In a comment yesterday commenter Catharine wrote the following:
This may not be helpful but the things I wish I knew about Dr. Isis' alter ego include: Where/how did you grow up? Where did you go to school? How did you become interested in science? And in your particular area of research? What struggles have you faced? How have you been lucky? Do you have pets? What do you do for fun/hobbies (I guess you won't be able to say blog)? How have you been an advocate for women in science? For science literacy? Community outreach/activities? What are you thoughts about teaching? What/who inspires you? How does your creative process work in the context of your scientific work? Where would you like to see science (in general) and your work (in particular) be in the future? Talk about some mistakes you've made and some "eureka" moments. Talk about your family. And, go ahead, talk about your shoes. (But know that if you do, people WILL figure out who you are.)
Be honest and personal. People really dig this kind of stuff. I know I do.
Catharine believes you all will dig it if I am honest and personal. To be honest and probably too personal with you all, Dr. Isis left work today at 4pm, trusting the day's experiments to the capable members of the lab, because for the first time in easily 10 years she has cramps. The domestic and laboratory goddess has spent the evening cuddled with a bottle of Motrin, 1.5 quarts (and, by the way, what the balls happened to the regular sized cartons of ice cream? This is missing 0.5 quarts) of Breyers waffle cone ice cream, and the second season of The Tudors.
Figure 1: Isis's cramps, except in her uterus and with hotter shoes.
I still believe that opening up and being personal can be of value to women trying to figure out a life in science, but opening up and being personal can also place you square in the cross hairs of criticism and judgment. This week, for example, Dr. Isis founder herself swiftly judged. Oh, so swiftly judged.
As the last passenger boarded, I heard the flight attendant raise her voice, attempting to explain to the woman trying to board that she would need to check her large bag plane-side because it would not fit in the overhead
Recognizing a familiar word, I realized that the large-bagged passenger was from Argentina and spoke Spanish. I got out of my seat, walked over to her, and explained the situation to her quickly. As soon as she understood, she complied with the flight attendant's request and went to her seat. As I returned to mine, I heard the man behind me say words I have repeated in my mind all week...
I don't understand why those damned women even came to this country if they're not going to learned [sic] to speak the language. Damned beaners [emphasis a la Isis].As I explained to a good friend (also de Argentina) this evening, I was fortunate to spend a large amount of time being raised by people who didn't speak English. I would hope that if they found themselves in a similar position that someone would show them a little mercy and come forward to help them understand, so I try to do the same for people I encounter who need help.
But, it's amazing how the hatred in a single word can knock the wind out of you and I found myself pondering over the rest of the flight the things that could have happened to him to make him so angry. Maybe his anger had no source, but was rooted in the irrational fear that I might take his jorb.
If he has a PhD in physiology and a lab with a confocal microscope in it, I just might.
He had better watch his ass.
Education
Life Science
Comments
I guess doing something nice for someone and speaking a foreign language is a default nowadays. And you haven't even told the worst part of the story--how you had to sit near him for the whole flight!
Posted by: Mick | June 30, 2009 3:34 AM
And what if you had remained silent? Ethically speaking, it is better to help someone and be called a name than to stand by and ignore a person's need for help.
As a Jew growing up in the "dirty south" (not as hip in the 70's as it is now), I know the indignity of being mocked/called names and the inevitable shame that follows. The WASP's down here really do sting with a vengeance. This does not give us a 'get out of jail free' card when we others need help. Good for you for doing the right thing. Fuck the xenophobic asshole.
Again, my earlier comment (now laid bare for the world to see) was not a litany of blogging suggestions. I was only trying to help your alter get past her writing block for the personal bio she needs to write. Somehow I always end up with my foot in my mouth.
Posted by: Catharine | June 30, 2009 5:54 AM
And what if the woman was just visiting? Would she still be called a 'beaner'? That idiot needs to visit Europe or a place with many languages, and where the use of multiple languages is not only acceptable, it's somewhat expected.
My whole fam is dirty-south derived (although being of the strict Baptist background might not want to be considered 'unclean') and I have issues with them on this point often. Most if not all do not have a problem with influx of Spanish-speaking peeps, but they do take issue with immigrants that might not learn English, or speak Spanish readily. (Or, they say they don't have a problem as long as immigrants assimilate into their ideal US citizen). I think we just need to learn us some Spanish and adapt to the idea that language changes as migrations occur, and to fight against it is as ridiculous as standing guard on 'boarder patrol.'
Posted by: gnuma | June 30, 2009 7:42 AM
As a stranger living in a foreign land, I usually try to help out the helpless tourists that come to visit and look so lost for lack of language understanding. I'm sure the woman on the plane really appreciated your help. The guy behind you was an asshat. Unfortunately, he's not the only one.
