Eating humble Pie

For someone like me who suffers from a chronic case of foot-in-mouth disease, eating humble pie is pretty easy. After all, its an acquired taste. 


After hearing some people say that Mizos writing in English are less Mizo (whatever that means), I fired off  a little post about language and culture purists. Basically the post was about me ranting what makes those people decide who is 'more' Mizo and who is not? And the term Mizo is a blanket term comprising of Lai, Mara, Paite etc peoples, and is it fair to call them Mizo II because we, the Lusei are the majority. And in the same way, why should the Duhlian language be considered as Mizo tawng just because it is the most widely used language within the Mizo community, blah blah blah. 


This would have sounded quite valid had I not been writing in Duhlian language, which pretty much busted my little rant because I also talked about the correct usage of Duhlian language, and unfortunately, my own writing Mizo is stilted, and the syntax is not as perfect as I would wish it to be. As a medium of writing, I am much more comfortable in English, though I am spectacularly good at spoken Mizo, so don't ever get into an argument with me. And I can read Mizo flawlessly, with perfect intonation and pitch. But anyway, after posting the piece, I cooled down and discovered  the many mistakes plus the ambiguity, and so I removed it. 


Of course, it showed up clearly in people's readers and stuff and so, here I am, gorging myself on humble pie, admitting that I strayed into an arena where I am not qualified to. Kudos to the Mizo writers and the people who are trying to instill correct usage. But my stance on the medium of writing and it's supposed implications remain. 


And yes, I often lack tact and sensitivity, and often have to cover my ass or eat humble pie after making a huge blooper. Like the time I went shopping with a friend and she asked my advice about a shoe. I thought it was for her mom and said, "Your mom's only 50-ish. That shoe is so 60 +." And she says, "I meant to buy it for myself" Oh hell, what do you do in those circumstances except flatter her a little and fess up? So I told her she had pretty feet that would look good in any shoe, but suggested other styles for her. 


The there's the time another friend showed me a new phone and I unthinkingly said, "I thought of buying it too, but it was too bulky and yellow". Ooopsss.. my runaway tongue does it again. So I said, "But the yellow is nice, looks like Bumblebee" and proceeded to take a lot of pictures of myself with the phone cam. Sometimes I try to shut up, and when I do talk, I use polite words. Then they tell me I'm being unnatural, blehhh!


That said, I'm usually not a nasty person with a lot of bitchy comments. I just say the wrong things at the wrong time. Like complimenting a previously rake-thin friend on her  new voluptuousness and she said, "I'm not voluptuous. I'm pregnant. I was excommunicated last Wednesday". Damn damn damn. 


So, as long as I keep talking (or writing), let there be a steady supply of humble pie.