America the tone-deaf

When to take offense at a horribly misguided remark — and when to just let it go

President Trump visits Puerto Rico.
(Image credit: MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images)

My beloved mother (may she rest in peace) was literally tone-deaf. To stand next to the woman in church, singing familiar hymns, was to endure an arpeggio of aural agony. Mom warbled up and down musical scales with both enthusiasm and tonally oblivious abandon. She went sharp when the hymnal asked for a solemn note, and swooped down flat when the tune called for a more uplifting pitch.

It wasn't that my mom had a bad voice … in musical parlance, she had a bad ear. She simply had no way of determining the subtle differences in musical tone that make all the difference in musical expression. The result was uniquely awful, but because mom loved to sing — and everyone loved her — the rest of us just turned up the volume and shared her joy in the music by literally drowning her out.

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Leslie Turnbull

Leslie Turnbull is a Harvard-educated anthropologist with over 20 years' experience as a development officer and consultant. She cares for three children, two dogs, and one husband. When not sticking her nose into other peoples' business, she enjoys surfing, cooking, and writing (often bad) poetry.