Posted by: Jenn, PhD | June 30, 2009 7:47 AM
I am amazed at your restraint! I would not have been able to keep myself from telling the oaf off.
Posted by: storkdok | June 30, 2009 7:54 AM
I love that you got up and helped this woman. I hate that this idiot said something that is as hateful as it is inaccurate. I especially hate that he used a cruel word to do it. I'm sorry you had to hear that.
Posted by: postdoc | June 30, 2009 8:17 AM
Ugh. I find it infuriating that you get this insult thrown at you (Beaner's a new one to me); I have a nagging feeling that if it had been me helping the poor woman out, nothing would have been said-I'm practically translucent in my paleness. Not to mention, I see airport crimes (too many liquids, too many bags, bags too big, food, loudness, rudeness, etc. etc.) committed rather equally among ethnicities. This man should be kicked in the shin.
Posted by: ktbug ladydid | June 30, 2009 8:38 AM
i wouldn't have been able to keep my mouth shut when i heard that... what a fucking asshole.
as someone who speaks spanish in at least a passable manner, and who lives in an area with a lot of migrant workers and other immigrants, i have happily given directions and some other basic spanish-language help to passers by who needed it. the response is always grateful.
when i was younger, i helped children of refugees to learn basic english. i got to hear their first explanations in english of the life they escaped. this was a life-changing experience. the impact you have on that one person is a big deal to them- let others scoff and know those types are lesser human beings with their lack of compassion and general asshattery.
Posted by: leigh | June 30, 2009 8:55 AM
The standard size containers of ice cream from Breyers seem to be smaller than just about any other company, and pretty expensive - but it is good ice cream (at least I think so).
Like everyone else has said, it's good that you helped out in that situation. The guy was just being a jerk, but his attitude is sadly much too common. It's also a little ironic from a historical perspective, because a lot of the people who complain about anyone in the USA not speaking English are probably forgetting their own family background. My great-grandparents and great-great grandparents were immigrants from Italy, Germany, and Poland in the late 1800s and early 1900s, and if the family stories can be trusted they all spoke Italian/German/Polish as their first language for pretty much all of their lives even after living for decades in the USA. I believe that's typical of first generation immigrants - even when you learn English, you're generally more comfortable speaking your first language whenever you find somebody else who speaks it (this is assuming that you weren't raised bilingual).
Posted by: Paul | June 30, 2009 9:47 AM
That sucks, yea verily. The last two sentences of this post made me love you EVER MORE though. HEEEE! Watch his ass, indeed.
Incidentally, last weekend MFA Mama was present at a barbecue where people of mixed educational backgrounds (i.e. some yes, some no) were all enjoying some grilled food and tasty ranch cole-slaw, and was innocently nibbling on a grilled portabello when someone turned the conversation her way with "and as a single mother whose family depends on your income, doesn't it worry YOU the way jobs are getting snapped up by someone who doesn't even bother to learn and speak ENGLISH???" She smiled beatifically because she has been waiting for someone to ask her this question since rejoining the workforce and pointed out that she teaches English and that every student she works with is interested in improving theirs. Unfortunately not everyone there got the funny and MFA Mama was mistaken for someone whose naivete warranted further instruction in the dangers of THOSE PEOPLE. At least the food was good.
Posted by: MFA Mama | June 30, 2009 10:33 AM
Sounds like an appropriate response would have been to bean him. Over the head. While yelling, "Bean this!"
Posted by: Erin | June 30, 2009 10:48 AM
I certainly hope no reputable institution would award that asshat an advanced degree. I agree with the previous posters, what you did was absolutely admirable, and that guy is a first class, A-1 jerkwad. Lately when someone chafes me that way I have been coping by composing a haiku in my head deriding them. It's apparently a contagious phenomenon, since my mom wrote an extended haiku about an unpleasant encounter she had yesterday. Maybe you should try it? :)
Posted by: Minerva | June 30, 2009 10:54 AM
I am often ashamed of myself that I DON'T know more than one language. Considering most of the rest of the world speaks a native language and at least one other (usually some English), it makes me feel very stupid that I can't at least return the favor. That man deserves a stomp on the instep from a pair of stilettos for both his ignorance and his rudeness.
On another note. OMG. Second season of The Tudors. AWESOME!!!!
Posted by: Scicurious | June 30, 2009 10:59 AM
I studied Spanish in high school and actually could manage fairly decently in the language. What I'm saddened by is that I have never had an opportunity to really use it although we have a fair number of Spanish-speaking graduate students in our department. But my ears and tongue are so out of practice!
