Why You Should Never Call Anyone “Boss”

Here I thought that there would be certain phrases that we would never have to hear again. You know, like "Cowabunga" from when the Simpsons first came out or "What's uaaaaaaaaaaap?" from that insipid commercial. You know things like that. Well recently I've noticed a trend, mostly used by young men who are finishing washing your car or giving you your dry cleaning. They finish the transaction with, "There you go, boss." And I hate it ever so much. Why you should never call anyone "Boss" - Don't Get Me Started!

Perhaps it's just that I am not the "bossy" type (much more of a Linus than a Lucy) or that I consider myself one of the masses, a worker and not a boss. Now I'm sure if I was writing this back in the 1950's the House on Un-American Activities would have all ready shut down my blog and blacklisted me because this definitely sounds as if I'm celebrating the worker over "the man" but let's be thankful for the small strides we've made as a culture, shall we?

For some reason that phrase or use of that word just hits me like lemon juice in a paper cut (of which I had happen this week and let me just tell you that if that doesn't send you reeling I don't know what will). You see the whole, "there you go, boss" is a phrase that I think you'd hear the black train porter saying in a 1930's movie and it always just seemed wrong to me even in that context (frankly all of the above seemed wrong - blacks only being allowed to be porters, etc. you hopefully get the idea).

I'm sure I'm beyond not "with it" and that no doubt some comedian or moron who has their own show on MTV started using the phrase because the only way that these phrases come in, out and back into the vernacular of the teen race is because someone said it on some reality show somewhere.

Even reading this I'm sure that I'm overreacting and that most people have no idea what I'm going on about but you see I just think that phrases that put one race, person or whatever down or makes them subservient to you seems a bit demeaning and demoralizing. Now I'm sure the kids who are saying it don't have all the baggage I do or think this way (otherwise they wouldn't be using it hopefully) but for those of us who have seen the world for longer than 16 years, we can't help but read more into the words that are used. And some things frankly deserve to be left frozen in time (not unlike the man I saw on a motorized scooter in the grocery store with a large confederate flag bouncing around on a long piece of plastic).

If people really want to use the term, "boss" again, I would ask that instead of using it to refer to a person they think of it more as a way to say, "far out", "Hellaya" or "Cool" as in "That new shirt is boss that you're wearing." A gal pal of mine years ago tried to lobby me to begin using the word, "boss" like this but it just didn't seem as if it was time. Now with seemingly every teenage I encounter calling me "boss" I believe we've found its time. Sort of like being the Ernest and Julio Gallo of phrases, "We will use no phrase before its time." (Yes, you have to be at least forty to get this reference) Why you should never call anyone "Boss" - Don't Get Me Started!

Read More Scott @ www.somelikeitscott.com