Do you consider yourself a Grammar Nazi?

Not at all…though I do find the term ‘grammar nazi’ unnecessary.

Bad grammar does annoy me, but I keep it to myself.

No but I am a soup Nazi….if it is too salty or not enough noodles, you will hear about it!

Not a nazi, per se, but as a writer I tend to develop a facial tick when people start making obvious grammar mistakes. As a student employed as a Peer Writing Advisor, I have to be calm and understanding with people as I teach them what they did wrong and why (the whole ‘teach a man to fish’ concept), but if you come to me seperately, I will tear a piece apart in a method I like to refer to as ‘Tough Love.’

No and 99.9% of the time the message was understood but for some reason the Nazi’s think that have to correct someone. Funny thing is they make some of the same mistakes others do.

Nine….......I mean nein!

Do you find yourself correcting people on the internet?
Yes, many times.

Does bad grammar really annoy you?
Yes, it does.

Are you subtle or “in your face” when correcting people?
I try to be subtle, but if it’s a bad enough offense I virtual slap them in the face.

Do you just let it go?
Not usually, I get angry.

There are certain usages that bother me and I may point them out to someone if I know them to be someone who wants to speak as grammatically correct as possible. Otherwise, I just leave it alone. Correcting grammar and spelling on the internet is often petty in my opinion; it’s used to distract from arguments. And I certainly would never pester someone IRL about grammatical errors unless it was making their speech or writing harder to understand.

Waiting

@JustmeAman THAT IS NOT A FULL SENTENCE AND WHERE’S THE PERIOD?!?!?!

Sorry.

No. But I am always fighting them off.

YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE!

Like I said I was waiting and knew it was coming and on purpose.

Do you find yourself correcting people on the internet?
—Not usually.

Does bad grammar really annoy you?
—Only with obvious mistakes.

Are you subtle or “in your face” when correcting people?
—I usually don’t correct people.

Do you just let it go?
—Yes

I guess I’m not a “grammar nazi” ...whew (wipes brow).

Does bad grammar really annoy you?

Shouldn’t it be poor grammar?

Do you find yourself correcting people on the internet?
Sometimes.

Does bad grammar really annoy you?
Yes, it does.

Are you subtle or “in your face” when correcting people?
I try to keep my objections to myself!

Do you just let it go?
Yup.

@FutureMemory – oops! You are now officially a Grammar Nazi.

yes i am prolly the besst and most server detectin grammer nazi man LOLZ!

I lol’d @FutureMemory “Shouldn’t it be poor grammar?” ...good one :)

@Mat74UK I struggle quite a bit with grammar. Anyone that wants to correct me (via PM’s please) is more than welcome to.

@PluckyDog I aim to please ;)

No, but maybe a grammar Stalin.

I am annoyed by obvious horrible grammar, the kind that really makes you wonder if that person even attended high school. I don’t correct it because I don’t want to be seen as an elitist asshole.

Grammar Man.

Bad grammar annoys me, and I always notice it. But I don’t correct it (unless asked) and I just let it go. The world has far worse things to worry about than bad spelling and grammar.

Grammar? We don’t need no grammar! I don’t have to show you no stinkin’ grammar!

No soup for you!

My grammar be’s ebonics, gin, tonic and chronic.

No,I am not.If I can understand what someone is trying to get across, then how they say it doesn’t matter.Life is too short to go around correcting people. ;)

Great Answer @lucillelucillelucille

@FutureMemory I struggle quite a bit with grammar. Anyone that wants to correct me (via PM’s please) is more than welcome to.

Those that made mistakes in their post while explaining their dislike for poor grammar, please disregard the above invitation.

No. In the scheme of things, not a problem!

Off Kurs!

Grammar Nazi? Do I believe in the political and spiritual supremacy of people who know their grammar? Am I engaged in a massive plot to kill all people who don’t know their grammar?

No.

I find your use of “Nazi” in this context flippant to an offensive degree. I suggest you learn more history.

I suggest it is a play on words and refects the Nazi Cook of Seinfeld and is not meant to offend anyone.

@nicobanks You say that as if you’ve never heard the word nazi applied to anything other than German national socialists. Is that the case?

@nicobanks – “Grammar Nazi” is a well used internet term, I’m sorry you have taken offense. FYI I am well versed on history.

@FutureMemory No, that’s not the case.

@JustmeAman I think you mean the Soup Nazi; well, I found that offensive, too. Whether there was intention to offend or not is irrelevant.

