Friday, March 24, 2006
The Presumption, Part 2
This will test if you've been paying attention. Good grief, this will test if I've been paying attention.
I told a story last month about me and the concierge - oddly, I haven't seen that fellow since; lately the sweet old buzzard with the false teeth has been at the desk whenever I've been down - in which there was some, shall we say, mutual suspicion and annoyance. I probably allowed my impatience with his incompetence (or lack of training or experience, if you prefer) to show; and he got a bit paranoid when I wouldn't sign the register before receiving a delivery.
Well, what I did not mention in the original telling of the story - but which you may have guessed - is that the concierge was a member of a visible minority. I'm not sure, but I would guess Indian. He probably suspected my reaction to him was triggered by prejudice. It wasn't. Little does he know that I am rude to people regardless of their race, ethnicity, colour, or religion. (I don't think I'm rude, but perhaps I am short. Ha, ha - everyone jump in here with a cheap joke.) So yes, I know, one should be more patient with people in service positions, especially low-paying service positions - or is that a redundancy?
On the other hand, he should not have been so suspicious. People, all people,are entitled to a presumption of good faith. That is the presumption to which the title of this blog refers. In other words, if you don't know a person, you must - that is, you ought to - assume that person to be acting in good faith. Obviously, this is a rebuttable presumption: a person can say or do something to make it clear that he or she is acting in bad faith. But until that happens, it is better - better for you, better for that person, and better for society - to assume what I have said.
Alas, this presumption does not even occur to many people; and it is ignored by most people acting in groups.
I told a story last month about me and the concierge - oddly, I haven't seen that fellow since; lately the sweet old buzzard with the false teeth has been at the desk whenever I've been down - in which there was some, shall we say, mutual suspicion and annoyance. I probably allowed my impatience with his incompetence (or lack of training or experience, if you prefer) to show; and he got a bit paranoid when I wouldn't sign the register before receiving a delivery.
Well, what I did not mention in the original telling of the story - but which you may have guessed - is that the concierge was a member of a visible minority. I'm not sure, but I would guess Indian. He probably suspected my reaction to him was triggered by prejudice. It wasn't. Little does he know that I am rude to people regardless of their race, ethnicity, colour, or religion. (I don't think I'm rude, but perhaps I am short. Ha, ha - everyone jump in here with a cheap joke.) So yes, I know, one should be more patient with people in service positions, especially low-paying service positions - or is that a redundancy?
On the other hand, he should not have been so suspicious. People, all people,are entitled to a presumption of good faith. That is the presumption to which the title of this blog refers. In other words, if you don't know a person, you must - that is, you ought to - assume that person to be acting in good faith. Obviously, this is a rebuttable presumption: a person can say or do something to make it clear that he or she is acting in bad faith. But until that happens, it is better - better for you, better for that person, and better for society - to assume what I have said.
Alas, this presumption does not even occur to many people; and it is ignored by most people acting in groups.
# posted by Stephen @ 1:57 a.m. 
