Today someone tried to explain away a problematic issue in a
case by telling me that their breath monitoring device, which showed some
serious anomalies, was simply acting up.
When I read the logs for this alcohol sensing machine it did not look
like the device was “simply acting up” it looked like the speaker had returned
to very heavy drinking. The decision in the case was simple. But after I typed
the last line of my Order the phrase was still stuck in my head.
.
Simply acting up,
what a powerful phrase it is. Simply acting up can cover all kinds of sins with
a softening sheen. From a car starter
that occasionally won’t turn over to a child that occasionally screams and runs
off for no apparent reason, “simply acting up” spoken aloud with a hint of
exasperation and perhaps a roll of the eyes is a phrase that renders the
problematic less bad, more comprehensible. .
.
Simply acting up does not negate the problem. Instead speaking the phrase aloud makes the
problem less primary. It is one of the
pixie dust phrases that turn harsh realities into just mere run of the mill day
to day problems. We need phrases like those to make life bearable. “Oh it is nothing” and “He’s fine” and others
of their ilk take a moment where everybody is hanging in the awkward space
after a behavioral supernova and return the moment to normalcy. Yeah we need words like this.
