Foreword: I am a professional translator – the debate of bad translation/mistranslation as a
whole being what it is, it is no exaggeration to say that I am incredibly fixated on the ongoing
debate of how to ensure people’s trust in what I do for a living. And yes, I have a degree in
foreign languages, but it’s not just about predefined features of verbal language as a widely
applied practical instrument, is it? Surely even an idiot would agree that you can tell a lot
about any given social group by their language, or, if we’re delving into deeper (and more
honest) things, how they use it and/or what they use it for. I insist that it’s a fair point. I’m a
lifelong linguist; I should know. But there’s also the fact that I’m supposed to be an
entrepreneur, no less; not just a talented linguist.
Let’s put this into context. Keyword: “guts”. Everyone who has ever had a good reason to
assert that they have had “guts”, has their own story to tell. And I’m guessing it’s likely that
most people in Britain would agree that we have just about beaten the coronavirus in this
country (by now most of us are doubled-dosed with one vaccine or another), but the
consensus is that we shouldn’t rest on our laurels and celebrate just yet. I am of course talking
about Boris Johnson’s apparent great plan to reshape the country’s economy; in particular, his
claim that he has the “guts” to bring about something “long overdue” (if I’m not mistaken it
is first and foremost a response to Britain’s social care crisis):
https://www.itv.com/news/2021-10-05/johnson-to-announce-he-has-guts-to-fix-uks-
problems-as-benefits-cut-bites
Speaking as a Brit, I don’t mind stating that the general public situation in the UK right now
is unprecedented in my lifetime (at the time of writing, I’m 38 years old). If things are not to
become intolerable (to say the least), it is of course imperative for the government to act with
vigour and competence, and no less important for the population to agree to hard sacrifices;
all this has inevitably resulted in an undying longing for confidence and trust. And some of us
will be hooked on it like cocaine or heroin – but the question of how much we can trust the
powers that be is not actually what this article revolves around. This is a business marketing
article. Because make no mistake: discussion of “self-hatred” is prevalent for some very good
(nay fundamental) reasons, and one of these reasons is how a person can tacitly lose their
ability to trust themselves to get things right. Now, it would be easy to dub this sort of thing a
“personal problem”, but all too often society as a whole impacts the individual in ways they
just can’t come to terms with, but even if they could, they would not be comfortable
discussing them even within their “comfort zone”. For instance: with the murders of Sarah
Everard and Sabina Messa, it wouldn’t surprise me at all if right now there were plenty of
women in the country incapable of accepting that there could be any such thing as a female
misogynist; but in the grand scheme of reality: be it out of fear, naivety, or – dare I say it? –
arrogance, an individual’s seemingly righteous personal emotional inclinations can position
them as “on the wrong side” through no fault of their own without them ever acknowledging
it, with the inevitable consequence that they will helplessly respond angrily to whoever would
challenge them on what they think they know. Now, I don’t want to turn this into a political
rant but someone should ask Anne Marie Waters – who identifies as a feminist and is actually
a real one, unlike all these “progressive” types – what she thinks about the aforementioned
murders.
Reality (in the truest sense of the word): it’s a cruel world, but, when weighed against society
and depictions thereof, it’s a cruel world only intensified by unnecessary negativity in
personal attitude which (if we’re being honest) simply does far more harm than good. I was
bullied at school; trust me, I know all too well that repeated heartless or offending remarks
directed against someone can amount to conditioning to turn them into someone they don’t
want to be… if they let them. (Again, the topic of self-hatred is prevalent for a reason.) I
cannot emphasise enough how important it is to aspire to be a better version of yourself… for
the right reasons; and maybe you too have at some point in your life had this feeling whereby
you accept that you’re not perfect but you know you have some very good reasons to be
proud of yourself too, but you feel some sort of need to entrust yourself in the hands of
someone else all the same. (It’s probably more common in women than in men.) Yes, we are
only human, but lack of trust in yourself to get things “right” (or at least “the “next-best
thing”) IS lack of self-confidence, isn’t it? One of the most important lessons you can ever
learn is that it is possible for someone to be their own worst enemy, all the while being the
source of their own most debilitating anger, the likes of which simply can’t be conquered
with common everyday kindness and compassion.
But let’s get back to Boris and his great plan. “Guts” indeed. It’s only too easy to ponder
what will have happened by the end of it all, but it’s also only too easy to point out that only
time will tell. Predictably, I would hear about it on BBC Radio 4 on the morning of 6
October, as I was waking up. The unending concern that prices for many necessities are
going up, and the unending inclination to state that it hits the poorest hardest. For some
reason, someone offhandedly mentioned that “guts” is normally used in reference to
something both incredibly daring and incredibly positive (maybe “exciting”) – there’s a
substantial chance that any such thing has the power to change a person’s life for ever in a
moment… even if they consciously think they are ready for it before it actually takes place.
