1 00:00:01,720 --> 00:00:03,240 Speaker 1: Cool Zone Media. 2 00:00:07,600 --> 00:00:13,720 Speaker 2: Book Club, book Club, book Club, book but no one 3 00:00:13,720 --> 00:00:17,160 Speaker 2: else can say it. That's a joke. There's no one 4 00:00:17,160 --> 00:00:19,959 Speaker 2: else on the call. It's just me. I'm your host, 5 00:00:20,000 --> 00:00:22,480 Speaker 2: Margaret Kildoy, and this is Cool Zone Media book Club. 6 00:00:22,920 --> 00:00:27,400 Speaker 2: And this week, dear listener, you're the guest, so I 7 00:00:27,400 --> 00:00:29,760 Speaker 2: hope you're going to okay, So let's chat it together. Okay, 8 00:00:29,960 --> 00:00:34,320 Speaker 2: you already book club, the Club, the club. What do 9 00:00:34,320 --> 00:00:36,479 Speaker 2: you mean you don't want to do it in public 10 00:00:37,560 --> 00:00:40,680 Speaker 2: with while you're listening to headphones on the bus. You 11 00:00:40,720 --> 00:00:45,920 Speaker 2: should be chanting with me. Well, either way, this is 12 00:00:45,920 --> 00:00:48,400 Speaker 2: the Cool Zone Media Book Club. I'm your host, Margaret Kildrey, 13 00:00:48,680 --> 00:00:52,600 Speaker 2: and every week I bring you a new story that's fictional. 14 00:00:53,800 --> 00:01:00,760 Speaker 2: The opposite of the truth is fiction. This week we're 15 00:01:00,800 --> 00:01:03,680 Speaker 2: going to talk about well, I guess you're going to 16 00:01:03,720 --> 00:01:07,160 Speaker 2: hear what the episode, what the story is about when 17 00:01:07,200 --> 00:01:10,640 Speaker 2: I read it to you. This story is called Tongue Mining. 18 00:01:11,040 --> 00:01:14,040 Speaker 2: It was written by Jack Morton, and here's a bio. 19 00:01:14,959 --> 00:01:17,720 Speaker 2: Jack Morton was born in New Brunswick, Canada. He studied 20 00:01:17,760 --> 00:01:20,640 Speaker 2: theater and writing at the University of Toronto and carries 21 00:01:20,640 --> 00:01:23,319 Speaker 2: a knit and black belt in karate. He currently lives 22 00:01:23,319 --> 00:01:25,800 Speaker 2: in to Lose, France, where he writes and narrates audiobooks. 23 00:01:26,280 --> 00:01:28,840 Speaker 2: You can read more of his stories in rat On Journal, 24 00:01:29,080 --> 00:01:32,680 Speaker 2: The Woodward Review, Expanded Field Journal, or let Him read 25 00:01:32,680 --> 00:01:36,320 Speaker 2: one to you at Vast Literary Press. And this story 26 00:01:36,319 --> 00:01:39,800 Speaker 2: in particular first appeared in rat On Journal number four. 27 00:01:40,120 --> 00:01:42,400 Speaker 2: And if you like Coolsone Media Book Club, you'll probably 28 00:01:42,480 --> 00:01:45,440 Speaker 2: like rat On Journal r A Don which is a 29 00:01:45,440 --> 00:01:53,520 Speaker 2: anarchist fiction magazine, so might interest you. It might not. 30 00:01:54,040 --> 00:01:56,640 Speaker 2: I hope this story does though. It's called tongue Mining. 31 00:01:58,040 --> 00:01:59,800 Speaker 2: Oh and the best part is there's a bunch of 32 00:01:59,880 --> 00:02:03,560 Speaker 2: like French and stuff in it, and other languages, and 33 00:02:03,600 --> 00:02:07,160 Speaker 2: I don't know how to speak them, so you can 34 00:02:07,200 --> 00:02:10,320 Speaker 2: hear my. I'm not even going to try into an accent. 35 00:02:10,639 --> 00:02:14,560 Speaker 2: I'm just gonna stumble through it. That's the way it goes. 36 00:02:14,880 --> 00:02:21,320 Speaker 2: Tongue mining, my ears sting, threatening to water, sweat beads 37 00:02:21,320 --> 00:02:23,840 Speaker 2: on my upper lip. I don't think anyone said not 38 00:02:23,919 --> 00:02:27,040 Speaker 2: to blink or touch. My face just remains still so 39 00:02:27,120 --> 00:02:30,680 Speaker 2: the camera can focus on my eyes. The word bird 40 00:02:30,720 --> 00:02:34,359 Speaker 2: appears plain white font on a black background projected onto 41 00:02:34,360 --> 00:02:38,040 Speaker 2: a fabric screen. My gaze flicks to the upper right corner, 42 00:02:38,160 --> 00:02:42,480 Speaker 2: and then back to center. Mountain comes up next upper left. 43 00:02:43,160 --> 00:02:46,480 Speaker 2: The man beside me coughs, I don't look. That could 44 00:02:46,480 --> 00:02:49,520 Speaker 2: throw off my results, but I'm distracted. It takes me 45 00:02:49,600 --> 00:02:53,120 Speaker 2: longer to place mole in the lower right. The words 46 00:02:53,120 --> 00:02:56,880 Speaker 2: disappear quicker, less time to read. I hear sharpened hails. 47 00:02:57,160 --> 00:03:01,320 Speaker 2: Tension fills the room. Relax, says the woman monitoring the test. 48 00:03:02,000 --> 00:03:04,880 Speaker 2: She paces slowly between the rows of desks, making me 49 00:03:04,919 --> 00:03:07,480 Speaker 2: feel like a school child, even though I'm probably older 50 00:03:07,520 --> 00:03:10,520 Speaker 2: than her. I break down and wipe the sweat, and 51 00:03:10,560 --> 00:03:13,959 Speaker 2: I'm able to breathe steadier. The words begin to fly naturally. 52 00:03:14,520 --> 00:03:19,200 Speaker 2: Tree upper right, stump, lower left, cloud, upper left, bat 53 00:03:19,360 --> 00:03:24,440 Speaker 2: upper right. Just as the monitor said, I relax. I 54 00:03:24,480 --> 00:03:26,480 Speaker 2: tell myself not to think about whether the object is 55 00:03:26,560 --> 00:03:30,040 Speaker 2: high or low, animate or inanimate. The meaning is contained 56 00:03:30,040 --> 00:03:32,520 Speaker 2: in my English speaking mind. I just have to let 57 00:03:32,560 --> 00:03:36,320 Speaker 2: it come out. Then something flashes on the screen. Poutik. 