Illegitimi Non Carborundum – Don’t Let Them Get You Down

Do you remember the TV show? Porridge? This BBC production screened on ABC years ago and featured Ronnie Barker as the hardened but comical criminal, Norman Stanley Fletcher, his fellow prisoner, Lennie Godber, and two prison guards of a very different nature, Mr. Mackay and Mr. Barraclough, at Pentridge Prison.

One of the emblematic sequences of this production was the following:

mound: Are you writing a book?
Arrow: Yes, a kind of inside guide to life in prison. But don’t worry, I haven’t overlooked you boys in blue; I will take care of both your problems and those of our fellow criminals.
mound: Oh God. And what are you going to call this book?
Arrow: Don’t let the bastards crush you.

There is a love/hate relationship here. The show is characterized by relational friction within the comedy genre.

But here is the turn.

Have you ever had one of those days when people are the main problem? The phrase ‘Don’t let the bastards crush you’ (this is the meaning of the title of the article ‘broken Latin’, Illegitimate not carborundum) is synonymous with this sentiment, and is something to keep in mind when dealing with people who often cause trouble.

Folklore says that General “Vinegar Joe” Stilwell used it as a motto during World War II. It is also a pun for the ‘bastard file’ which removes rough material before using a smooth file.

I recently had one of these days. I tried complaints ranging from the color of furniture to choosing one word over another in a document to find some elementary help that wasn’t available. It was both damning and disconcerting.

However, then the phrase came to mind, and Barker’s voice, ‘Don’t let those bastards crush you,’ because I’m sure this is his overall goal: to totally frustrate the person he wants to get through in a simple way. and fair. life. Some are earnestly inclined to frustrate the efforts of good people, because they have nothing better to do.

For some, there is only trouble: they harass good people and flood them.

Is this person annoying to wear down the good person, who, by his nature, is simply trying to do a decent job? No. We must resist the troublesome person by avoiding his path or by patiently enduring him. Let the problematic person attract another problematic person, and let them completely frustrate each other, together. Let them not interrupt real progress.

The good person, by virtue of his acts of doing a good job, must avoid the problematic person whenever it is conveniently possible; because there is wisdom in that. Even more critical than this is remaining as patient, tolerant and calm as possible in the midst of so much madness.

Copyright © 2009, SJ Wickham. All rights reserved throughout the world.

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