Nomads

“One cannot talk to nomads. They do not speak our language; indeed they hardly have one of their own. They communicate among themselves after the fashion of jackdaws. The cry of the jackdaw is constantly in one’s ears. Our way of life and our institutions make no sense to them and are of no interest to them. Consequently they take the same negative attitude to any kind of sign language. You can dislocate your jaw and you can twist your wrists out of joint; they’ll not have understood you and they never will. They frequently pull faces, turning up the whites of their eyes and foaming at the mouth, but it is not with the intention of saying anything nor even to inspire fright; they do it because that is their way. What they need they take. Not that they can be said to use violence. One steps aside when they grab and lets them help themselves.” —F. Kafka, “A Leaf from the Past.”