Proud To Be Ignorant

If you have read much of my writings, you will know that I abhor bad writing, bad grammar, and poor spelling. I am not a fan of those who speak poorly.

I have gone into how I feel about “you can’t judge me”. This is an insipid saying that reveals a lot about the character of anyone who utters it. The word ‘judge’ has been hijacked by the popular culture in a blatant attempt to alter the definition in order to fit the usage they prefer. Dictionary.com defines ‘judge’ as forming an opinion after careful consideration. I laugh when someone tells me I don’t have the right to have an opinion.

Many words have been hijacked similarly. Remember when gay meant happy? No, this is not a lead-in to a punchline.

Recent history has emboldened those who refuse to use proper grammar and language. The lobby for abortion decided they did not like being called “pro-abortion”, even though it accurately described them. The problem was, their polling showed that people had negative reactions to the word abortion. Well, here was the problem, obviously! It did not occur to anyone that the act associated with the word (in other words, the definition) might be the cause of this unrest. No siree, it was the word itself. No problem, they decided, and thus they began a campaign to be known as the ‘pro-choice’ group. Now we’re talking. Here’s two ‘good’ words – pro and choice.

Media outlets across the land were directed to only refer to this group as ‘pro-choice’ from now on, and they dutifully followed orders. After all, if some group wants to be known by a certain name, who was the media to not comply?

Now the group opposed to abortion realized what was happening, and they cried foul. They approached the same media outlets and basically said what is good for the goose is good for the gander. From now on, we prefer to be called ‘pro-life’, they said. Of course, those same media outlets objected. For years, they used the term ‘anti-abortion’. Not only did it show that they would not be led by the pro-life side, it was a nice use of two negative connotations – smart of the media, eh?

It’s been an uphill battle over several years, but some media are finally using the term pro-life, although each time they do, some pro-abortion advocate yelps.

You see? Words do matter.

Now the mass culture is trying to destroy the word hate. Although it’s probably unintentional, they are undermining the word so badly as to render its use worthless. Let’s look at the current common usage. Anyone who opposes anything a leftie likes is immediately labeled a hater. If you say you prefer that marriage be between a man and woman, you are a gay-hater. Don’t want to open the borders for total immigration? You are a Hispanic hater. Prefer not to have the car twenty feet from yours drown out your stereo even though your windows are up? Hater. Don’t like sour cream on your baked potato? Hater. Okay, the last one has not been used…yet.

The point is, the word hater has been hijacked, and if the lefties have their way, it will come to mean anyone who opposes anything they like. It already means that to them.

I frequent a sports forum. There can be some lively discussions. Sometimes it gets to the edge of nasty. As you can imagine, steroid usage is a hot button issue. I have seen people labeled hater for saying they don’t believe someone who uses illegal substances should be allowed to get away with it. How is that hate? A better question might be, if you suffer the same knee-jerk reaction to everyone who has a thought different from yours, aren’t you a hater?

Recently, someone posted a message on the forum that contained a grammatical error, and it was fairly obvious. A reply was posted that said, I wish people would learn to speak properly on this board. The hater labelers came out of the woodwork. Someone who had not written the original post spewed venom at the reply.

Okay, there are lots of poorly worded posts on that board, as is true on most boards. Most of the time, the poor grammar/spelling/word usage is ignored. One time someone says something and you would think he had questioned someone’s manhood or family lineage.

When did it become not only cool to use poor grammar, but something to be proud of using? I have had this discussion many times over the years. Any time the subject of grammar comes up, there will be someone who gets indignant. They have a ‘right’ to speak how they wish, and you have no right (here it comes) to ‘judge’ them.

Try to find someone who does not misuse the pronouns I, me, him, or her. It’s gotten so bad that the incorrect usage is much more frequent than the proper usage. In this topsy-turvy world, the correct usage is now looked upon with disdain. For the last time, it’s improper to say, “Me and him went to the store.”

Like it or not, proper usage of grammar when speaking or writing is one indicator of intelligence. It’s not the only one, to be sure, but you may rest assured that people who speak properly are generally more intelligent than those who do not. Ignorance is not a trait to invoke pride. This is a result of the schools getting away from strict teaching and evolving into feel-good academies where you don’t correct spelling or grammar, you encourage the student’s individuality. We don’t want to hurt someone’s feelings, now do we?

Yes, I am obsessive about a lot of things. That does not mean I am wrong. Worrying about small matters such as this used to be appreciated, even admired. In the military, they call it attention to details. Today you’re just called a hater.