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Once upon a time - an era that was already ending when I was young - there were also a lot of service workers. The mailman, the milkman, the ice man, the coal

Once upon a time - an era that was already ending when I was young - there were also a lot of service workers. The mailman, the milkman, the ice man, the coal delivery man (not being sexist here, these were the terms then in use), the newspaper boy, it goes on and on. Were they treated any differently by their customers? And yet, more integrated into society weren't they. Rich or poor, you had your social clubs, your church scene, your neighbourhood contacts. You had to, since you didn't have TV or internet.

pjc50 1y ago
> Were they treated any differently by their customers? Yes, you'd be far more likely to have a chat with them. But that's because they didn't have micromanagement of delivery times and the person they were delivering to was often a housewife.
card_zero 1y ago
You reminded me of G.K. Chesterton's story (1911 or so) about being socially invisible, "The invisible man": https://www.gutenberg.org/files/204/204-h/204-h.htm#chap05 https://www.gutenberg.org/files/204/204-h/204-h.htm#chap05
Dusseldorf 1y ago
I was thinking about this last night while walking the dog around our neighborhood. We're frequently hanging out in our front yard during the day in the summer, so it's not unusual to chat for a bit with the mail carrier as they're dropping stuff in the mailbox at our front door. Just one street over, the houses were built about 20 years after ours, and instead of having mailboxes on the houses themselves, they're out at the curb. The mail carrier just drops the mail in right from the mail truck, and keeps driving. It's probably a small thing, but it's yet another little human interaction that has been "optimized" away for the folks living on that street. Same deal with the self checkouts at the grocery store. I know people love to hate on small talk or chit chat, but I think those little interactions can really help build community cohesiveness and reinforce the idea that the world is made up of humans, rather than uncaring automatons.
- MarkusWandel 1y ago
  By having a dog, you're already way ahead of the curve! I had to take care of one for a month or two, long ago in a past life. And walking the dog gets you chatting with all the other dog people. And yeah, the rushed gig schedule. These days, a package delivery is left on the stoop, proof-of-delivery photo taken and by the time I notice (they don't usually even ring the doorbell) they've already driven off again. And of course "community mailboxes" means the regular mail carrier doesn't walk the neighbourhood any more either.

pjc50 1y ago

> Were they treated any differently by their customers? Yes, you'd be far more likely to have a chat with them. But that's because they didn't have micromanagement of delivery times and the person they were delivering to was often a housewife.

card_zero 1y ago

You reminded me of G.K. Chesterton's story (1911 or so) about being socially invisible, "The invisible man": https://www.gutenberg.org/files/204/204-h/204-h.htm#chap05 https://www.gutenberg.org/files/204/204-h/204-h.htm#chap05

Dusseldorf 1y ago

I was thinking about this last night while walking the dog around our neighborhood. We're frequently hanging out in our front yard during the day in the summer, so it's not unusual to chat for a bit with the mail carrier as they're dropping stuff in the mailbox at our front door. Just one street over, the houses were built about 20 years after ours, and instead of having mailboxes on the houses themselves, they're out at the curb. The mail carrier just drops the mail in right from the mail truck, and keeps driving. It's probably a small thing, but it's yet another little human interaction that has been "optimized" away for the folks living on that street. Same deal with the self checkouts at the grocery store. I know people love to hate on small talk or chit chat, but I think those little interactions can really help build community cohesiveness and reinforce the idea that the world is made up of humans, rather than uncaring automatons.

MarkusWandel 1y ago
By having a dog, you're already way ahead of the curve! I had to take care of one for a month or two, long ago in a past life. And walking the dog gets you chatting with all the other dog people. And yeah, the rushed gig schedule. These days, a package delivery is left on the stoop, proof-of-delivery photo taken and by the time I notice (they don't usually even ring the doorbell) they've already driven off again. And of course "community mailboxes" means the regular mail carrier doesn't walk the neighbourhood any more either.