THE ISSUE
All Shook Up by Kevin Fahy
I have a memory, from when I was a very small boy, of my father teaching me how to shake hands. He made clear that it was an important and necessary step toward becoming a man. A handshake was the method by which we introduced ourselves to strangers, acknowledged acquaintances, made agreements, expressed congratulations or condolences, offered thanks and generally showed respect. It must be firm but not aggressive, businesslike but not curt. Eye contact was essential. The origins of the custom go back to ancient Greece, where we find several references in Homer, but they could go back much further. We know that handshaking was commonplace among the Romans. Presumably, the open hand was extended to demonstrate the lack of a weapon, in a literal sense, and also to symbolize peacefulness and transparency. I’m not sure what the shaking part was about. I’ve never asked them, but I doubt that my father ever gave a lesson in handshaking to my two sisters, and somehow I can’t picture my mother instructing them either. Women were not required to shake hands back then, but if a woman offered you her hand you were expected to grasp her fingers gently and briefly. By the time I started making my way in the business world 20 years later, things had changed. The women’s movement encouraged women in business to expect to be treated the same as men, and that extended to the handshake. Some
women went a little overboard with it, but that was all right. I chalked it up to the fact that they had missed my father’s instruction. Some women also chose not to participate in the practice, for whatever reason. Perhaps they were making some sort of sociopolitical statement, or perhaps they just didn’t like people grabbing their hands. At any rate, handshaking was the norm in business, until the world was turned upside-down approximately one year ago. At that point the Centers for Disease Control suggested that we use “other non-contact methods of greeting.” If you insist on touching you can use an elbow bump, which has to be about the most awkward human interaction yet devised. Back in April of 2020 Dr. Anthony Fauci, upon whose wisdom we are totally dependent, said that we should never shake hands again. “Not only would it be good to prevent coronavirus disease, it probably would decrease instances of influenza dramatically in this country.” That notion is not new. I am a lifelong tennis player, a sport like many others that has traditionally been concluded with a handshake. A half-dozen years ago, during the outbreak of a disease we have since forgotten about, the players in my circle of acquaintance adopted the fist bump as a more hygienic method of congratulating the winner and wishing each other well. It’s also used to acknowledge a particularly good shot by one’s partner, much in the manner of a high five. Fist bumps are still direct contact (continued on page 6) April 2021 — EducationalDealerMagazine.com 3
