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Proyecto Visión 21

Why they have to always assume I am wrong?

Francisco Miraval

I must say that I am feeling more and more upset every time somebody automatically assumes I am wrong. Perhaps my appearance, my age, my accent, or some other factor creates that response, but, regardless, it is happening so frequently now that it is difficult to accept it. Let me share a few examples.

Last week I completed the translation of a rather complex text due to the number of technical financial words included. I sent the translation and the next day I received a message from an angry person telling the translation was incomplete. He added that, unless I send the full translation immediately, they will not pay me.

I didn’t need to open the file I sent (I did it just out of curiosity) to know the translation was complete and there was no mistake. I informed the person the translation was complete. Later I learned that person was looking at my file using an app on his smartphone and therefore only reading a preview of the complete file.

Yet, instead of realizing that he had access to a partial file, he assumed I had made a mistake. I am tired of being declared guilty and forced to prove my innocence.

Then, two weeks ago, I was invited to make a presentation about education to a group of young people. On the day of the event, I arrived on time to the location of the meeting, only to find an empty room.

I asked the receptionist what was going on and she told me that I was wrong and that I probably forgot it was spring break and, therefore, there was no meeting that day at that location. She was so sure about “my” mistake that she suggested I should return some other day. Bu then, the participants in the event began to arrive. It was then clear that the presentation was indeed schedule for that day, time, and location. Why, then, it was assumed I was mistaken?

A few weeks ago I had a short conversation with somebody who ask for my “professional opinion” about a certain translation from English into Spanish. I soon discovered that the translation confused the two meanings of the word “race,” creating an expression dangerously close to being unacceptable.

That’s what I said and, as expected, I was told I was wrong. It is irrelevant, of course, that the person who said that is monolingual or that I have decades of experience with languages.

How long you can tolerate to be told that you are perpetually wrong? Why what others say should be accepted without any discussion, but what I say should be promptly rejected without any discussion?

I don’t know. I do know, however, that in the cases I mentioned above nobody contacted me to say anything remotely similar to “I am sorry. You were right.” (Not that I expected any apologies). I also know I should be careful not to fall into the trap of assuming I am always right.

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