We Should Live - Ben Bateman

I just watched The Mouse that Roared, a 1959 Peter Sellers farce about the Cold War. A tiny country declares war on the United States for the sole purpose of being defeated and receive the lavish aid to former enemies for which our country is well known. It’s a decent movie, if you enjoy the Monty Python style of comedy.

In one scene, the tiny country’s officials are preparing to be occupied by American soliders. Every preparation has been made to make the GIs feel welcome in terms of housing, food, etc. Then one official raises the question of ‘fraternization’. After a moment’s consideration, they agree on 48 hours. We then see a pretty young woman being herded indoors by her stern mother.

For an amateur etymologist like myself, the extra humor here is that one of the most common meanings for ‘fraternize’ is ‘to have sex with’. The trail seems to have started with a military phrase ‘fraternizing with the enemy’, which dealt with any friendly contact with enemy civilians. And for soldiers abroad there was one particular type of enemy civilian with which they wanted to have contact—prostitutes. This sexual sense of the word seems to have leaked into the employment area, to describe romantic relationships with coworkers.

The irony is that this meaning is precisely opposite its etymology, because ‘fraternize’ refers to brotherhood, just like ‘fraterinity’, ‘fratricide’, etc. And it’s still used in that direct sense of fellowship and friendship.

This just cries out for a joke about the US military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy. But I’m not good with jokes. You can think up your own.