Thursday, December 13, 2018

Our Lonely War On Pronouns Continues...


...because both Republicans and the Beltway media never stop trying to diffuse responsibility for their catastrophes by "we"-ing the rest of us into their shame circle.

As you probably know, we here at the DGBG Productions (driftglass blog, The Professional Left Podcast, etc.) have been waging a long, lonely war against the promiscuous use "we", "us", "The American people", "The Congress", "Washington D.C." and any other language deployed by the media and by Republican politicians in the service of pretending that somehow everyone and all institutions are collectively and equally culpable for explicitly Republican cowardice, Republican barbarity, Republican racism and Republican sedition.

Or that, conversely, the energetic and resolution opposition to explicitly Republican cowardice, Republican barbarity, Republican racism and Republican sedition is something that "we" are all in together.  That, for example. stripping tens of millions of Americans of their health care in order to pay for tax cuts for plutocrats with something up with which "the American people" would not put.

No, no and no.

Because other than geographically, there is no such critter as "the American people".  This is the unhappy truth which the Beltway media damn well knows but would rather pull its own head off rather than speak aloud, which is why the word "we" has been so brutally abused by everyone with something to hide.


Exhibit A:  Raving racist deadbeat liar and former Republican congressman from IL08 turned belated Never Trumper, Joe Walsh.
Goons like Walsh never actually change.  They just shift with the prevailing wind.  And along with the rest of the Never Trumpers, current weather conditions have temporarily knocked him off the GOP dungheap, but the minute conditions improve, you can bet the mortgage that Deadbeat Joe will go right back to pounding his little tin wingnut drum.

Exhibit B:  At the other end of the respectability spectrum we find that bastion of relentless Beltway Both Siderism, The New York Times, and a lesson in how applying pressure to pressure-sensitive Both Siderists can sometimes yield happy results. 

Here is the Times' headline about the rise of far-right extremists before Liberals starting yelling at them on Twitter.



Here are a few example of Liberals yelling at the NYT on Twitter



And here is the same NYT headline after Liberals starting yelling at them on Twitter.
Lesson:  If it gathers enough momentum (and enough support from Bluechecks), sometimes publicly shaming Both Siderists actually works.

For example here is a small and almost-forgotten skirmish in our lonely war on pronouns from January of this year: Ms. Joy Ann Reid setting Ezra Klein straight on the abuse of the word "we".
Today you can still click on Joy Ann Reid's Tweet and see it in its original state.  But Young Ezra's original Tweet now exists only as a memory -- trapped in the amber of my post from January 2018, because he has since deleted it :-)

So however maddening it is to be right all along and ignored all along, never let anyone tell you that holding Both Siderists publicly to account doesn't work.

Because sometimes it does.


Behold, a Tip Jar!


9 comments:

Jim Butts said...

Sometimes it does. Hang in there. You’ve got friends out here following your lead.

Robt said...

The pronoun derangement has been applied in corporate world for Eons.

I had the "evil problem" of employment in a union shop.
This provided me with more speech rights than non union.

Typical top management state of the business to workers.

Mgnt; As the company has improved and made strides in efficiencies and productivity that lifted our profit margins for the year. "I see that the policies management has taken has been successful.
There is still much room for improvement(s) and "We: need to expand on "our" productivities.

Troubled soul (me) with hand up being called on for questions.

Me; I see management received bonuses related to these highlights you described of productivity and efficiency. But management does not produce (operate eqp). The merely direct, institute rules from the top no matter if they are functionally reasonable or not. Management did not send one Widget out our warehouse to market.
So when you tell us,
*The company is doing good.
*But "we" need to improve.
You are telling us that any gains are of your making and the company is not doing as well as you would like is because of "us" (who actually produce).

What is our share of the booty ? When it came to your new rules of production from the top that failed miserably, "we: workers changed it, made it workable and had to fight you to see it and agree.

MGMT' Yes, productivity is an important aspect and "we" need to discuss it. Thank you for your question Union thug asshole know nothing hourly that does not know is station in life and how disrespectful you are?. If there was no union. I would fire you in a heartbeat).

The "We" need to do better when they are actually specifically addressing "You" and or others. To make it sound more inclusive.
When the management bonuses are paid out for the workers "productivity". Not so inclusive.
For many, word us in this arena of WE and you and us and them.

has its merits and benefits.

* It is how they arrived at tax cuts for the very wealthy, improves your lives.

Pronoun for dollars at the least, assures me I am not alone in it's long treacherous and harmful observance.,

Noun abuse is rampant. there is the Verb and Adverb equivalence to enhance those pro noun and nouns.
But that is for another day.


IYour addressing this language hypnosies

mcfrank said...

And, thank you, thank you, thank you for your tireless efforts.

Well, OK, we're about the same age, so you are probably VERY tired of this BS. But, at least from here, it looks tireless.

joejimtree said...

Ross Douthat deserves a special mention for writing that "we" miss WASPS, and that "we" share the perspective of what is "pagan", a pejorative word in his mouth, for "ungodly", which he has the audacity to define as a social movement in a lazy well remunerated column, as if 4.5 inches of type is a sacred form held in common with all of the finest philosophical writing through. I think both he and David Brooks think they are mystics, who would wear hair shirts, but for the fact that they are so humble as to not to want to draw attention to themselves, and with this in mind can be seen drinking vintage Burgundy so as to disguise themselves and the seriousness of their spiritual mission.

XtopherSD said...

Just for context, here's the tweet Joy references, which has been deleted...
https://web.archive.org/web/20180107020938/https:/twitter.com/ezraklein/status/948366673018540032

And the Vox article to which it refers...
https://www.vox.com/2017/11/30/16517022/impeachment-donald-trump

Robt said...

Now that I think about it,
"
" MANY people say "WE" wouldn't have Trump as president if "you" people voted differently

trgahan said...

The revised headline isn't accurate either.

The local and state level law enforcement that hires white nationalists may have chosen to miss it, but the FBI didn't with their Bush Administration ordered report.....that the Republicans used to fuel the great Humble Apolitical Real American AHHHH THE PRESIDENT IS A BLACK GUY.....er....I means DEFICITS! Tea Party freak out in 2009.

Seitan_Worshiper said...

I can't help but be reminded of the punchline to that old (racist?) joke involving the Lone Ranger and his Faithful Indian Companion with the insulting name: "What do you mean 'we,' White Man?"

New_damage said...

Thank you.