Louisiana State University at Baton Rouge’s IT infrastructure survived Hurricane Katrina, but the storm still left campus computing officials with plenty of work to do. "Everything I thought I was going to be doing as CIO has changed," says the university’s Brian D. Voss.
As the university became a site for medical evacuations, officials set up telephone service and Internet access for emergency responders and new residents—a process Mr. Voss describes in an article on IT disaster response. (Campus Technology)
12 Responses to Tech Officers Respond to Katrina
Nathaniel M. Campbell - December 5, 2011 at 9:55 am
I use “folks” because it seems to me a softer term. “These people” carries (at least to my mind) a slight odiousness, as if I were pinching my nose and holding them at arm’s length. “Folks” reduces that distance between me the subject and them the object.
mbelvadi - December 5, 2011 at 10:09 am
Don’t miss the fact that “folks” is gender neutral, and can make a good substitute for terms like “the average Joe”, “countrymen”, etc. It also avoids emphasizing any particular socio-economic-political role, like “workers”, “consumers”, “citizens”, “families”, etc. I like to use “folks” because it seems to include all people and all of the contexts of their lives seen as a whole. Somehow “people”, as NM Campell suggests, seems to call for a modifier like “these” or “those” which is divisive, or a limiter like “some” or “most”, in front of it.
11182967 - December 5, 2011 at 11:12 am
I picked up the term “folks” when I moved to Mississippi from Michigan (and soon also found myself saying, much to my surprise, “Yes, ma’am” and “No, ma’am”–a practice I continue to this day). In the South the terms “white folks” and “Black folks” are pretty common among both, well . . . let’s say among people of a variety and combination of ethnicities.
When I came back as far north as West Virginia I continued to use ”folks” since it does have that gendar neutral, somewhat informal, sense of broad inclusiveness. Or at least I did until another administrator advised me that some folks around here don’t take to being addressed as “folks” and consider the term demeaning. While I remain somewhat skeptical about that, I have since addressed emails to “All” (and I’m not above occasionally addressing groups as “Y’all” and even “All y’all” when folks–oops, people–understand from the context that I’m just having a little bit of fun. I still use “folks” in conversation, along with a few other useful Southernism I’ve retained. It’s a handy form of address, much nicer than, say, “People!”
I can’t help but think that President Obama’s use of the term is somewhat more natural and less affected than is being implied. After all, he didn’t always go to Harvard. I suspect he doesn’t speak Harvardese in private conversation (any more than say, W spoke like an Eli or Nixon like a Quaker), and “folks” may for him be as much leaking into his conversation as being put upon it.
Guest - December 5, 2011 at 2:00 pm
He went to Punahou Academy, one of the most elitist private schools in the fifty states. “Folks” is about as natural for this guy as firing an M-16 in the prone unsupported position. It’s completely, 100%, totally, undeniably fake. But it works, so who’s to cut him for it?
Socratease2 - December 5, 2011 at 2:46 pm
No mystery here, there are a few common propaganda techniques (glittering generalities, bandwagon, etc.) that get used over and over. The use of “folks” is simply a ploy to connect the leader to the people with the idea that we are all in this together or to give the effect that the leader is not a person of “pretension” and can be trusted. Americans don’t like to think very much and feel relieved when their leaders show the same level of grammar and vocab use they do.
tee_bee - December 5, 2011 at 3:26 pm
I picked up “folks” years ago because it was a normal term in my family. Going to see “the folks” meant my grandparents and extended family and other folks (there it is) in their small town in Western Washington. Maybe we use it because we’re ethnically Scandinavian; it is informal, and, when used the way my family uses it, inclusive–”folks” are people with whom you have some sort of tie. Perhaps that’s why Obama uses it.
tee_bee - December 5, 2011 at 3:27 pm
Well, it is deniable. It’s called “code switching,” and almost everyone does it. It’s important not to make unsubstantiated and false claims.
marka - December 5, 2011 at 4:32 pm
I grew up in Southern California, and have used ‘folks’ for as long as I can remember. I don’t associate it with any particular race, clan, or group.
BTW – serves as root for the Folks Wagen.
mkt42 - December 6, 2011 at 1:13 am
Indeed, and “going to see the people” has entirely different connotations! Relatives go to see the folks; politicians go to see the people.
Terry Collmann - December 6, 2011 at 5:55 am
I recall hearing George W using “these folks” to refer to al Qa’eda (or a similar group), and to my British ears it sounded completely inappropriate.
MarjoryMunson - December 6, 2011 at 1:01 pm
It seems from even the limited number of areas represented in the comments to this post that what “folks” means varies widely by heritage and location. I also am of Scandinavian heritage as tee bee mentioned, but learned to use “___ folks” to mean parents only, filling in the blank with my, your, his, her, etc. Grandparents were sometimes referred to as grandfolks, although I preferred to say grandparents. When used without an article it meant “people,” but was usually used in an informal, familiar sense. Now that I analyze it, it did have an “us folks” “you people” flavor!
Chris Marrou - December 7, 2011 at 2:29 pm
Just so they don’t go to see persons.