Posted by: Academic | June 30, 2009 11:06 AM
You could have performed a second good deed by smiling sweetly and telling the asshat that you are a bilingual American. His embarrassment might keep him or someone else on the plane from being actively rude in the future. You could also add that you hope he won't be so rude if he encounters your relatives from the old country when they come to play tourist. When I visited Austria I only learned a couple of German phrases, most notably "How much is it?"
Posted by: Pascale | June 30, 2009 11:13 AM
Gah, what an asshole. Thanks for being the kind of person who will get up and help.
Yeah, ice cream. First they went down to 1.75 quarts, now it's 1.5. Of course, the price has remained the same. All my sputtering in righteous indignation in the freezer aisle is for naught!
Posted by: sandy | June 30, 2009 11:14 AM
Good on you for helping, and boo to the guy in the row behind you.
Around here, most of the ice cream brands have shrunk their packaging to 3-pint containers. But even before that happened, Breyers started cutting corners in their ingredients. Their chocolate used to be just cream, sugar, milk, and cocoa, and nothing else. Now the ingredient list, while still "all natural", is considerably longer and more polysyllabic, to help stretch it out.
If you get Turkey Hill ice cream in your area, their Philadelphia Style line is prepared much the same way as the old Breyers was. They too use 3-pint containers, unfortunately, but they've got good stuff in them.
Posted by: John Mark Ockerbloom | June 30, 2009 11:49 AM
Shouldn't someone from Argentina be a "steak-er" or something?
Anyway, ignorant fools are always readily available. Sometimes they don't realize they are being hateful fools (hence the "ignorant") but hey, most of the time the just hate.
In fact, I once saw a pretty offensive blog post title around here with "Jew" in it, and reading the piece made me none the wiser.
I'm glad you were able to rescue the plane lady.
Posted by: PalMD | June 30, 2009 12:02 PM
Obviously, "do unto others as you would have them do unto you" was sapped over the back of the head, tied up in a burlap sack, and thrown in the river by, "Aiyeee! The Brown Hordes are taking over Amurrica!"
Applause for Dr. Isis' kindness.
Posted by: cicely | June 30, 2009 12:23 PM
I am really impressed that you did not "bean" this guy. Your restraint is inspirational.
Posted by: Donna B. | June 30, 2009 12:25 PM
Perhaps we should learn the language of the inhabitants of this great continent. But then again, I'm sure he does not speak Cree.
Posted by: ScientistMother | June 30, 2009 1:46 PM
I am, too, surprised you didn't kick his ass with your high heels.
He'd deserve to be dropped out of the plane over some place where nobody speaks a language he knows. Heavens sake, at the very least - give people the time it takes to learn a foreign language!
Posted by: fia | June 30, 2009 2:13 PM
as a hopelessly monolingual english speaker, when I travel I am at the mercy of good samaritans around the globe. so anytime I can be a good samaritan, I step in too. I can't translate, but again, as a hopelessly monolingual english speaker who travels, I have developed great body and sign language to explain hosts of tasks calmly and slowly. Its amazing how well it works.
Good for you Isis (too bad you didn't just pop the guy behind you, or at least spilled something on him).
Posted by: rb | June 30, 2009 3:11 PM
People like that guy MAKE ME NUTS. I traveled in Argentina with crummy Spanish, and was *so* grateful for helpful folks I encountered. A thousand blessing on their souls, and yours, Isis. What shocked me was that on the return flight (Buenos Aires to Houston), a Spanish-speaking woman was trying to communicate to a flight attendant that she was cold & wanted another blanket. The attendant got all huffy and announced that she'd have to go find the Spanish-speaking attendant. It boggled my mind that crummy-speaker-me could completely understand the request, but a flight attendant on a flight from South America couldn't understand the pantomime and the word "frio". I gave the woman my blanket.
Posted by: KT | June 30, 2009 3:34 PM
You're in good company, Dr. Isis, bein' pissed off and all by a Pharisee.
Posted by: Gingerale | June 30, 2009 4:26 PM
I don't know about you, but I'm pretty upset at the advert on the right side of the sciblogs today.... Mail Order Brides?! WTF!
Posted by: DJ | June 30, 2009 7:54 PM
...
@ Catherine, No. 2.
As long as your shoes are hott . . .it is all good.
.
@ DJ, No. 25.
Hey, you surely must know how lonely those geeky science-types get . . ..
...tom...
.
Posted by: ...tom... | June 30, 2009 8:09 PM
1) Translating for somebody like this is as ethically commendable as holding a door open for someone on crutches. I guess go good deed goes unpunished.
