Re: SGC: Gate Room (Level 28)
In reply to Sarah Morgan (msg # 276):
"Actually, Col--forgive me--Sarah. That is what I wished to ask you about." Kaspar responded.
"General Hammond explained to me your disdain--or, perhaps I should just say, your dislike--of my use of honorifics and formal politeness. I do understand your feelings that my holding to the use of such mannerisms may seem empty, or meaningless, or may even be some kind of social deception on my part. But I assure you that nothing could be further from the truth."
"That's just the way I was raised--to always show respect to others by recognizing any honorifics or titles they held, and to never assume the level of social intimacy that using a person's Given Name means, without their express permission to do so."
Kaspar pauses a moment, as a shadow of some remembered pain crosses his face,
"Though you may not fully understand this, please remember that, until I was in my early Thirties, I lived under Soviet Occupation, and if we did not smile and behave in this polite manner--even to each other, because you never knew who might be an informant--then we could be seen as social dissidents. And social dissidents tended to disappear in the middle of the night, never to be seen again."
"Over the years, that happened to several of my friends."
Kaspar runs his right hand through his lightly salt-and-peppered dark hair.
"As you know, our fields of expertise--Anthropology and Linguistics--do overlap, to a degree, so, of course I had read many of your published works, as well as followed your career in the news. Along with many others, as we all do, in our professions. I had a solid, professional respect for your work--though I admit, I had failed to notice that in most of those professional works, how you tended to avoid the mention of any of your Degrees and Awards...or Military Ranks--before we ever met. I don't believe I can think of a single publication were you were ever referred to as anything more than as an 'expert in linguistic sciences', for that matter."
"Then, when you suddenly joined the Team I was both pleased and thrilled to be able to work with you. But, as I said, it is not in my nature to assume to go right ahead and start calling someone by their Given Name, and I didn't know if it would be proper to call you 'Doctor' or 'Professor', or what! I was thus both a little perplexed, as well as a bit flub-mouthed...uh, that sounds better in Polish..."
"And then, as we were examining the planet-side Henge, our exposure to whatever-it-was began, and things started making a left turn--for which I am both ashamed and humbly apologetic."
"So. That's all I wanted--to ask you, officially, what form of address you want me to use with you. And, if I understood you correctly, you have just stated that you wish to simply be called 'Sarah'. That's something that I can easily accommodate...Sarah."
Kaspar finishes with a hopeful grin.