Speaking of shocking things in the newspaper (scroll down), Sunday’s Miami Herald featured a photograph of Brad Paisley shaking hands with Volodymyr Zelensky. The meeting of the two men may have looked a bit odd – though Paisley has been vocal in his support of Ukraine – but the shocking thing was the country singer’s posture, with his right hand extended in a shake with Zelensky’s and the left one stuck firmly in his pocket.
I first learned of the manual etiquette of Slavs by reading Vladimir Nabokov. On seeing a photo of American officials, all with their hands in their pockets, standing with their Soviet counterparts, the great writer was appalled that the former did not understand that the latter would see the posture as a sign of disrespect. Years later, teaching English in Warsaw, I learned that my students would not dream of talking to me with their hands in their pockets.
It's commendable that Paisley made the effort to visit Ukraine, but it would have been nice if he’d taken some time to learn about the culture.