58 00:03:36,520 --> 00:03:38,920 Speaker 2: I think I didn't have time to reread it before 59 00:03:38,920 --> 00:03:41,760 Speaker 2: it disappeared. I'm lost for a moment, but suddenly a 60 00:03:41,840 --> 00:03:44,920 Speaker 2: voice in the back row said, booisit. I try to 61 00:03:45,000 --> 00:03:47,680 Speaker 2: keep focused forward. More words are coming, but I hear 62 00:03:47,720 --> 00:03:51,120 Speaker 2: a scuffle in raised voices. The man who shouted insists 63 00:03:51,160 --> 00:03:55,200 Speaker 2: he misread and doesn't speak to Gallic. The monitor points 64 00:03:55,240 --> 00:03:58,280 Speaker 2: out that nobody mentioned to Galic until him. When a 65 00:03:58,360 --> 00:04:01,760 Speaker 2: chair scrapes loudly against the floor, I turn around. Two 66 00:04:01,800 --> 00:04:03,840 Speaker 2: men with a symbol matching the one on the monitor's 67 00:04:03,920 --> 00:04:06,960 Speaker 2: lapel across their broad chests are physically removing a panicked 68 00:04:06,960 --> 00:04:10,600 Speaker 2: elderly man from the room. He's cursing now in English, 69 00:04:10,840 --> 00:04:13,960 Speaker 2: and what I assume is to Glic, resisting like if 70 00:04:13,960 --> 00:04:16,080 Speaker 2: he could regain his seat, it would undo all of 71 00:04:16,080 --> 00:04:20,080 Speaker 2: this and he could still take the test. Then I 72 00:04:20,120 --> 00:04:23,080 Speaker 2: realize he's reaching for his earbuds and glasses, lying to 73 00:04:23,160 --> 00:04:25,520 Speaker 2: the side of his desk. Like all of us, he 74 00:04:25,560 --> 00:04:28,479 Speaker 2: had to remove them to start the test. Please just 75 00:04:28,560 --> 00:04:32,240 Speaker 2: let me take my The monitor cuts them off. These 76 00:04:32,279 --> 00:04:34,960 Speaker 2: devices are not yours, they are the property of all talk. 77 00:04:36,680 --> 00:04:39,960 Speaker 2: She strides across the room and collects them. By refusing 78 00:04:39,960 --> 00:04:41,720 Speaker 2: to abide by the rules of the test and by 79 00:04:41,720 --> 00:04:45,320 Speaker 2: concealing language fluencies, you have violated our terms and conditions. 80 00:04:45,839 --> 00:04:50,840 Speaker 2: Your subscription to our translation service is terminated. He tries 81 00:04:50,880 --> 00:04:53,200 Speaker 2: to object again, but soon he's out of the room. 82 00:04:53,640 --> 00:04:56,960 Speaker 2: The monitor closes the door and all noise from outside 83 00:04:57,120 --> 00:05:01,640 Speaker 2: is silenced. Sorry for the dis option, everyone, please turn 84 00:05:01,680 --> 00:05:05,520 Speaker 2: to face the screen and we'll resume. I look at 85 00:05:05,520 --> 00:05:08,680 Speaker 2: the others. They mostly look as scared as me, but 86 00:05:08,760 --> 00:05:13,280 Speaker 2: one tall, blonde man's face shows indignance. We make eye contact, 87 00:05:13,279 --> 00:05:16,279 Speaker 2: and my meek cowed expression seems to motivate him further. 88 00:05:16,760 --> 00:05:20,920 Speaker 2: He stands, no, I'm not taking this. You can't treat 89 00:05:20,960 --> 00:05:23,360 Speaker 2: people that way, dragging him out like he's some criminal. 90 00:05:24,279 --> 00:05:27,040 Speaker 2: All Talk reserves the right to expel testers who disrupt 91 00:05:27,080 --> 00:05:29,800 Speaker 2: the process. You all saw him grab me when I 92 00:05:29,839 --> 00:05:32,920 Speaker 2: asked him to leave on his own. I'd seen nothing. 93 00:05:33,400 --> 00:05:36,479 Speaker 2: I don't know if anyone else had. The blonde guy 94 00:05:36,520 --> 00:05:39,520 Speaker 2: goes on, I'm a paying customer. I don't need to 95 00:05:39,520 --> 00:05:43,159 Speaker 2: put up with this treatment. Of course not, she replies calmly. 96 00:05:43,640 --> 00:05:46,760 Speaker 2: This test is completely voluntary, as you were informed when 97 00:05:46,760 --> 00:05:50,159 Speaker 2: your attendance was requested. You're welcome to leave at any time. 98 00:05:50,800 --> 00:05:53,799 Speaker 2: Simply leave any all Talk devices with the front desk 99 00:05:53,839 --> 00:05:56,800 Speaker 2: on the way out, and your subscription will be terminated. 100 00:05:57,600 --> 00:06:01,279 Speaker 2: And there it is. She has us or they do. 101 00:06:02,000 --> 00:06:05,200 Speaker 2: The corporation behind that symbol on her lapel because no 102 00:06:05,240 --> 00:06:08,559 Speaker 2: one would voluntarily give up their all talk. They'd venture 103 00:06:08,600 --> 00:06:12,040 Speaker 2: into the world with no translation tech, without the ubiquitous 104 00:06:12,040 --> 00:06:15,120 Speaker 2: glasses and earbuds. Maybe at work the next day they 105 00:06:15,200 --> 00:06:18,280 Speaker 2: discover their company was Russian and their boss gave instructions 106 00:06:18,279 --> 00:06:21,600 Speaker 2: in Arabic. Maybe at home they'd find out their partner 107 00:06:21,640 --> 00:06:24,960 Speaker 2: spoke mohawk. Half the signage in the city is probably 108 00:06:25,000 --> 00:06:29,240 Speaker 2: in scripts they couldn't name, much less read. The blonde 109 00:06:29,240 --> 00:06:32,320 Speaker 2: man's face still looks defiant, but he swallows whatever he 110 00:06:32,360 --> 00:06:36,479 Speaker 2: wants to say and sits down facing the screen. And 111 00:06:36,520 --> 00:06:39,680 Speaker 2: if you want to look defiant, dear listener, you can 112 00:06:40,160 --> 00:06:47,960 Speaker 2: buy our one hundred percent defiant ADS revenue. This is 113 00:06:48,000 --> 00:07:05,240 Speaker 2: an AD pivot. Here you go, and we're back. We 114 00:07:05,279 --> 00:07:07,600 Speaker 2: all turn and resenter our eyes on the cameras as 115 00:07:07,640 --> 00:07:10,560 Speaker 2: the monitor scrubs. The test playback and we start at 116 00:07:11,000 --> 00:07:15,120 Speaker 2: bird again. My eye actions become jerky, trying not to 117 00:07:15,120 --> 00:07:18,280 Speaker 2: think about the Filipino man. At least I can vindicate 118 00:07:18,280 --> 00:07:20,880 Speaker 2: his loss by succeeding. Now that I know the real 119 00:07:20,920 --> 00:07:23,720 Speaker 2: point of the test. They don't care whether we correctly 120 00:07:23,760 --> 00:07:28,040 Speaker 2: identify objects as high or low, animate or inanimate. The 121 00:07:28,080 --> 00:07:30,520 Speaker 2: start of the test was mental training, getting us to 122 00:07:30,560 --> 00:07:34,120 Speaker 2: react instinctively to these concepts, so that when non English 123 00:07:34,120 --> 00:07:38,240 Speaker 2: words appear, we'll respond without thinking. They aren't testing fluency 124 00:07:38,240 --> 00:07:42,640 Speaker 2: in English, they're hunting for it in other languages. And 125 00:07:42,680 --> 00:07:46,600 Speaker 2: maybe my participation wasn't random selection, like they'd claimed. A 126 00:07:46,640 --> 00:07:49,600 Speaker 2: flash of Grandma's old place, the box she made us 127 00:07:49,640 --> 00:07:52,960 Speaker 2: put all our electronics in when we arrived, songs and 128 00:07:53,040 --> 00:07:56,960 Speaker 2: games in French as a child, stories about Champlin or 129 00:07:57,040 --> 00:08:00,160 Speaker 2: the Corie de Bois when I was older. But I 130 00:08:00,160 --> 00:08:02,880 Speaker 2: haven't used my French in years, not since Grandma died. 131 00:08:03,360 --> 00:08:05,960 Speaker 2: The test won't pick up on that, certainly, not if 132 00:08:05,960 --> 00:08:09,840 Speaker 2: I can help it. I banish Grandma's living room and concentrate. 