "abelungu" (with an open "e" as in "bed" and the accent on the first "u"). Technically, and etymologically, the words "umuntu" and "abantu" should apply to all races, but, as far as I know, even black people think of them referring only to black people. Certainly white people (most of whom know very little, if any, Zulu, in spite of the fact that most are not racial at all any more) regard "umuntu" and "abantu" as referring only to black people. Funny - "black people" are actually brown, and white people are anything, but white - some are tanned brown, some are pink, some are beige or a variety of other shades! - Owl |
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OwlSA Member Rara Avis
since 2005-11-07
Posts 9347Durban, South Africa |
Thanks, Arctic Wind. - Owl |
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Martie
Moderator
Member Empyrean
since 1999-09-21
Posts 28049California |
Diana....I'm really not sure I understand this, but that doesn't matter. I do know that I am beige, and that's ok, and that you are a lovely and interesting woman.  |
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OwlSA Member Rara Avis
since 2005-11-07
Posts 9347Durban, South Africa |
Giggles, Martie. Thanks for the compliment. Yes, I think I am beige too. I was just ranting about call centres and the fact that nobody on them has the right or the power to help or so it seems! - Owl |
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