@Mat74UK “Nigger” is also a well-used internet term, but that doesn’t make it appropriate. I think anyone who’d make light of the term “Nazi” has not taken the history they supposedly know to heart. Thank you for your apology.

@nicobanks – Go tell that top the millions of others that used the term “Nazi” on the internet!

@nicobanks Oh come on, man. The Nazi’s were a despicable lot, but the term itself is not considered offensive. When people say “the N word” they mean Nigger, not Nazi.

Well I think some people are way to sensitive to miner things. If you took every single thing anyone ever says and look at each word to see if it is offensive I would say you waste lots of time in life for nothing. I think that is part of the point of this question about correcting others when the meaning is known. WHY?

@JustmeAman – Exactly

Originally, “Nazi” was short for the Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei (or National Socialist German Worker’s Party).

In poplular American culture ..the word “Nazi” is also often used to describe authoritarian people.

I don’t think this question was intent on insulting anyone with the use of the word.
And that’s what I have to say to the recent twist in this dicussion.

@Mat74UK What do you mean by that? I mean, when I see people using the term incorrectly, I do tell them it offends me – that’s how we’re having this conversation in the first place. Are you suggesting that because so many others do it, it’s perfectly okay, or not worth reacting to, or something? Again: just because people do it, that doesn’t make it okay. People rape each other, so if I’m raped, should I just forget it? Look the other way?

@FutureMemory I’m not saying the word “Nazi” is a bad word like “nigger.” I only brought up “nigger” to exemplify something that people do that is wrong. There’s nothing wrong with calling a Nazi a Nazi. The word itself isn’t offensive: it’s the misapplication that is offensive.

@JustmeAman Different people are offended by different things, different people care about different things. That’s the way the world is. Because something is minor in your mind/heart doesn’t make it minor overall and if it’s important to someone else you should realize that and respect that in the future. This doesn’t mean you have to start caring about it yourself, it just means you should respect that other people do care about it, otherwise you will offend them with your flippant attitude. If you don’t intend to go around offending people, this is something about life you will just have to accept.

Take organic food for example. Frankly, I don’t care much about organic food. I don’t go out of my way to find organic food, and I don’t engage in organic food activism. But I realize, on an objective level, that it is important, that it has a huge impact on the world, and that lots of people care about it – people I don’t want to hurt, people I want to be friendly with. So, I don’t go around making fun of it. See what I mean?

Also no one is looking at every word that everyone says to see if it is offensive. My response wasn’t a matter of principal: it was a reaction to my own feelings.

@PluckyDog I understand what the term means and how it is popularly used. That’s exactly my problem – the difference between meaning and usage! And as I said to JustMeAman, the user’s intent is irrelevant.

@nicobanks – Take your Jackboots off and chill.
If you get offended so easily I think you really shouldn’t be on the internet.

I wouldn’t have used the term myself. But I understand why and how others end up using it in modern times. I respect that you let people know it offended you but I also respect the intentions of the people that used the term in relation to the question.

Intent is relevant to me I guess.

Note: I posted the definition for everyone’s use. I was trying to be neutral ..lol.

Thank you @nicobanks I have been corrected and find I am wrong in stating some of the things I did. I agree with you that you have feelings and if that offended you I should just let it be. You have every right to feel as you do and I didn’t mean to come across with a flippant attitude. I do appologize for that and did not mean to be offensive. I really do appreciate it when someone shows me I was wrong to some degree and I will try and do better in the future. Thanks

@Mat74UK What makes you say I get offended “so easily”? This is one issue, one response. I guess you never get offended by anything anyone says, ever? It’s really rude of you to tell me to “chill.” I’m not being hurtful, I’m not insulting anyone, I’m not saying anything unreasonable or flipping out. I’m just saying I’m offended, don’t I have the right to do that without being told to calm down?

@PluckyDog Yes, good point, intent is relevant. I mean, I would be way more offended if I thought Mat74UK was trying to be anti-Semitic with this question. I guess what I mean is that lack of intent doesn’t make the act innocuous. Thoughtlessness is in some cases offensive. We should spend some time thinking how others might react to our actions before we do them. I’m not saying what others think should control our actions, or we should constantly censor ourselves. But as we live in society, we have a level of responsibility to the Other.

@JustmeAman You’re welcome; and thank you for taking me seriously. You’ve shown great humility and respect with your last response – I appreciate it greatly and I admire you for it.

