March 12, 2003

My futile campaign, cont.

In this article about the blindness of the George W. Bush-haters, I come upon this quote by one of them, on the subject of Condoleeza Rice:

She is a "US version of Margaret Thatcher, a person whose lack of empathy for those of lesser ability is chilling".

Look! The eedjits have taken to using the "c-word" ("chilling") in that way I hate. Now will you all stop using it like that??? Pleeeeease? (Maybe if I can find a quote of Clinton using it, that would work, eh? Argh.)

Article via Tim Blair.

Posted by Andrea Harris at March 12, 2003 03:18 PM
Comments

Fixation on little grammar gaffes, especially ones that aren't even ungrammatical, is one of the first signs of: You need to get the hell out of the house and go party, see a movie, or do something to reset the fun factor, for crying out loud!

GO!

Posted by: Yahmdallah at March 12, 2003 at 04:34 PM

Every year, there's a new crop of children's books on high-achieving women (mainly so they can write school papers about them.) I've been wondering when the book on Condi Rice is going to come out.

Probably about the time as the book about the female designer of thermobaric bombs. (yes, there really is such a person).

Posted by: David Foster at March 12, 2003 at 05:06 PM

Once she's elected President (maybe in 2008, maybe later, but definitely eventually), I doubt the publshers will have much of a choice.

Posted by: David Jaroslav at March 12, 2003 at 05:40 PM

One certainly can't contend with your feeling and preference, but might one inquire as to its origin? The usage is perfectly correct and grammatical, I'm afraid.

Posted by: Gary Farber at March 12, 2003 at 06:12 PM

Never mind my query; I've caught up to your earlier post. I'm afraid you're doomed to argue with pretty much every English dictionary on this, however. It's good to have hobbies, though.

Posted by: Gary Farber at March 12, 2003 at 07:24 PM

Yeah, it might be futile but I'm with you, sister, proudly waving the "Trite, dangit! Stop now!" flag in the face of the vocabulary lemmings.

Bring it on, you unimaginative hacks! I'll bloody your noses with my Thesaurus!

Posted by: Tracey at March 12, 2003 at 09:55 PM

Um, if I were a woman I would take being called the US's "Margaret Thatcher" a great compliment. Condi is fairly good, but not up to Lady T standards yet. It is doubful she will ever have the affect on the US than Lady T had on the UK.

Posted by: Andrew at March 12, 2003 at 10:47 PM

(Tried to post this earlier but had problems)

Andrea, I agree with you 100% on this one. I rarely hate words but I do hate the mis-use of words. The quote is definitely a mis-use of the language unless you're willing to believe that the person who said it is actually that easily "chilled."

Posted by: Lynn S at March 12, 2003 at 10:55 PM

Andrew, she's an advisor, not President. Thatcher wouldn't have had much effect either were it not for being Prime Minister. Give her time - once she becomes President, watch out.

Posted by: Ken Summers at March 13, 2003 at 11:10 PM

Thatcher completely changed the face of the U.K., as well as that of her opposition--even now, Tony Blair's position on economics is fairly difficult to distinguish from hers, even though he's the leader of a party that's ostensibly opposed to everything she believed. As much as I admire Rice, it's a bit premature to suggest that she's another Roosevelt or Reagan--which is what Thatcher was to her people.

Posted by: Dean Esmay at March 14, 2003 at 07:59 AM