The Shake

I think I posted on the shake before, but I mentally come back to it all the time.

Racism here has a different quality to it. There seems to be less shame about it which is oddly nice. It makes the subject easier to approach. It also seems not as deeply entrenched. Sidenote; I got swept up in a population census earlier in the week. It was about an hour's worth of questions and a good number of them related to how I felt I was treated socially, professionally and commercially with respect to my race. Interesting.

Sitting in a cafe in Cayenne a year or so ago I was surprised to get a handshake from a stranger. He walked into the cafe, made eye contact with every person in the cafe, said hello and gave a handshake (or the double cheek-kiss) to one and all. Eventually I came to learn that this is standard protocol. Even if you do not know someone well, or at all, you acknowledge them. This is especially true in an office setting where every morning each person who comes in shakes hands with every person they come across. It's a little striking at first; compared to the standard US wave or nod that encompasses one and all. The protocol has a leveling effect that I think wears on race issues like a steady drip on a stone.