133 00:08:11,000 --> 00:08:14,720 Speaker 2: Sure enough, after putik every few words, something appears that 134 00:08:14,760 --> 00:08:18,400 Speaker 2: I don't know. Often can't even read. Even if I 135 00:08:18,400 --> 00:08:21,680 Speaker 2: think I recognize something, I stare defiantly straight unless I'm 136 00:08:21,760 --> 00:08:24,960 Speaker 2: sure it's English. Anyone else try to fool them in 137 00:08:24,960 --> 00:08:26,880 Speaker 2: the room has an edge now, but it still won't 138 00:08:26,920 --> 00:08:30,840 Speaker 2: be easy. The words are getting trickier. Snow falls from 139 00:08:30,920 --> 00:08:34,280 Speaker 2: high to low. Brain could be animate or an inanimate 140 00:08:34,320 --> 00:08:37,040 Speaker 2: part of an animate whole. I have to think before 141 00:08:37,080 --> 00:08:41,000 Speaker 2: I can place mine as something low and inanimate. I 142 00:08:41,040 --> 00:08:44,120 Speaker 2: first think of the other meaning ownership, to which neither 143 00:08:44,160 --> 00:08:48,319 Speaker 2: of those ideas applies. Loon. My eyes flick up and 144 00:08:48,400 --> 00:08:50,960 Speaker 2: left slightly before I study them. But I hadn't been 145 00:08:51,000 --> 00:08:54,360 Speaker 2: expecting traps. I would have looked. A fluent French speaker, 146 00:08:54,440 --> 00:08:56,720 Speaker 2: already programmed by the start of the test to go 147 00:08:56,800 --> 00:08:59,520 Speaker 2: up and left for something high and inanimate, would have 148 00:08:59,559 --> 00:09:02,800 Speaker 2: had no chance. I hope I didn't react too much. 149 00:09:03,280 --> 00:09:07,000 Speaker 2: Surely English speakers know lune, they have lunar and lunacy. 150 00:09:07,679 --> 00:09:10,280 Speaker 2: I try not to think about it. More words are coming. 151 00:09:11,400 --> 00:09:14,959 Speaker 2: Apparently I succeed at the word recognition portion. At least 152 00:09:15,000 --> 00:09:17,360 Speaker 2: the monitor doesn't say anything to me before moving on 153 00:09:17,440 --> 00:09:20,560 Speaker 2: to the written composition. I stare at blank paper on 154 00:09:20,600 --> 00:09:22,679 Speaker 2: which I'm supposed to write a response of a few 155 00:09:22,760 --> 00:09:26,720 Speaker 2: hundred words to their prompt describe a wedding you attended 156 00:09:26,920 --> 00:09:30,840 Speaker 2: in the form of an email to a friend. Pens 157 00:09:30,880 --> 00:09:34,280 Speaker 2: move all around me, but I feel stuck. Images of 158 00:09:34,360 --> 00:09:37,840 Speaker 2: various weddings flashed through my mind. My cousin on the beach, 159 00:09:38,280 --> 00:09:41,199 Speaker 2: my sister at the old farmhouse, or I could invent 160 00:09:41,240 --> 00:09:44,360 Speaker 2: a wedding. It shouldn't matter. They're not judging my memory, 161 00:09:44,679 --> 00:09:48,000 Speaker 2: just my writing, Except now I know that's not really 162 00:09:48,080 --> 00:09:51,319 Speaker 2: the point, or at least not the only one. They 163 00:09:51,320 --> 00:09:54,080 Speaker 2: don't just want to evaluate my English. They also want 164 00:09:54,120 --> 00:09:58,520 Speaker 2: to know if I secretly understand anything else. I glance around. 165 00:09:58,720 --> 00:10:01,640 Speaker 2: The projection screen is rolled up, exposing writing on the 166 00:10:01,679 --> 00:10:05,080 Speaker 2: blackboard behind it. Some of it looks like a lesson, 167 00:10:05,360 --> 00:10:07,840 Speaker 2: a list with bullet points. Some of it could be 168 00:10:07,840 --> 00:10:11,040 Speaker 2: student graffiti. I turned quickly back to the paper before 169 00:10:11,040 --> 00:10:14,360 Speaker 2: I have time to take anything in. It wasn't in English. 170 00:10:14,840 --> 00:10:18,240 Speaker 2: It may be part of the test. I should write 171 00:10:18,360 --> 00:10:21,840 Speaker 2: in an anglophone way, use a variety of sentence structures 172 00:10:21,840 --> 00:10:26,760 Speaker 2: to showcase English's versatility. Maybe drop in some impressive vocabulary. 173 00:10:27,280 --> 00:10:31,120 Speaker 2: But trying too hard might seem suspicious. Everyone around me 174 00:10:31,200 --> 00:10:33,360 Speaker 2: is already writing. It's not that hard to write a 175 00:10:33,400 --> 00:10:36,440 Speaker 2: few hundred words in your native language. Simple off the 176 00:10:36,480 --> 00:10:39,960 Speaker 2: cuff writing is probably best. I squeeze out some details 177 00:10:39,960 --> 00:10:42,120 Speaker 2: from my cousin's wedding, mixed with a movie I saw 178 00:10:42,200 --> 00:10:46,720 Speaker 2: last week. Reading back, it feels clunky. Maybe that's okay. 179 00:10:47,240 --> 00:10:49,120 Speaker 2: Just because you're fluent in a language doesn't mean you 180 00:10:49,120 --> 00:10:53,160 Speaker 2: can spontaneously shit out beautiful prose especially in as synthetic 181 00:10:53,200 --> 00:10:56,200 Speaker 2: a situation as this. I write a few more trite 182 00:10:56,240 --> 00:11:00,560 Speaker 2: sentences and start counting words. The monitor cos all the 183 00:11:00,600 --> 00:11:03,440 Speaker 2: papers and directs us to the next haulover for the 184 00:11:03,559 --> 00:11:07,920 Speaker 2: oral communication portion. Everyone instinctively puts their glasses on and 185 00:11:07,960 --> 00:11:11,280 Speaker 2: earbuds back in. We move with the slow shuffle of 186 00:11:11,280 --> 00:11:14,439 Speaker 2: a group no one wants to lead. I have time 187 00:11:14,480 --> 00:11:17,520 Speaker 2: to check the blackboard. The writing and other scripts and 188 00:11:17,559 --> 00:11:20,360 Speaker 2: tongues has resolved into English. I read some of the 189 00:11:20,360 --> 00:11:23,960 Speaker 2: crassest and most abusive insults I've ever seen. The original 190 00:11:23,960 --> 00:11:26,600 Speaker 2: phrases could have been tough to ignore for someone who 191 00:11:26,760 --> 00:11:31,760 Speaker 2: understood them. I chuckle and glance around. No one else notices. 