@nicobanks I agree with you. The reason I would not have used that term, if I had asked the question, would be the worry that I may insult someone by it. I am the type of person that tends to overthink before I speak though ..lol. But others are not so aware and I usually try not to hold them against it (unless, of course, they are being purposefully/purposely ignorant).

Ja.

I’m not a total nazi about it, but poor grammar, especially grade school mistakes, really irritates me. The usual grammar examples: “there, their and they’re”, “your and you’re”, “to, too and two”, “our and are” (I’m seeing a lot more of that one lately), and for some reason, people confuse “an” with “and” and it drives me crazy. Glaring mistakes like that really make people look like they didn’t pass the 6th grade.

you ain’t a shittin’ i do

Yes and no. If I can figure out what they’re saying without spending five minutes on one sentence, I let it go. The exception is when the person making the mistake is a professional writer of some kind. The other day, I was looking at New York Magazine’s Daily Intel blog, and there was a headline “Is The Taliban Winning?” I told them off for that, because there’s a huge difference between a layperson and someone who proclaims a certain amount of expertise making those mistakes. I only get on their case for very obvious, elementary mistakes, though. I would never yell at them for not being a purist with their impacts, just when they use the wrong their/there/they’re to/two/too or something like that.

@nicobanks There’s a rather large difference between slang usage that has been around for at least 20 years and rape. You might get more sympathy if you didn’t react like you couldn’t tell the difference.

I wonder where gail is today.

@JustmeAman Ok, normally I would let it go, but considering the thread…
I would imagine that there are quite a few Chileans who are very sensitive to miner things…

Nothing worse than a Grammar Nazi. This isn’t school and we are not your students.

I curse Grammar Nazis, and they can kiss my black ass.

Yes, but I’ve learned that people find it super annoying and find you pretentious when you go around correcting them all day. So, I stopped worrying about it. Let them look dumb on their own if they don’t want my help.

Oh, and @JustmeAman, an apostrophe makes a word possessive, not plural… Sorry, I had to. ;)

I ain’t no Nazi.

“It’s a damn small mind that can think of only one way to spell a word.” -attributed to Andrew Jackson.

No, it’s just petty grandstanding as the person doing the correcting with others present are only trying to justify their existence.

Imho, grammar Nazis are called grammar nazis mainly because they’re so loud. If there’s a discreet way to let others know about their spelling or grammar mistakes, then I occasionally do it.

I don’t consider myself a grammar nazi. However, it is difficult to focus on a writer’s viewpoint, when you’re distracted by their juvenile spelling…repeatedly.

Having said that, after reading your comments herein, I will be more tolerant and less of an “asshole”...even though I don’t see myself being that obnoxious. I have corrected, albeit light-heartedly, a few times. But, I certainly would not want y’all to think I’m hard-nosed or anything.

This is my apology…I’ll be doing better.

I have been known to occasionally correct someone, but I generally do a PM if I feel like they just made a typo.
I’ve let someone have it a couple times because they made what I considered a stupid argument and used the wrong word.
@lucillelucillelucille honey? I don’t always get peoples meanings when they misspell a word. A few days ago someone posted a Q and it began life as “Perinneal Tears?” I honestly thought it was some kind of flower and she spelled perennial They fixed it at some point, and then I realized…“Oh…. perineal tears…Ohhhh, ok.” You know, tear and tear are spelled the same, and coupled with perennial, .... This is the price I pay for being literal minded, but I really can’t help it. I was not being deliberately obtuse or bitchy, I accepted the question as written, and it was written to mean one thing but actually said another. This, for me, is the classic example of why spelling the word correctly is important. The meaning can be easily misconstrued. I’m fequently left wondering; Did the person who wrote this mean “this” or “that”?

I mostly keep it to myself. I do occasionally become annoyed, and the only person I usually correct is my wife, and that is just because it irritates her. I try to avoid these mistakes myself, but I usually mess up when I am really tired. I become distracted easily when mistakes are repeated in something I am trying to read. That is why I never respond to a request on Wattpad from someone that wants me to read their story simply entitled:

“I hate my enamy! Did I mentien that he is my brothers best friend and that we did it and now I am pregoz with his babyz. I also have to marriez him now!?!?!?!????.! WTF?!?! FML?!?!”

These titles make me want to vomit. This does not make me a Grammar Nazi, no matter what my wife says.

