Friday, February 25, 2011

Names and other places

People often say that names have power and while one doesn’t entirely disagree, one suspects it is more that language has power. Historically when the British invaded sorry... colonised countries the first thing they did was dismantle the other culture. They banned things like dancing... killjoys that they were.  They also systematically destroyed the native language by superimposing their English language over the top of everything. And they wonder why the Irish and the Welsh (to name but two) don’t love them like they could.

In this relationship He has done a similar thing by imposing a more formal language over our existing one. He didn’t do things like rename one with a slave name, to be honest He rarely uses a name at all except to introduce one to other people (and there  is always this little moment when one has to think who is that). For everything else He just uses that functional word- slave. Often in that tone... you know the one.

In the beginning of the fall down the rabbit hole He simply became Master... preferably used in an acquiescent yes Master. Sometimes one used a more formal yes my love, ‘cos sometimes Master is just not appropriate. Mind you even that caused the odd unexpected complication. The first time our Tuesday night vanillas heard it they thought it was so sweet.

It was pounced on and held up like a trophy of romanticism. Actually it was about then that we decided it would be much easier to tell them the unvarnished truth. It was a relief... don’t think one could have got through another one of her demonstrations of how a man can get his own snacks. Though one will always concede that he is awfully well trained... he even knows which bowl to use and everything. Anyway one digresses...

Over time there was more using His name and less yes Master, and with it came a more relaxed attitude to the few protocols we had. To the point that He hooked a finger through the collar the other day, at the supermarket, and pointed out that there needed to be way more yes Master. It seems He thinks that familiarity breeds contempt... rather like the British ;)

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