The Cuomo Behavior: A Double-Edged Sword

Dear Editor,

Emily Cardenas’ op-ed in the September issue (“Lessons in Behavior From Cuomo”) was something worth reflecting on, for sure. As I was reading it attentively, the phone rang. It was someone, an unknown lady’s voice, from a medical center I had just joined a couple of days prior: “Hola mi cielo, mi amor, es para decirte que tienes una cita …”

No translation needed, I guess – we are in Miami – but in case you are surprisingly nonbilingual over here, please repeat these words to your neighbor: Attention – you may end up in jail, in front of a judge or having to explain yourself to the media.

Miami is a place like nowhere else. It is a two-faced world and language in our beautiful ’hood is a double-edged sword.

The lady’s voice on the phone brightened my day; I felt loved, cared for, I was suddenly someone's “sky,” someone's “love,” even if just for those few seconds through the pipeline of my smart phone, which was suddenly more than just smart.

Hey, let’s navigate smartly through this jungle. Are we to brand “pariah” every soul who utters tender words to a non-acquaintance? Kind words no more? Throw courtship to hell? No more troubadours?

Some people really feel the Cuomo syndrome might be overblown. The point is that, although we all speak the same language, this language does not sound the same if you are in a different part of the U.S. And if you have German roots somewhere, or Italian roots, you might mentally infuse your words in a different way. I don’t know about New York, but our Miami-Dade should escape the stringent grip of unbalanced correctness that might deprive ourselves from the affectionate way our folks with Cuban roots talk to us. Emily should know.

Just saying.

Christophe Petit de Wesserling

Miami