192 00:11:33,920 --> 00:11:36,839 Speaker 2: We sit in low plastic chairs waiting to be called 193 00:11:36,840 --> 00:11:39,720 Speaker 2: into one of the small rooms. When my name comes up, 194 00:11:39,760 --> 00:11:42,720 Speaker 2: I'm surprised by the man waiting for me. I'd prepare 195 00:11:42,760 --> 00:11:45,560 Speaker 2: myself to see the monitor from earlier, but of course 196 00:11:45,800 --> 00:11:49,520 Speaker 2: she couldn't run each individual test. My expectations of the 197 00:11:49,520 --> 00:11:52,680 Speaker 2: tight haired school teachery woman run up against a smiling, 198 00:11:52,760 --> 00:11:55,880 Speaker 2: balding man in his fifties, a red face and a 199 00:11:55,920 --> 00:11:59,240 Speaker 2: well fed build, plus a twinkle in his eye, suggests 200 00:11:59,240 --> 00:12:02,800 Speaker 2: as sort of bombon. I mentally chied myself for using 201 00:12:02,840 --> 00:12:05,800 Speaker 2: that phrase, but there can't be any harm in loanwords. 202 00:12:06,040 --> 00:12:09,880 Speaker 2: I don't know French speakers even say bon vivant. He 203 00:12:09,960 --> 00:12:12,559 Speaker 2: gestures for me to sit. I reach for my earbuds, 204 00:12:12,559 --> 00:12:15,000 Speaker 2: but he says to leave them in. He verifies my 205 00:12:15,120 --> 00:12:18,200 Speaker 2: name and all talk user information, then asks how the 206 00:12:18,240 --> 00:12:21,680 Speaker 2: written component of the test went. I explained my struggle 207 00:12:21,720 --> 00:12:24,520 Speaker 2: with what to write, how long I hesitated worrying about 208 00:12:24,520 --> 00:12:29,160 Speaker 2: the content of the response. Apparently it's a common problem. 209 00:12:30,160 --> 00:12:32,120 Speaker 2: The setting is so much like a school classroom that 210 00:12:32,160 --> 00:12:34,400 Speaker 2: people feel they're going to be graded on clever ideas, 211 00:12:34,440 --> 00:12:37,720 Speaker 2: when really we're just looking for comfortable use of the language. 212 00:12:37,920 --> 00:12:40,600 Speaker 2: The same goes for this test. No need to stress 213 00:12:40,640 --> 00:12:43,920 Speaker 2: about what you say. We're just establishing whether you speak naturally. 214 00:12:44,240 --> 00:12:47,520 Speaker 2: So let's chat. He takes out his earbuds and I 215 00:12:47,559 --> 00:12:50,480 Speaker 2: do the same. He's explaining why it was important that 216 00:12:50,520 --> 00:12:53,640 Speaker 2: we talked briefly before taking them out, something about hearing 217 00:12:53,760 --> 00:12:57,480 Speaker 2: changes in vocal quality or vocabulary. But I don't follow 218 00:12:57,600 --> 00:13:00,280 Speaker 2: because halfway through, both of our earbuds are out and 219 00:13:00,320 --> 00:13:03,240 Speaker 2: I suddenly hear a regional accent. I'm not sure where 220 00:13:03,240 --> 00:13:06,920 Speaker 2: from maybe northern England. I wonder what he'll make of 221 00:13:06,960 --> 00:13:09,880 Speaker 2: my accent now that all talk isn't filtering it for him, 222 00:13:10,200 --> 00:13:13,320 Speaker 2: He looks expectantly at me. We can talk about anything 223 00:13:13,360 --> 00:13:17,319 Speaker 2: at all. An awful pause follows, which he breaks by 224 00:13:17,320 --> 00:13:21,400 Speaker 2: bursting into laughter. Sorry that was mean, he admits. I 225 00:13:21,440 --> 00:13:24,360 Speaker 2: love how universal it is. Take the most talkative people 226 00:13:24,360 --> 00:13:27,040 Speaker 2: in the world. Ask them to speak, and they have 227 00:13:27,040 --> 00:13:29,319 Speaker 2: no idea what to say. Why don't you tell me 228 00:13:29,360 --> 00:13:32,640 Speaker 2: where you're from? As I described the small town I 229 00:13:32,679 --> 00:13:35,559 Speaker 2: grew up in, I get more comfortable. He must often 230 00:13:35,559 --> 00:13:37,640 Speaker 2: ask people about their home to put them at ease. 231 00:13:38,200 --> 00:13:41,200 Speaker 2: I wonder if that gets boring. I meet people from 232 00:13:41,240 --> 00:13:43,600 Speaker 2: all over the world in the city. All talks have 233 00:13:43,640 --> 00:13:47,400 Speaker 2: eliminated one of the biggest barriers to integration. But for him, 234 00:13:47,720 --> 00:13:50,560 Speaker 2: always testing in English speakers, they must have a more 235 00:13:50,679 --> 00:13:56,080 Speaker 2: limited range of backgrounds. It might surprise you how many 236 00:13:56,120 --> 00:13:58,880 Speaker 2: places people have learned English as a first language. The 237 00:13:58,880 --> 00:14:02,080 Speaker 2: British Isles and North America, but also in Australia and 238 00:14:02,120 --> 00:14:05,760 Speaker 2: Pacific Islands, Africa, South Asia, the Caribbean. There are pockets 239 00:14:05,760 --> 00:14:08,240 Speaker 2: of it everywhere. That's without all the people trying to 240 00:14:08,280 --> 00:14:11,880 Speaker 2: pass it. Off as their mother tongue. We sell someone 241 00:14:11,880 --> 00:14:14,760 Speaker 2: ejected for that during the word recognition test. Why would 242 00:14:14,760 --> 00:14:18,400 Speaker 2: they do that? Silly, isn't it? The whole point of 243 00:14:18,400 --> 00:14:20,920 Speaker 2: all talk technology is everyone can use their own language. 