2) LOL @ the last two sentences, and at erin (11)
3) Because I *have* to play devil's advocate- why does it matter if she was from Argentina? Including that detail could indicate he was extra-ignorant, but the quote alone could leave no possible doubt about that.
Posted by: becca | June 30, 2009 9:42 PM
This attitude drives me crazy, and unfortunately, I hear it expressed frequently.
I work in a free clinic for underserved populations. Not surprisingly, this includes a lot of Spanish-speaking immigrants (in addition to other languages). As one of only two Spanish-speaking staff members, I do a lot of interpretation.
One day not too long ago, on a morning with a particularly high number of Spanish-speakers (I'm not latina, I learned Spanish in school and traveling and by making myself use it), I received a series of anonymous but venomous letters from other patients who were unhappy that they had to wait in line behind immigrants. And they were very clear that this was ALL MY FAULT; I was practically luring immigrants across the border. Their vocabulary of choice made "beaner" sound like flattery.
On the other hand, these angry, compassion-challenged people are in the minority. They just happen to be a vocal and incredibly aggravating minority.
Posted by: Jean | July 1, 2009 2:00 AM
I hate, HATE the xenophobes!!!! Do these people not know one goddamn bit of American history?
My grandfather's parents came here from southern Italy, which means I'm officially 1/4 wop, goomba, dago, or whatever. His complexion is dark, and if he claimed to be Hispanic people would probably believe him. (Technically, he is indeed Latino, since his ancestors were speaking Latin long before anybody else.) Given the Argentines I've met, I wouldn't be surprised if his skin is darker than that of the woman you helped on the plane. His parents were poor Catholics with dark skin, coming here to do manual labor. He had to do ESL in kindergarten. He grew up in a poor neighborhood that was plagued with crime thanks to alcohol prohibition. (Not so different from modern immigrant neighborhoods struggling with the gangs that arise as a consequence of another failed prohibition policy.)
Back then, he wasn't considered "white." When he married my grandmother (an undocumented immigrant from Canada, ironically) his family said "Oh, you married a white girl." Editorial cartoonists had all sorts of racist caricatures of Italian immigrants, not so different from today's racist caricatures of Hispanic immigrants.
Nowadays, of course, he's considered "white", and people freak out over a different group of dark-complexioned Catholics who speak a language derived from Latin. And they assure us that "This time it's different." No, it's not one bit different. Have these people never read a history book?
On a related note, about 10 years ago I read a newspaper article about an Iowa town that was uneasy about immigration. But then they interviewed some really, really old guy who said "Once upon a time they told us that the Norwegian immigrants were going to ruin things. They didn't. I'm not worried about the Mexicans." Finally, somebody who knows some history.
Posted by: Alex | July 1, 2009 3:07 PM
I've had someone call me "Pedro" in a derogatory fashion when I was working ("Hurry it up, Pedro!") and then called me "Speedy Gonzales" similarly, right to my face.
I'd have said something, but I was too stunned by it since I'm caucasian. I have a dark complexion, possibly owing to some Native American heritage (only 1/8th), and had gotten a tan from working in the sun.
The only thing worse than a racist is an inaccurate racist.
Another anecdote I remember was even more confusing, but not directed at me. I was standing in line to get some change in a supermarket at the service counter, and a couple of Mexican guys were ahead of me in line. As I'm waiting, this elderly black lady behind me leans up and says, "Damn spics, you know they're just wiring money back to Mexico."
It was...just so confusing to have one minority making a disparaging remark about another minority to me.
Posted by: LtStorm | July 2, 2009 12:00 PM
"The only thing worse than a racist is an inaccurate racist."
Why?
This is what I was getting at with the "Why does it matter if she was from Argentina?" question. On the one hand, I can understand why a person of any particular nationality would be annoyed with being mistaken for another nationality. But this isn't an American offended at being thought a DarnDirtyCanadian.
There's a note of "how dare he call ME that?" here that I don't like.
I'm 100% with you on "how dare he call anyone that?".
Posted by: becca | July 2, 2009 12:49 PM
Becca, I didn't consider it this way when I wrote it. My note that I recognized her as being from Argentina was simply that. I recognized her as being from Argentina because I was able to distinguish her accent in the same way that I can usually recognize someone from Mexico, Cuba, or Spain. My statement had nothing to do with whether that makes it more or less valid to call her a "beaner."
Posted by: Isis the Scientist | July 2, 2009 2:13 PM
...
Twilight?
Posted by: The Pink Ninja | July 2, 2009 6:45 PM
Well, that was sweet of you. And the guy is a racist moron. Here's a happy thought for you: each time he sees a pcture of your current President, he must feel very bad. All this bitterness might even end up pucturing his stomach.
Posted by: Christophe Thill | July 3, 2009 7:24 AM