poser
Who taught : Pat, Rachel, Phil, Kelly, Lauren and Sean
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (Source: Wikipedia)
Yesterday was Martin Luther King Jr birthday. It is one of the national holidays. 48 years ago, he made “I have a dream” speech. Here is the part of it.
Let us not wallow in the valley of despair. I say to you today, my friends, that in spite of the difficulties and frustrations of the moment, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.
I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed. “We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal.”
I have a dream that one day out on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slaveowners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.
I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a desert state sweltering with the heat and injustice of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.
I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.
I have a dream today.
I have a dream that one day the state of Alabama, whose governor’s lips are presently dripping with the words of interposition and nullification, will be transformed into a situation where little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls and walk together as sisters and brothers.
I have a dream today. I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plains and the crooked places will be made straight and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together.
48 years later, I see a lot of things he mentioned in his speech actually happening even though there are still many steps to go. Isn’t amazing? One man can make a difference. One man who has a dream can make a big difference. I am sure all of us can be the man. Let’s have a dream, a big dream! It will come true.
A few weeks ago, I was with my friends. And we were talking about some people. During the conversation, Lauren used a word, “poser.” Hearing it, I sort of figured out that it has negative connotation. If you look up a dictionary, I am sure you will find the following definition.
A person who poses.
Huh! What the heck? It does not help at all. Anybody can pose, right? So, this is not usually the meaning of the expression when you hear this expression from your American friends. Here is the meaning my friends told me.
A person who likes to be seen in trendsetting clothesin fashionable bars, discos, etc.
A person who attempts to blend into a specific social group.
My friends tried to give me good examples and they said a skateboarder or a snowboarder can be a poser. (FYI, I am a snowboarder. 🙂 ) I think this expression is kind of hard to fully grasp and use it. Hey, my American friends! Do you have any other thoughts or examples to give in relation to Poser?
Marthin Luther King day is a federal holiday in the U.S. held on the third Monday January.
Different from Korea, not sure about other countries, most holidays in America are not fixed but date is varing every year. And this way looks more reasonable to me.
When I was in Korea, when new year’s calendar comes out, most people start counting holdidays on each month and might be disappointed if holidays are overlapped with weekend.
Several months ago I heard that one congressman in Korea drafted the bill for flexible holday just like the U.S system but didn’t hear it’s passed.
Isn’t it a lot better? I love having this flexible holiday system. I remember those days in Korea, counting number of holidays every year. It was kind of fun, hoping to have more holidays, wasn’t it?
Before I read your explanation, I though “poser” should be used in good ways because I think people’s encouraged to express their opinions openly in US, and you’re likely to pose and have an attitude of positiveness when you deliver your thoughts and ideas to people. But it should used the other way around…
As Mark said, I think the expression “poser” has negative connotation. I thought the same way as you think, Emmie. But, as I hear the expression from my friends, I realized that the expression mainly used in negative context. Good thing to know, huh?
I heard the term “poser” a lot more when I was younger. I don’t know if my experience is unique, but I most frequently heard this term used by kids who thought they were really bad and hardcore. They’d call somebody a poser if they deemed that person to not be as bad and hardcore as they were.