Attrociously Disrespectful Flight Attendants?

[Renato1]

In this article, Tim Blair has a shot at the Race Discrimination Commissioner's belief that Flight Attendants show him attrocious disrespect.

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Which of the two Tims do you think is correct?
Regards,
Renato

 

[CJEMNMAC]

In this article, Tim Blair has a shot at the Race Discrimination Commissioner's belief that Flight Attendants show him attrocious disrespect.

No Cookies | Daily Telegraph

Which of the two Tims do you think is correct?
Regards,
Renato

The Race Discrimination Commissioner in this article is a ........ I am yet to read anything overly constructive from him.

ok lets all get offended at every turn so we can be continually outraged for outrage sake..

 

[eastwest101]

I suspect that the Discrimination Commisioner is probably a QF WP1 or even possibly a CL tier status so every time he boards a QF aircraft the flight attendants are trained to greet him by name. Although he is familiar with his name, he must also be familiar with that name being a difficult one to pronounce for a lot of people.

That said - a more elegant way to deal with this is just to ask the person directly and honestly how their name is pronounced, and then use it in the greeting. That's not disrespectful or racist, just courtesy.

 

[samh004]

If I can't work out how to pronounce a name, I generally don't try to, as I don't want to be seen like I am taking the...

I still have troubles with Nguyen... but the way my brain works is different to a lot of people (autism) so I end up spelling/sounding out words in my head and counting letters and 5 minutes later when you're halfway down the page, I'm still playing over the same word in my mind

 

[BacchusMarsh]

The Race Discrimination Commissioner in this article is a ........

It would be a lot less cowardly if you filled in the blank.

For example, "Tim Blair is a not-very-funny idiot".

 

[kpc]

People with long, difficult names shouldn't get offended if others can't pronounce their name properly. Otherwise, change / shorten it by deed poll

 

[drron]

I just had a little giggle.Tim S is half Chinese and half Lao.Many Chinese can't pronounce my first name and many Lao had difficulty with my surname.No offence taken at all.

 

[Pleb Status]

My surname is very easy to pronounce even though is looks a little difficult.

So, more often than not, when boarding the pax before me get 'Welcome back Mr X' or similar and I get 'Have a good flight' or similar.

Maybe I have a case for discrimination against the airlines and I should feel outraged.... or maybe not.

 

[OzEire]

People with long, difficult names shouldn't get offended if others can't pronounce their name properly. Otherwise, change / shorten it by deed poll

I agree with your central point but the difficulty of a name is relative to one's own experience and cultural understanding... what's difficult for an Australian may be trivial for a Thai, the reverse may also be true.

If a person is aware that other cultures have difficulty with their name, and just revel in their struggle to pronounce it - particularly when there is a customer service overlay - that person is literally the definition of a DYKWIA.

 

[OzEire]

I just had a little giggle.Tim S is half Chinese and half Lao.Many Chinese can't pronounce my first name and many Lao had difficulty with my surname.No offence taken at all.

DrRon, I imagine this colleague has little difficulty with people pronouncing her name:

 

[toowongman]

This Dr Tim guy is one of the reasons we spend a lot of effort minimising our tax.

 

[juddles]

I only read the thread title - and wondered why this is in "open discussion" and not the "Virgin Velocity' area?

 

[Boca68]

In this article, Tim Blair has a shot at the Race Discrimination Commissioner's belief that Flight Attendants show him attrocious disrespect.

No Cookies | Daily Telegraph

Which of the two Tims do you think is correct?
Regards,
Renato

Which is correct?

Well, both are correct in a way. But both are also wrong in other ways.

Mr. Blair's article is rude and condescending. Not needed to make a point. But he does overtly point out the reasons for the doctors errors.

Dr. Soutphommasanes assumptions as to why western people don't pronounce (or even try) his name correctly are incorrect. But, silence or a lack of willingness to learn (the name) can be a sigh of intolerance. But, you can't just assume that's the reason. Can be many others.

To my way of thinking, both look like fools.

 

[Renato1]

I just remembered - in every airline I've flown except for Alitalia, I have had my surname which ends with an O, pronounced with the Anglo long O, instead of the Italian short O.

I guess I had better start dreading my next flight too.
Cheers,
Renato

 

[Renato1]

Which is correct?

Well, both are correct in a way. But both are also wrong in other ways.

Mr. Blair's article is rude and condescending. Not needed to make a point. But he does overtly point out the reasons for the doctors errors.

Dr. Soutphommasanes assumptions as to why western people don't pronounce (or even try) his name correctly are incorrect. But, silence or a lack of willingness to learn (the name) can be a sigh of intolerance. But, you can't just assume that's the reason. Can be many others.

To my way of thinking, both look like fools.

I think Blair's condescension is a response to a perception of pomposity on the part of Dr. Tim.

Why single out flight attendants, when he would have had the exact same issue everywhere else in his life - school, university, banks, insurance, Labor Party, etc etc.
Regards,
Renato

 

[TheRealTMA]

My surname is very easy to pronounce even though is looks a little difficult.

So, more often than not, when boarding the pax before me get 'Welcome back Mr X' or similar and I get 'Have a good flight' or similar.

Maybe I have a case for discrimination against the airlines and I should feel outraged.... or maybe not.

How can one hold up one's DYKWIA status if there's nothing to be be outraged about?

 

[DaveB]

I am not surprised based on my thankfully limited experience with the Human Rights Commission.
Their Act unfortunately prevents me from reporting on a case my company got roped into a few years back even though it went nowhere. The clear biase that the Commission staff displayed attempting to set precedence from the case was downright disgraceful.

 

[CJEMNMAC]

It would be a lot less cowardly if you filled in the blank.

For example, "Tim Blair is a not-very-funny idiot".

..allow me to fill in the blank for you with..... " joke " as my comment is so cowardly for you.

No one can be serious that a surname pronunciation or lack of, requires the use of "atrociously disrespectful"

Last time I checked the word atrocious implies things like extremely bad, shockingly bad or unpleasant etc. I am fairly confident from my experiences that this would not be the intent of flight attendants. ( to be atrociously disrespectful ) to anyone.

 

[mannej]

I'd be a miserable git if I'd get offended every time my ethnic surname was misspelt.

I would suggest it happens more often than not but I'm not sure if it's done to be intentionally malicious.

 

[Pleb Status]

I only read the thread title - and wondered why this is in "open discussion" and not the "Virgin Velocity' area?

Being a higher ranking public servant, I doubt Dr Tim would ever set foot on a VA aircraft. I would assume this is squarely aimed at QF.....