NYC mayor's comments on protecting non-remote workers prompt people to defend 'low-skill' jobs

Mayor Eric Adams' remarks about "low-skill" workers set off a firestorm of responses.
Sometimes it's surprising how quickly politicians can step in it, even when they're trying to say something legitimately important or helpful.
In trying to convince the public that people who can't work remotely need the support of other New Yorkers during the current wave of COVID-19 infections, New York City Mayor Eric Adams artlessly referred to cooks, messengers, shoe shiners and Dunkin' Donuts employees as "low-skill workers" who "don't have the academic skills to sit in a corner office."
Eric Adams just said \u201cLow skill workers like cooks, messengers and Dunkin\u2019 Donuts employees don\u2019t have the academic skills to sit in a corner office\u201dpic.twitter.com/KaoY9MNZ8J— Achmat X (@Achmat X) 1641326272
To be fair, he was trying express support for the workers he seems to insult, but it came across all wrong. His remarks set off a firestorm of responses from people who have worked as service workers and who took issue with the idea of those jobs being "low-skill."
I second that. I'm a Grocery store worker and I challenge anyone to come and work one single holiday week of their choice and then call us "low skill"\n\nI've been working in a grocery store for 8 years now and I'm terrified of trying to be a server in a restaurant.— Vardex23 \ud83d\udc89\ud83d\udc89 \ud83d\ude37 (@Vardex23 \ud83d\udc89\ud83d\udc89 \ud83d\ude37) 1641332465
making a quesarito during lunch rush is 10x harder than writing any sort of algorithm. service jobs are not \u201clow skill\u201d bro lmfao— first-mate prance (@first-mate prance) 1641359169
Hardest job I've ever had. You get in the weeds and the whole place goes down. A restaurant has to run like a Ferrari engine just to keep that from happening. Waited tables next to a guy with an MBA as well. This guy has no clue.— Jason Orton (@Jason Orton) 1641332987
I cleaned toilets, swung a pick axe, hauled garbage and climbed inside dry cleaning machines, among other things, to get my JD magna cum laude from Harvard. I think we can put to rest the notion that the skills required are low or that people who do those things can't think.— Robert Wade (@Robert Wade) 1641416626
"There’s no such thing as a 'low-skilled' worker."
"Anybody can flip a burger at McDonald's" not actually true. Also, frankly, a lot of the office workers I know also don't have a great deal of academic skill. You don't need to be a rocket surgeon to answer phones.— You, in the bushes. (@You, in the bushes.) 1641331053
Let's be honest, academic skill isn't necessary for most office jobs in the first place.\n\nIt's just an acceptable way to filter "less desirable" applicants.\n\nI'm confident I could teach the folks from my local Dunks to do most jobs at my firm. All they'd need is time to learn.— Matt Gibbs (@Matt Gibbs) 1641331870
Naturally, different jobs require different skills, and "academic skills" could mean a lot of different things. But "low-skill" has an insulting ring to it
Adams tried to clarify his meaning in an interview on CBS This Morning, saying, “The goal is we need to open the city so low-wage employees are able to survive."
If he meant "low-wage," he probably should have said so. And that correction doesn't really address the "lacking-the-academic-skills-for-a-corner-office" thing.
Some people pointed out that "low-skill" or "unskilled" jobs are an actual category of work, meaning that they don't require any specialized education or long-term training. However, that wording minimizes the skills that are required to succeed in many of those jobs, so perhaps we should reconsider that wording altogether.
What Mayor Adams really meant was that people who work in jobs that can't be done remotely still need to be paid during the pandemic. Is encouraging office workers to go into the office in the middle of a raging pandemic so they can help keep those people employed the way to go? Questionable, but everything is questionable right now.
What's clear is that while his intentions may have been good, his delivery definitely needed some polishing. Don't insult a large swath of your constituents by saying they don't have the brains for a corner office. Not a good message, not a good look.
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There's a reason why some people can perfectly copy accents, and others can't
Turns out, there's a neurodivergent link.
A woman in black long sleeve shirt stands in front of mirror.
Have you ever had that friend who goes on vacation for four days to London and comes back with a full-on Queen's English posh accent? "Oooh I left my brolly in the loo," they say, and you respond, "But you're from Colorado!" Well, there are reasons they (and many of us) do that, and usually it's on a pretty subconscious level.
It's called "accent mirroring," and it's actually quite common with people who are neurodivergent, particularly those with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). According Neurolaunch, the self-described "Free Mental Health Library," "Accent mirroring, also known as accent adaptation or phonetic convergence, is the tendency to unconsciously adopt the accent or speech patterns of those around us. This linguistic chameleon effect is not unique to individuals with ADHD, but it appears to be more pronounced and frequent in this population."
Essentially, when people have conversations, we're constantly "scanning" for information—not just the words we're absorbing, but the inflection and tone. "When we hear an accent, our brains automatically analyze and categorize the phonetic features, prosody, and intonation patterns," writes Neurolaunch. For most, this does result in copying the accent of the person with whom we're speaking. But those with ADHD might be more sensitive to auditory cues. This, "coupled with a reduced ability to filter out or inhibit the impulse to mimic…could potentially explain the increased tendency for accent mirroring."
While the article explains further research is needed, they distinctly state that, "Accent mirroring in individuals with ADHD often manifests as an unconscious mimicry of accents in social situations. This can range from subtle shifts in pronunciation to more noticeable changes in intonation and speech rhythm. For example, a person with ADHD might find themselves unconsciously adopting a Southern drawl when conversing with someone from Texas, even if they’ve never lived in the South themselves."
People are having their say online. On the subreddit r/ADHDWomen, a thread began: "Taking on accents is an ADHD thing?" The OP shares, "My whole life, I've picked up accents. I, myself, never noticed, but everyone around me would be like, 'Why are you talking like that??' It could be after I watched a show or movie with an accent or after I've traveled somewhere with a different accent than my 'normal.'
They continue, "Apparently, I pick it up fast, but it fades out slowly. Today... I'm scrolling Instagram, I watch a reel from a comedian couple (Darcy and Jeremy. IYKYK) about how Darcy (ADHD) picks up accents everywhere they go. It's called ADHD Mirroring??? And it's another way of masking."
(The OP is referring to Darcy Michaels and his husband Jeremy Baer, who are both touring comedians based in Canada.)
Hundreds of people on the Reddit thread alone seem to relate. One comments, "Omfg I've done this my whole life; I'll even pick up on the pauses/spaces when I'm talking to someone who is ESL—but English is my first language lol."
Sometimes, it can be a real issue for those around the chameleon. "I accidentally mimicked a waitress's weird laugh one time. As soon as she was out of earshot, my family started to reprimand me, but I was already like 'oh my god I don’t know why I did that, I feel so bad.'"
Many commenters on TikTok were shocked to find out this can be a sign of ADHD. One jokes, "Omg, yes, at a store the cashier was talking to me and she was French. She's like 'Oh are you French too? No, I'm not lol. I'm very east coast Canada."
And some people just embrace it and make it work for them. "I mirror their words or phrase! I’m 30. I realized I start calling everyone sweetie cause my manager does & I work at coffee shop."