244 00:14:21,080 --> 00:14:23,480 Speaker 2: A major selling point when we first pitched to governments 245 00:14:23,560 --> 00:14:26,280 Speaker 2: was preserving minority languages while giving their speakers the same 246 00:14:26,280 --> 00:14:30,440 Speaker 2: opportunities as people with one of the big colonial international languages. 247 00:14:31,240 --> 00:14:34,360 Speaker 2: I noticed you didn't answer my question, So why do 248 00:14:34,400 --> 00:14:39,160 Speaker 2: they object? All talk only translates into the wearer's first language. 249 00:14:39,320 --> 00:14:42,000 Speaker 2: People raised multi lingual get a choice. But you can't 250 00:14:42,000 --> 00:14:44,520 Speaker 2: get translation to English if you didn't grow up speaking it. 251 00:14:45,520 --> 00:14:49,480 Speaker 2: But why would someone choose English over their first language? Oh? 252 00:14:49,560 --> 00:14:52,480 Speaker 2: There are some complaints that the AI interface, designed by 253 00:14:52,520 --> 00:14:55,680 Speaker 2: Anglos and first adopted in the US, has been trained 254 00:14:55,720 --> 00:14:58,720 Speaker 2: to perceive the world with an anglocentric lens. Whatever that's 255 00:14:58,760 --> 00:15:02,280 Speaker 2: supposed to mean. He's frowning at the table as he speaks. 256 00:15:02,720 --> 00:15:05,520 Speaker 2: It's all nonsense. There's more data coming in from Mandarin 257 00:15:05,560 --> 00:15:09,400 Speaker 2: than English these days. Honestly, I think English has become 258 00:15:09,440 --> 00:15:12,880 Speaker 2: sort of fashionable. But not knowing all our customer's fluencies 259 00:15:12,920 --> 00:15:15,240 Speaker 2: messes with our data collection. It lowers the quality of 260 00:15:15,280 --> 00:15:19,040 Speaker 2: the translation. He hastily adds, as if clarifying was important, 261 00:15:19,600 --> 00:15:21,600 Speaker 2: we wouldn't want the AI to start thinking that the 262 00:15:21,640 --> 00:15:25,600 Speaker 2: way that non native speakers use English as normal, he chuckles. 263 00:15:26,480 --> 00:15:29,640 Speaker 2: I decided to push a little further. Outside. I saw 264 00:15:29,680 --> 00:15:33,440 Speaker 2: a few people picketing the building. A few is understating it. 265 00:15:33,680 --> 00:15:35,920 Speaker 2: They outnumbered those of us coming in for the test, 266 00:15:36,280 --> 00:15:40,000 Speaker 2: people of all ages, holding signs, shouting. None had warn't 267 00:15:40,000 --> 00:15:41,760 Speaker 2: all talks, so most of what they said as I 268 00:15:41,800 --> 00:15:44,640 Speaker 2: walked in with gibberish, but my glasses decoded the signs. 269 00:15:45,840 --> 00:15:48,600 Speaker 2: My words are not all talks property. You are a 270 00:15:48,640 --> 00:15:52,520 Speaker 2: police camera now mining your tongue to sell to my ears. 271 00:15:53,160 --> 00:15:57,600 Speaker 2: Monopoly on translation equals monopoly on the truth. The bearer 272 00:15:57,600 --> 00:15:59,960 Speaker 2: of the last one stepped in front of me, shouting. 273 00:16:00,360 --> 00:16:03,600 Speaker 2: I realized I could understand him. His shouts were English 274 00:16:03,840 --> 00:16:07,040 Speaker 2: is a multinational corporation. States have to work together to 275 00:16:07,080 --> 00:16:10,480 Speaker 2: regulate it. But all talk translates to international law. They're 276 00:16:10,480 --> 00:16:12,920 Speaker 2: writing their own rules while they harvest your voice as 277 00:16:13,040 --> 00:16:16,560 Speaker 2: data and decide how you interpret everything you hear or read. 278 00:16:16,720 --> 00:16:22,160 Speaker 2: They are your oppressors. Your mind is being colonized. I'd 279 00:16:22,160 --> 00:16:24,440 Speaker 2: push past him without really taking in what he said. 280 00:16:24,840 --> 00:16:27,080 Speaker 2: Voices that aren't filtered through the all talk speakers sound 281 00:16:27,120 --> 00:16:30,200 Speaker 2: a little fainter, less real when the earbuds are in, 282 00:16:30,800 --> 00:16:34,040 Speaker 2: but his wrinkled, angry face stuck with me. Something about 283 00:16:34,320 --> 00:16:38,360 Speaker 2: oppressors colonizing the mind. I say to the monitor. We 284 00:16:38,400 --> 00:16:41,040 Speaker 2: don't tell anyone what to do, he starts off angrily. 285 00:16:41,520 --> 00:16:43,840 Speaker 2: We offer a service, they're free to use it or not. 286 00:16:44,200 --> 00:16:47,360 Speaker 2: How could we possibly be oppressors? Then he laughs again, 287 00:16:47,440 --> 00:16:49,880 Speaker 2: but it doesn't have the same full throated ease of 288 00:16:49,920 --> 00:16:53,880 Speaker 2: the first time. We're a private company. We're not the state. 289 00:16:54,080 --> 00:16:56,880 Speaker 2: We exist to liberate people. There was a time when 290 00:16:56,960 --> 00:17:01,080 Speaker 2: national governments could make language competency a requirement for so citizenship, employment, 291 00:17:01,200 --> 00:17:04,920 Speaker 2: or access to services. Not anymore, just a bunch of 292 00:17:05,000 --> 00:17:08,960 Speaker 2: nut jobs, I guess. He concurs, reassured and happy to 293 00:17:09,000 --> 00:17:11,720 Speaker 2: finish with the subject. He asks me some more about 294 00:17:11,720 --> 00:17:14,840 Speaker 2: where I grew up, before saying he's heard enough, so 295 00:17:14,960 --> 00:17:18,879 Speaker 2: did I pass? Then he chuckles, there's no passing or failing. 