If there are too many errors in a post I just quit reading. Sometimes, if there’s a good point in there somewhere, I’ll give a gentle shove to this guide, but I don’t bother with correcting them myself.

@essieness I would say who gives a rats %^&#$%&^.

Correcting others is not nor ever has been your responsiblity nor your purpose in life. You need to see the beam in your own eye to try ever to help remove it from another. When you become perfect and can no longer progress then maybe you could start worrying about others.

@papayalily First of all, I’m not looking for sympathy, I’m just expressing my opinion. Second of all, of course there’s a difference between misapplying a term and committing rape. I was only comparing the two on the point that both are bad things that people do. I already explained this with my “n-word” example. Do you really not understand that drawing a comparison is not the same as saying two things are the same in all ways? I think you’re being fatuous.

You know what? People get offended WAY too easy these days. Society has become so focused on political correctness that it makes me physically ill. Call a spade a spade dammit. I correct poor grammar when it bugs me, and I’m not ashamed of it. I do try to not take it too far though. I’m also not ashamed if someone calls me a “grammar nazi”, in fact it makes me laugh. I’m mostly German but I wasn’t a part of what happened many years ago, just like I’m a “good ol’ suthuhn gal” but I’ve never owned a slave. I’m sick of stigmas being attatched to words. I should shudder at the thought of anyone calling my cat a “pussy” since oh my God it’s a dirty term for vagina. (Which to me, vagina sounds more dirty than pussy; it sounds slimy.) That being said, nazi nazi nazi nazi nazi nazi. Heil Pussy!

Seriously, it’s a freaking word. If we started banning words that offend people, a good portion of our dictionary would have to be removed.

Life is just (too, to, two, 2) short.

@JustmeAman LOL, yes it is. (You’re, your) right.

@WillWorkForChocolate – well said!!!

@WillWorkForChocolate Brava! how much lurve can I give for the image of “pussy nazi”?
I am tired of tip-toeing around everybody’s delicate sensibilities. The beauty of language is that it evolves and the best way to remove power from a “bad” word is to own it and re-purpose it.
Now the thread has been ‘jacked to pointless effect when the OPs intention was obvious.

@Blueroses @WillWorkForChocolate @JustmeAman – NO I’m totally agreeing with you! Please continue…

@Blueroses Why thank you very much. I too, am sick of everyone feeling obligated to be so damned PC these days. It’s to the point where you can’t use a ton of words because it might, oh my God, offend someone. When conversing with people you don’t know, it’s a feeling of having to walk on eggshells to make sure you don’t say anything to upset them. It’s stupid and pointless! Like I said, if we started banning the use of offensive words, a lot of the dictionary would be gone.

BTW, I’m eating fried cock for dinner tonight.

All electronic communication is hoovered up by NSA computers and checked for poor punctuation, spelling and grammar so watch out!

@nicobanks First, by sympathy, I don’t mean pity but instead agreement. If you weren’t looking for people to side with you, you wouldn’t have posted getting all mad at people. Second, by comparing the two, you are saying that by someone else using the term Grammar Nazi, you have personally been violated on an extreme level – while the larger message of your argument seems to be that casualness and ambiguity are dangerous. You say that both are bad things that people do, but make no real case for using the term “Nazi” being a bad thing. By reacting this much to the phrase Grammar Nazi, I wonder what you will react like to larger injustices. A voice can only scream so loud. If you scream at this at almost full volume, no one will notice when there is an actual rape for you to scream about.

@JustmeAman You do know I was totally fucking with you, right?

And so… to people who make glaring grammatical errors, from here on out… I vow to say…
“No pussy for you!”

@Mat74UK good question, but never thought there would be this much conversation on the question. You never know.

@BoBo1946 – neither did I. It certainly sparked some interest.

Hee! Laterally, but not literally, in context bears

…and now, I unsubscribe. Bis später.

@essieness

LOL doesn’t matter.

@papayalily No, I still wouldn’t say I use fluther to find agreement. Just to read what people have to say, and to give my answer. To express myself. I’m not saying finding agreement isn’t gratifying, but it’s a side benefit, if and when it happens.

Am I really “reacting this much”? I gave a short response to the question, and since then I’ve responded to people’s comments to me. I haven’t yelled or sworn or said anything crazy like Mat74UK should be kicked off fluther or something. You wonder how I’d react to larger injustices, well, things I do include donating to charities, keeping a blog and twitter account to advocate, writing my members of parliament or other authorities, keeping on top of news and educating myself on the issues, and, yes, talking about it with friends, family, and people online. My reaction to this particular issue of misapplying “Nazi” is pretty much localized exclusively here in this fluther thread.

