STEVE CAMERON BLOG: Fit like min?

Still here.

I’ll explain the meaning of today’s title in a sec.

It all has to do with a story I came across in The Atlantic magazine.

Author Megan Garber was making a point about how we greet each other – and how some very simple expressions now have a very different meaning.

For instance, she pointed out that just a couple of months ago, we might meet in a café and say: “Hi, how are you doing?”

But that polite greeting wasn’t meant to require an answer.

A reply like, “Just fine,” would suffice, and after some pleasant nodding and so forth, you go your separate ways.

Under the cloud of COVID-19, however, Garber made the point that no one is really just fine – and that these days, if you throw out the usual perfunctory question, you’re saying it in a completely different context.

What we mean in our coronavirus world with those words is something like: “How are you doing, REALLY?”

Now...

Let’s go back to the title of today’s blog.

The phrase “Fit like?” is a common greeting in northern Scotland, where I lived for a few years. It actually comes from a dialect called Doric, which sometimes can even puzzle Scots from the lowlands.

The phrase means, generally, “How’re you doing?”

Adding the word “min” simply acknowledges that you’re saying hello to a man.

So in the village of Cullen, for instance, if a neighbor or someone I knew from the news agent’s shop happened to say: “Fit like min?”...

Well, he’d be asking how I’m getting along, and UNLIKE here in the States, a simple reply like “Nae bad” (Not bad) sometimes wouldn’t be enough.

What I noticed in Scotland was that when someone greeted you and tossed out that question about how you’re getting along, they’re sincerely asking about your health, your family, your life, the whole thing.

And so a short conversation ensues, during which both parties bring the other up to date on whatever’s going on.

Before you get upset...

This is not to say that Scots are thoughtful and interested, while Americans are self-absorbed and barely care about your welfare.

It’s simply the language, and what it means in different cultures.

We are an optimistic lot over here, so any kind of greeting more or less assumes that you’re doing fine.

Why wouldn’t you be fine, here in paradise?

But as Ms. Garber pointed out in The Atlantic article, asking someone how they’re doing has a completely different meaning in these days of voluntary imprisonment.

You’re saying: “Look, everyone’s struggling a bit. So how are you getting along in these tough times?”

And there WILL be an answer, good or bad.

Some people might say they’re OK, under the circumstances. Yet others might tell you they’re having a miserable time in isolation, and what bothers them the most.

Either way, it’s time to listen. And let others listen to you.

We need this communication now.

Mean what you say, and take replies seriously – because NOBODY is doing just fine.

This is a time when we need people to talk, and to share what they’re feeling.

So...

Fit like?

You’re welcome to join the blog. Any time, on any subject. Or with any opinion that doesn’t get us sued.

scameron@cdapress.com

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