BUSINESS ENGLISH PARIS: WORD OF THE DAY IS BLAME

THE WORD OF THE DAY IS BLAME: Have you ever been blamed for something at work which was not your fault?

French translation is reproche, blâme, accuse

Hello darlings! Happy Tuesday!

I have lost count of what day it is of the Confinement, however I can attest that it is very difficult to remain motivated during such a long period of sitting at home staring at the walls. Luckily, I had started this blog a week or so before the virus hit the West, so it does offer a reprieve and since then I have opened up all these social media channels including Tik Tok, Linkedin and Youtube.

Robot Vaccum Cleaner

The latter is really fun and does keep me very busy indeed. So I have not really had such a tough time as I could have. And I did a lot of cleaning in the apartment. That is always very therapeutic.

What about you?
How are you faring with this incredible situation? How are you keeping busy as this virus wreaks havoc on the entire world?

Now the two superpowers - China and America - are locked in a blame game the sort of thing that leads inexorably to wars if you ask me. Who is responsible for the virus? The Chinese initially said that the US Army brought the virus to Wuhan China. But lately they are apparently changing their tune and an official is quoted as saying that the virus had been misdiagnosed in Americans as early as 2019, and then spread to Wuhan. The Americans deny that either of these is the case. President Trump has dubbed the virus the "Chinese virus" and his secretary of state Mike Pompeo has dubbed it the "Wuhan Virus" and both accuse China of a coverup and say the virus originated in China's wild life markets where bats and other exotic creatures are routin'ly butchered and consumed. It is from infected bats that the Chinese supposedly first contracted this virus according to the American government.

Who is to blame? It is hard to say but definitely China does have to get its story straight. Did American military take the virus to Wuhan? Or did the virus spread to Wuhan from infected Americans who had been infected since 2019? Before the Chinese blame the Americans, it has to get one story and stick to it, I think. 

As for you, have you ever been blamed for something at work that just was not your fault? Have you ever felt that your job was at risk because of something you were being blamed for which you should not have been blamed for?

If not at work, in your entire life have you ever been the "fall guy" for someone else's betisse? Or even more fun, have you ever blamed someone else for something when you knew all along that it was not their fault and instead it was your fault?

In general, what do you think about the tendency of some people to shift responsibility to others and blame others for things which clearly are not the other person's fault? Is it just a question of dishonesty? Or are their other reasons that could lead someone to do that? Let's discuss it at our next meeting.

 Note: During this time, I am offering strictly telephone conversation courses to respect the order of President Emmanuel Macron who has issued a directive as you know that the French population must remain under curfew for the next 15 days. If you would like to start or continue with English conversation lessons therefore, it will be strictly by telephone. I look forward to speaking with you, que même. I have noticed that I now have visitors from countries other than France including Germany, United Arab Emirites, Belgium, Spain and Oman. You are also welcomed to take English conversation with me if you like :) 


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