296 00:17:18,920 --> 00:17:21,159 Speaker 2: We just want to evaluate our customer's facility with the 297 00:17:21,240 --> 00:17:24,560 Speaker 2: language to better meet their needs. I stand up and 298 00:17:24,600 --> 00:17:27,119 Speaker 2: shake his hand before heading to the door. I fiddle 299 00:17:27,160 --> 00:17:32,400 Speaker 2: with my earbuds and thank him thoughtlessly. He answers mercier who. 300 00:17:32,760 --> 00:17:34,760 Speaker 2: I turned back to him, frowning and ask him to 301 00:17:34,760 --> 00:17:38,919 Speaker 2: repeat himself. He shakes his head. Never mind, thank you. 302 00:17:39,960 --> 00:17:42,840 Speaker 2: I exhaled deeply as I make my way out. They 303 00:17:42,880 --> 00:17:46,280 Speaker 2: were specifically checking me for competence in French, and I 304 00:17:46,320 --> 00:17:50,000 Speaker 2: don't think it was to better meet my needs. The 305 00:17:50,040 --> 00:17:52,240 Speaker 2: crowd of protesters has gone when I leave the All 306 00:17:52,280 --> 00:17:55,800 Speaker 2: Talk office. A few police cars park nearby suggest it 307 00:17:55,880 --> 00:17:59,200 Speaker 2: might not have been their idea. As I turned the corner, 308 00:17:59,240 --> 00:18:01,840 Speaker 2: the same wrinkled face from before confronts me. He has 309 00:18:01,880 --> 00:18:04,280 Speaker 2: a stack of papers in one hand and holds one 310 00:18:04,280 --> 00:18:06,600 Speaker 2: out to me with the other. I turn my head 311 00:18:06,640 --> 00:18:09,000 Speaker 2: and my All Talk glasses with their built in cameras 312 00:18:09,040 --> 00:18:12,320 Speaker 2: away from him. Without looking. I take the paper and 313 00:18:12,359 --> 00:18:17,040 Speaker 2: stuff it into my bag. At home, Louise asks how 314 00:18:17,040 --> 00:18:19,720 Speaker 2: it went. I tell him it seemed fine, and mention 315 00:18:19,760 --> 00:18:22,720 Speaker 2: about the Filipino man getting thrown out. He doesn't know 316 00:18:22,760 --> 00:18:25,200 Speaker 2: what to make of it either. I say nothing about 317 00:18:25,200 --> 00:18:27,800 Speaker 2: the French. When we head for the kitchen, I continue 318 00:18:27,840 --> 00:18:30,240 Speaker 2: to look after him, but I reach blindly into my 319 00:18:30,320 --> 00:18:33,119 Speaker 2: bag and move the crumpled up paper into my pants pocket, 320 00:18:33,440 --> 00:18:36,679 Speaker 2: still not looking at it. In the kitchen, when Louise 321 00:18:36,760 --> 00:18:39,280 Speaker 2: is facing the other way, I feel around inside the 322 00:18:39,359 --> 00:18:41,919 Speaker 2: drunk drawer until I find a small flashlight and pocket 323 00:18:41,960 --> 00:18:45,920 Speaker 2: that too. In bed, later, we say good night before 324 00:18:45,960 --> 00:18:49,000 Speaker 2: taking off our ear pieces and glasses, mounting them on 325 00:18:49,040 --> 00:18:52,840 Speaker 2: their chargers. When I hear Louis's breath coming deep and regular, 326 00:18:53,359 --> 00:18:55,280 Speaker 2: I reach down to my pants on the floor and 327 00:18:55,320 --> 00:18:58,199 Speaker 2: retrieve the paper and flashlight. I turn my back to 328 00:18:58,240 --> 00:19:02,200 Speaker 2: my glasses, ostensibly deactive while charging. Then I duck under 329 00:19:02,200 --> 00:19:06,280 Speaker 2: the covers and unfold the paper. It's covered in writing 330 00:19:06,880 --> 00:19:09,080 Speaker 2: dozens of scripts. I don't know. Even the stuff in 331 00:19:09,160 --> 00:19:12,320 Speaker 2: Roman letters is mostly meaningless to me. At the bottom, 332 00:19:12,359 --> 00:19:15,040 Speaker 2: there's one phrase written over and over in different languages. 333 00:19:16,119 --> 00:19:20,560 Speaker 2: I spot the French vou valais resiste a prem un languis, 334 00:19:21,160 --> 00:19:25,080 Speaker 2: and then the English want to resist learn a language. 335 00:19:26,200 --> 00:19:28,720 Speaker 2: How could learning a language be resistance? I think back 336 00:19:28,760 --> 00:19:32,119 Speaker 2: to practicing French. There were fun games than boring memorization 337 00:19:32,200 --> 00:19:35,280 Speaker 2: of conjugations and genders. It got better when I could 338 00:19:35,280 --> 00:19:38,320 Speaker 2: read books or I have conversations and started noticing the 339 00:19:38,320 --> 00:19:42,399 Speaker 2: differences embodied by the languages. It felt fun naughty, maybe 340 00:19:42,440 --> 00:19:46,920 Speaker 2: to learn the swear words calise, tabernac, but never felt 341 00:19:46,920 --> 00:19:49,280 Speaker 2: like an act of rebellion. I was just hanging out 342 00:19:49,280 --> 00:19:53,159 Speaker 2: with Mammy. Mammy. I hadn't thought of her by that 343 00:19:53,280 --> 00:19:55,600 Speaker 2: name earlier. When I had my all talk head set 344 00:19:55,600 --> 00:19:59,240 Speaker 2: on Grandma what my parents called her in English, not 345 00:19:59,280 --> 00:20:02,840 Speaker 2: what I'd addressed in French. The screen from the word 346 00:20:02,880 --> 00:20:06,040 Speaker 2: recognition test flashed into my mind. In ten minutes, they 347 00:20:06,040 --> 00:20:08,240 Speaker 2: could train my brain to react in a specific way 348 00:20:08,320 --> 00:20:11,720 Speaker 2: to certain concepts. How many hours of wearing glasses and 349 00:20:11,760 --> 00:20:15,840 Speaker 2: headsets had taken to implant Grandma and erase Mamie, or 350 00:20:15,880 --> 00:20:19,960 Speaker 2: to erase harvest to use later with native French speakers 351 00:20:20,720 --> 00:20:23,080 Speaker 2: mining your tongue to sell to my ears a sign 352 00:20:23,080 --> 00:20:26,000 Speaker 2: had read no wonder. They couldn't stand even a passing 353 00:20:26,000 --> 00:20:29,240 Speaker 2: competence in a language to go unreported. The service they 354 00:20:29,280 --> 00:20:31,719 Speaker 2: sold and all the power and influence that went with it, 355 00:20:32,280 --> 00:20:36,479 Speaker 2: was built from the voices of linguistic minorities. I suddenly 356 00:20:36,520 --> 00:20:40,640 Speaker 2: noticed an absence. Louis has stopped snoring. I look up. 357 00:20:41,119 --> 00:20:43,520 Speaker 2: He's ducked under the covers as well. His dark eyes 358 00:20:43,560 --> 00:20:46,639 Speaker 2: are wide staring at me. In the paper and the torchlight. 359 00:20:47,080 --> 00:20:49,399 Speaker 2: I position it between us. Can you read any of this? 360 00:20:49,520 --> 00:20:55,119 Speaker 2: I whisper quissoldu? He whispers back. It almost sounds like French. 