Emma Raducanu may have shown enough “guts” to impress thousands and thousands of
people as she played a sport she loves but this is a national emergency. Right now the
question everyone’s asking is: what does Boris think he’s doing?
…Also, doesn’t it encourage you to reflect on yourself?
Now, with his salary and the picture the media tend to paint of his priorities and principles,
Boris Johnson is pretty unpopular right now. I won’t dwell on anything about his reputation
or widely acknowledged image, labels etc. I don’t want to make this all about him personally.
This is not the place for that. But I will say this: even I’m not saying his response to the
pandemic in the country has been first-class in any way, but I am guessing that it could have
been worse. Myself, I’m not a big supporter of Boris by any means but maybe he has a point.
They say insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different
result; and while it’s human nature to look for, and fight for, things you can take for granted
(which people definitely don’t only do just so things can be “easier” and “more
comfortable”), it can only do more good than bad up to a point. I mean, what are the chances
of a British politician freely encouraging the people to compare them to Margaret Thatcher
(look at her record)? Let’s give the poor man a break. Back in March 2020, when he made his
original lockdown speech, he knew he would have to make difficult mandates whatever
happened, and he admitted that “many, many lives [would], sadly, be lost.” We will probably
never know whether the decisions he made for the country were motivated more by fear or
more by some kind of logic (whether crude or more reasoned) by which the country’s
economy and infrastructure and the fundamental freedoms of the population didn’t have to be
burdened “all that much”. And if that wasn’t enough on his mind, we all know that he himself
ended up in intensive care with COVID-19, and that he has the NHS to thank for literally
saving his life. He will know, as everyone knows, that this made national (and likely
international) news. If this isn’t good reason to believe that the pandemic hasn’t humbled the
Prime Minister, then I really don’t know what is. That point made, for all the disaster it has
wrought, surely you would agree that it has humbled all of the rest of us, including me, as
well. …Well, wouldn’t you?
I think we all agree that a reputation for having “guts” is a good thing. Although, in this
context, I don’t know whether it’s better to call the following question serious or trifling:
what does “guts” really mean here? On the one hand, one really should know that realising
what risks are worth taking and which aren’t, is one of the most important things (or skills,
depending on how you want to look at it) you can learn. On the other hand: maybe you know
someone who has a very coherent appreciation of what they are most proud of in their own
life, and with good reason; only they are still disinclined to bring it up, at least before some.
Again, “guts” indeed; and, with the situation in the UK being what it is right now, maybe
there has never been a better time to ask yourself who you really are and what you really
want, and why.
But I wrote this article, and maybe by now you are wondering what I think all this means for
me. Well, do you ever wonder at what point you’ve just got to reject the character that you
know (as it were) yourself to be even if you have some very good reasons to be proud of
yourself, in the acknowledgement that time has proven its weakness? Have you never, ever
ended up studying the subject of yourself, some might say, obsessively? I know I wouldn’t
blame you. Even Plato said that “the unexamined life is not worth living.”
At the very least, I will make a point of never forgetting that, as a self-employed translator, I
too have a job which in reality is hardly straightforward and simple; a job in which it simply
doesn’t pay to keep your head down hoping for the best without being prepared to venture
into complex affairs far outside the confines of your little office. Thinking about what I’m
going to do “when I get home” (or the nearest equivalent, in my case) is all too often
something that has to be dismissed in favour of what really is important. The trials and
tribulations in the UK continue and what it all boils down to is the question of what I will
really accept is best for me – and how I actually act on it, of course – while I remind myself
stoically that no-one’s going to readily suggest a definitive advised first step. For better or
worse, I will have to make my decisions eventually, and accept whatever comes my way as a
consequence. So it is with so many people in my position, but in the grand scheme of things,
my ideas are no more important than anyone else’s – and I have to resist being overwhelmed
by fear and all things negative every passing moment. I have already asked myself the
question of what I am prepared to “risk losing myself in”. So you tell me, ever the self-
proclaimed professional, what I need as I embark on whatever new personal adventure is yet
to come.
You remember that I mentioned the murders of Sarah Everard and Sabina Messa earlier?
Well, it has since been reported that some women are actually openly calling for evening
curfews on men in this country now – there was once a time when, ironically, this would
have compelled me to stay at home and “hide” wherever possible, because I simply would
not want to know. Well, today, I feel more desire than ever to rise up for something better
which I, for all my faults, just should not forget that I really do deserve.