Obama Fist Bumps Are Germ-Safe Greetings
I was kissed by two hundred people last night. This had nothing to do with sex – quite the opposite – nor am I going for a spot in the Guinness Book of Records. (In 2008, to celebrate Guinness World Records Day Solene Oudet of France did receive 108 kisses in one minute. Mine were spread out over an hour or so.)
My husband is the Headmaster of an independent boys’ school near Philadelphia, and as stewards of the school, we attend events several evenings a week with students, alumni, parents, faculty, and others in the school community. And, even though the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warns that, of this week, “It’s possible that the U. S. could experience another wave of flu activity caused by either 2009 H1N1 or seasonal influenza,” the preferred mode of greeting at these events is kissing.
I’m not sure how kissing upon greeting started, but it seems to be the norm now. I can only blame the French, with their perfunctory pecks on both cheeks. Unfortunately, Americans don’t have the same technique. There are those who lunge, those who linger too long, and those who awkwardly bump noses or glasses.
At our school, letters went out to parents, and both students and teachers are asked (as recommended by the CDC) to minimize contact, wash hands, and sneeze into their sleeves. Isn’t all this careful behavior modification negated by this stubborn insistence on kissing upon greeting?
I’ve tried what the CDC calls “social distancing,” politely offering my hand for a handshake, while I lean slightly back, but this always discomfits people. They usually look at me like I’m a misanthropic germophobe. (I am.) Then they ignore my hand and go in for the lunge. Maybe, with so many strains of flu floating around, it’s time to embrace common sense rather than each other. Anyone for bringing back the Obama fist bump?
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