361 00:20:55,960 --> 00:21:01,600 Speaker 2: I don't quite understand, but I want to the end 362 00:21:02,320 --> 00:21:04,640 Speaker 2: and I'm going to talk about it. But first I'm 363 00:21:04,640 --> 00:21:08,120 Speaker 2: going to talk about how lucky you are to have 364 00:21:08,560 --> 00:21:29,280 Speaker 2: this podcast interrupted by capitalism right now and we're back 365 00:21:30,400 --> 00:21:35,440 Speaker 2: that we in this case, it is either royal or 366 00:21:35,720 --> 00:21:41,359 Speaker 2: I'm including you. Everyone's back. We're all back. So I 367 00:21:41,400 --> 00:21:43,520 Speaker 2: clearly like this story, oh as I want to read 368 00:21:43,560 --> 00:21:45,119 Speaker 2: it to you. And at first I wasn't sure how 369 00:21:45,119 --> 00:21:48,040 Speaker 2: I was gonna feel about the story, because the idea 370 00:21:48,200 --> 00:21:52,879 Speaker 2: of a universal translator is one of the positive things 371 00:21:52,920 --> 00:21:55,719 Speaker 2: that we can imagine to come out of AI and 372 00:21:55,720 --> 00:21:58,120 Speaker 2: that we can imagine to come out of technology, right, 373 00:21:59,760 --> 00:22:01,719 Speaker 2: And that's what interests me so much about this story 374 00:22:01,800 --> 00:22:03,960 Speaker 2: is it talks about the way that that would be 375 00:22:04,000 --> 00:22:13,720 Speaker 2: developed within our current capitalistic ecosystem economy, economy. And to 376 00:22:13,720 --> 00:22:18,800 Speaker 2: toot my own horn, yeah, that's the expression. I once 377 00:22:18,840 --> 00:22:23,240 Speaker 2: wrote a story called one Star that ran on Vice motherboard, 378 00:22:23,640 --> 00:22:26,840 Speaker 2: and it was a story about a self driving car 379 00:22:26,880 --> 00:22:29,760 Speaker 2: that drives you to jail and when it came out, 380 00:22:29,920 --> 00:22:32,239 Speaker 2: a lot of people were like, yeah, Margaret Kiljoy Hill 381 00:22:32,520 --> 00:22:35,159 Speaker 2: hate self driving cars just like us. And I'm like, 382 00:22:36,040 --> 00:22:37,679 Speaker 2: I lived in a van at the time. It's like, 383 00:22:37,720 --> 00:22:39,879 Speaker 2: I would have loved if my van drove me places 384 00:22:39,880 --> 00:22:43,080 Speaker 2: while I hung out in the back and read books. However, 385 00:22:44,280 --> 00:22:46,439 Speaker 2: that doesn't mean that I'm not capable of putting two 386 00:22:46,480 --> 00:22:49,680 Speaker 2: and two together to say that within our current society, 387 00:22:49,760 --> 00:22:52,239 Speaker 2: if you had a self driving car and you had 388 00:22:52,280 --> 00:22:55,480 Speaker 2: a warrant, your self driving car would drive you to jail. 389 00:22:57,320 --> 00:23:02,920 Speaker 2: Because technology. While some of the concepts embedded within technology 390 00:23:03,560 --> 00:23:06,080 Speaker 2: could be applied in lots of different ways, the ecosystems 391 00:23:06,080 --> 00:23:10,560 Speaker 2: in which technologies develop do not lend themselves to creating 392 00:23:10,600 --> 00:23:14,120 Speaker 2: neutral technologies. So I don't want to specifically say it's 393 00:23:14,160 --> 00:23:17,359 Speaker 2: like bad to have translation I think it's good to 394 00:23:17,400 --> 00:23:20,880 Speaker 2: have translation services. Not everyone's going to learn every single language, right, 395 00:23:22,119 --> 00:23:25,359 Speaker 2: But talking about the way that these things that seem 396 00:23:25,480 --> 00:23:28,600 Speaker 2: like they would be really good would get twisted is 397 00:23:28,600 --> 00:23:33,359 Speaker 2: really interesting to me and to I actually asked the 398 00:23:33,440 --> 00:23:37,159 Speaker 2: author what he had to say about this particular story, 399 00:23:37,760 --> 00:23:41,359 Speaker 2: and he mentions radon the journal that it was published in. 400 00:23:41,480 --> 00:23:45,240 Speaker 2: He says, it's cool how Raydon brings transhumanism into conversation 401 00:23:45,320 --> 00:23:49,359 Speaker 2: with anarchism. In my imagination, transhumanism has always been the 402 00:23:49,440 --> 00:23:53,800 Speaker 2: threat to freedoms cybermen or the borg, not mally from neuromancer. 403 00:23:54,400 --> 00:23:57,200 Speaker 2: I had trouble squaring that well. Working on tongue mining, 404 00:23:57,280 --> 00:23:59,840 Speaker 2: it clicked for me. Not only can transhumanism work with 405 00:23:59,840 --> 00:24:03,680 Speaker 2: the centralized freedoms, it has to. Transhumanism is scary when 406 00:24:03,720 --> 00:24:06,199 Speaker 2: it represents a loss of humanity, but if there's no 407 00:24:06,240 --> 00:24:09,480 Speaker 2: authoritative state enforcing it and no corporate interest standing to 408 00:24:09,520 --> 00:24:12,240 Speaker 2: benefit from it, it becomes a question of personal choice. 409 00:24:12,760 --> 00:24:15,760 Speaker 2: Then physical or mental modifications are an embodiment of the 410 00:24:15,800 --> 00:24:20,719 Speaker 2: individual's aspirations. What could be more human than that? And 411 00:24:20,760 --> 00:24:27,080 Speaker 2: I like this thought about it because I like realizing that, 412 00:24:27,160 --> 00:24:29,360 Speaker 2: you know, the author of the story is coming sort 413 00:24:29,400 --> 00:24:31,320 Speaker 2: of from the opposite position where I'm like, oh, a 414 00:24:31,320 --> 00:24:33,040 Speaker 2: self driving car would be cool, but oh wait, it 415 00:24:33,119 --> 00:24:36,760 Speaker 2: is actually gonna be terrible, you know. And it seems 416 00:24:36,760 --> 00:24:38,679 Speaker 2: like he's coming more from a point of view of like, oh, 417 00:24:38,760 --> 00:24:40,800 Speaker 2: all this transhumanist stuff is going to be terrible. Well, 418 00:24:40,840 --> 00:24:43,280 Speaker 2: I could see actually how it could be freeing, but 419 00:24:43,440 --> 00:24:47,840 Speaker 2: within our current context it's not Okay, my one other 420 00:24:47,960 --> 00:24:51,520 Speaker 2: story that relates to this story. You know, there's this 421 00:24:51,600 --> 00:24:54,360 Speaker 2: part in this story. I thought it was a really 422 00:24:54,400 --> 00:24:57,520 Speaker 2: good detail about how there was a bunch of very 423 00:24:57,600 --> 00:25:00,440 Speaker 2: explicit things written on the chalkboard in a bunch of 424 00:25:00,480 --> 00:25:04,280 Speaker 2: different languages because people can't help but