It's the Small Things - Pride and Culture

This morning I walked into my regular convenience store to pick up milk on the way to work, I often stop by this shop and am used to the somewhat erratic nature of its Lebanese owner. Today he presented me with a classic culture clash that left me chuckling at the void between its two participants. The scene was this: I walked in to see a well groomed lady asking the store guy about an order her office has with the shop for newspapers. They wanted 2 copies of this, 2 copies of that and another copy of something else set aside for them each day so that they could just drop in, pick them up and be on there way. She asked, somewhat patronisingly if that was too hard for the store owner. The fire was lit. My first thought was that she was some company director used to giving orders... but then what would a company director be doing arguing over the $5s worth of papers that their company had ordered. My second thought was that this had all the hallmarks of office administration on a power trip.

The store owner replied it had nothing to do with him and if they wanted the newspapers they should get there early. She said she was paying them for this service and that it was important. He said he arrived at the store at 8am and had no control over what the guys before him did, or did not do. She asked if he could right them a note explaining the situation.

Now for the crux of the story: the Lebanese store owner looked her right in the eye and said 'inshallah'. BAMM. The lady didn't understand and repeated her request/demand... the store owner decided to translate... maybe, perhaps, possibly, I will try. I almost laughed. I have long held the belief that inshallah is the most polite/frustrating kiss off you can give someone but to see it stripped of its religious, fatalistic connotations, to have it lie there naked in rough and raw English was too good to be true. Here was a direct translation that stomped on all those people who have tried to politely explain that they will 'do their best' or 'of course, but just in case something should happen'. These were the words of a man in complete control of his environment.

After the lady left the shop owner turned to take my money and finished with something even more poetic: "if she doesn't like it she can go f*ck herself, this is my store, f*ck her, f*cking tosser". Never say that convenience store owners need to bow to the economic pressures that demand servitude.