respond to that. 425 00:25:05,320 --> 00:25:09,520 Speaker 2: The state does that. Now, they did it to me once. 426 00:25:09,600 --> 00:25:14,199 Speaker 2: I was once arrested in the Netherlands and for an 427 00:25:14,200 --> 00:25:16,959 Speaker 2: anti fascist action where some Nazis had burned down a 428 00:25:16,960 --> 00:25:21,760 Speaker 2: mosque and a bunch of anti fascists went to Rotterdam 429 00:25:21,840 --> 00:25:26,000 Speaker 2: to go try and stop the Nazis from physically interfering 430 00:25:26,040 --> 00:25:28,399 Speaker 2: with the rebuilding of that mosque. We went to go 431 00:25:28,440 --> 00:25:31,520 Speaker 2: fight Nazis and we all ended up in jail. And 432 00:25:32,800 --> 00:25:35,560 Speaker 2: it was a very internationalist movement, and they knew that 433 00:25:35,600 --> 00:25:37,720 Speaker 2: I didn't speak Dutch, and I didn't have a Dutch passport, 434 00:25:37,760 --> 00:25:41,280 Speaker 2: and I wasn't from the I wasn't an EU citizen. 435 00:25:42,400 --> 00:25:45,159 Speaker 2: So everyone refused to speak anything but English. And we 436 00:25:45,240 --> 00:25:47,280 Speaker 2: all went to jail together and none of us gave 437 00:25:47,280 --> 00:25:51,359 Speaker 2: our names, and we all said we only speak English, 438 00:25:51,400 --> 00:25:54,200 Speaker 2: and so they separated us and they started going through 439 00:25:54,280 --> 00:25:57,520 Speaker 2: and trying to get all of us they tried to 440 00:25:57,600 --> 00:26:01,040 Speaker 2: prove who was Dutch. One of the ways that they 441 00:26:01,080 --> 00:26:02,960 Speaker 2: would do that. Some of it would be like they'd 442 00:26:02,960 --> 00:26:05,240 Speaker 2: catch someone and they'd have a Dutch book, you know, 443 00:26:05,560 --> 00:26:08,080 Speaker 2: something like that. But one of the things that they 444 00:26:08,119 --> 00:26:11,399 Speaker 2: would do is we're all on individual cells, and so 445 00:26:11,440 --> 00:26:14,520 Speaker 2: an angry man would come in and basically like scream 446 00:26:14,560 --> 00:26:17,400 Speaker 2: in Dutch, like, yeah, I fucked your mother last night, 447 00:26:17,480 --> 00:26:19,760 Speaker 2: how do you feel about that? And like look to 448 00:26:19,840 --> 00:26:24,719 Speaker 2: see our facial expressions. And when an angry man screams 449 00:26:24,760 --> 00:26:28,240 Speaker 2: at me in Dutch on my second day in the Netherlands, 450 00:26:28,240 --> 00:26:30,520 Speaker 2: I have no idea what he's saying. I just sort 451 00:26:30,520 --> 00:26:33,919 Speaker 2: of stare blankly ahead, feeling a little bit defeated, a 452 00:26:33,960 --> 00:26:36,280 Speaker 2: little bit like it's my second I haven't even been 453 00:26:36,320 --> 00:26:38,240 Speaker 2: in the country for twenty four hours, and I am 454 00:26:38,320 --> 00:26:42,560 Speaker 2: in jail, you know. And so they picked me out 455 00:26:42,640 --> 00:26:47,400 Speaker 2: and sent me to foreign attention. However, they picked several 456 00:26:48,160 --> 00:26:51,119 Speaker 2: Dutch and or EU citizens and send them to foreign 457 00:26:51,160 --> 00:26:54,600 Speaker 2: attention as well, because those people had successfully masked their Dutch. 458 00:26:54,920 --> 00:27:00,840 Speaker 2: And here's where systemic racism comes in. Those people who 459 00:27:00,880 --> 00:27:04,480 Speaker 2: were picked and sent to foreign attention with me by 460 00:27:04,520 --> 00:27:08,680 Speaker 2: American standards, those were white people, but by Dutch standards. 461 00:27:09,440 --> 00:27:12,920 Speaker 2: You know. Someone said to someone said afterwards, like, notice 462 00:27:12,920 --> 00:27:16,439 Speaker 2: how they picked the darker skinned and darker complexioned people 463 00:27:16,960 --> 00:27:21,159 Speaker 2: and sent them to foreign attention, you know. And again, 464 00:27:22,400 --> 00:27:26,679 Speaker 2: racial conceptions are very different in different places. But realizing 465 00:27:26,720 --> 00:27:29,159 Speaker 2: that it was like the people who didn't look Dutch 466 00:27:29,920 --> 00:27:34,200 Speaker 2: based on ethnic characteristics, and even though it was ostensibly 467 00:27:34,240 --> 00:27:38,080 Speaker 2: this language filtration, it was also had a racial component. 468 00:27:38,400 --> 00:27:40,560 Speaker 2: And I think that that kind of thing would absolutely 469 00:27:40,640 --> 00:27:46,560 Speaker 2: become true in something like what this story discusses. And 470 00:27:46,600 --> 00:27:49,920 Speaker 2: that's it. That's it for this episode of Cool Zone 471 00:27:49,960 --> 00:27:52,760 Speaker 2: Media Book Club. You can find me on Cool People 472 00:27:52,800 --> 00:27:55,359 Speaker 2: Who Did Cool Stuff if you listen to this on 473 00:27:55,440 --> 00:27:58,040 Speaker 2: these it could Happen Here feed, and you can find 474 00:27:58,280 --> 00:28:01,000 Speaker 2: it could Happen Here on the could Happen Here feed 475 00:28:01,160 --> 00:28:03,080 Speaker 2: if you found this on the Cool People Who Did 476 00:28:03,080 --> 00:28:07,600 Speaker 2: Cool Stuff feed, Because it's one podcast on two feeds, 477 00:28:07,680 --> 00:28:09,800 Speaker 2: neither of which are the feed for the pod. It's 478 00:28:09,920 --> 00:28:13,280 Speaker 2: wild crazy, We're doing something new, no one's ever done 479 00:28:13,320 --> 00:28:17,399 Speaker 2: it before. I'm gonna press stop now on the recording. 480 00:28:20,119 --> 00:28:22,640 Speaker 1: It could Happen Here as a production of cool Zone Media. 481 00:28:22,720 --> 00:28:25,359 Speaker 1: For more podcasts from Cool Zone Media, visit our website 482 00:28:25,440 --> 00:28:27,639 Speaker 1: cool zonemedia dot com, or check us out on the 483 00:28:27,680 --> 00:28:31,280 Speaker 1: iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to podcasts, 484 00:28:31,680 --> 00:28:33,800 Speaker 1: you can find sources for It could happen here, Updated 485 00:28:33,880 --> 00:28:37,920 Speaker 1: monthly at coolzonemedia dot com slash sources. Thanks for listening.