I am not making any statements about feeling violated; like I said before, I compared misapplying “Nazi” and raping a person on one very specific point (they are both bad things that people do), in response to one very specific suggestion (‘other people use “Nazi” like this, so who cares?’). I repeat, I do not believe I have been violated by reading this question.

“You… make no real case for using the term ‘Nazi’ being a bad thing.”

That’s mis-using, as I’ve explained, and I think it’s bad because it makes light of a very serious thing. The usage of “Nazi” in this question is someone who corrects strangers about their behaviour in an “in your face” way and who is really annoyed by certain behaviours; real Nazis were engaged in a genocide, for Chrissakes, they killed people and tortured them and treated them like animals. Really, if you’d read any real-life accounts, I believe you’d see why seeing someone call a neurotic boor a “Nazi” is shocking and painful.

@nicobanks Are you under the impression that you’re the only one who is familiar with Nazis? They make for really good TV ratings and bargain books, so I think we’re all familiar with who they are and what they did. Being as familiar with them as you are doesn’t mean we’ll all arrive at the same conclusion. I know many Jewish people who use the term, and I know they’re all very familiar with the Nazis.
Nazis’ didn’t have just the one attribute of killing people. It is possible to compare something to another part of Nazis. For example, I once heard Robbin Williams compare fake breasts to Nazis – not because he was saying they commit genocide, but that they are very rigid in their movement (or lack thereof), much like Nazis and their goosestep. Could the usage of Grammar Nazi not refer to a certain strictness about everything – it’s not like Nazis were known for killing people but being an otherwise laid-back people?
That’s great that you do all that stuff, but they’re all preventative measures. I worry that if you continue to cry wolf like this, no one will listen when you’re in the middle of being raped.

@papayalily No, I don’t think I’m the only one who is familiar with Nazis, but I have a hard time believing that anyone with more than a shallow, taken-for-granted familiarity with them would make jokes about it. I could be wrong, it’s happened before, I do know that different people react to things differently, so maybe this is one of those. Otherwise, okay, that’s your opinion; mine is mine.

“That’s great that you do all that stuff, but they’re all preventative measures. I worry that if you continue to cry wolf like this, no one will listen when you’re in the middle of being raped.”

What the…? What do you mean by “they’re all preventative measures”? And how am I crying wolf? I write on fluther that I don’t like it when people misapply the word “Nazi,” so because of that people might not come running when they hear my cries of “help, rape” on the street or in my home? What could the two things possibly have to do with one another?

@WillWorkForChocolate I don’t think this is about being PC or walking on eggshells. Just about exercising a little humility and love in your interactions with other people. Just to accept that you are not a thing unto yourself: you exist in a society and have certain responsibilities, not just rights. There’s no reason this should stop you from being who you are or censor you – I don’t see why you frame it that way.

And, as I’ve said, this has nothing to do with banning words. I don’t see how my argument here could result in any word being taken out of the dictionary.

@nicobanks Oh, so making a big deal out of the OP using the word Nazi, and saying you were “offended” by it is not trying to censor anyone? Riiiiiiiight. Maybe I’m offended by the word “priest” because there have been so many reports of pedophila and sodomy by priests. So I think I’ll make a big deal out of it the next time someone posts a question with the word priest in it. But I won’t be trying to blow anything out of proportion or to censor anyone, I swear.

@WillWorkForChocolate I know I’m offended by the misappropriation of the term “rape”. :p

@papayalily No kidding. To me that’s more serious than using the word Nazi.

@WillWorkForChocolate Me too. Not because the Nazis weren’t terrible, but because almost all those who were directly persecuted by them are dead. On the other hand, 1 in 6 women are sexually assaulted right now, and that’s just in the US – imagine what it is in the Congo. Plus, I have been raped, so I don’t use the term like “my bank is raping me with overdraft fees” – but I also don’t get offended when others do, because who am I to tell them how they feel or claim a certain superior knowledge or ownership of the English language – I’m not the Queen.

@papayalily Yes, I agree. I have actually said that our hospital was raping my checking account (after my daughter’s accident), which is quite literally the truth of it, but perhaps I shouldn’t put it quite that way. I haven’t been raped, thank God, but it was an extremely close call when I was 13.

I just think it was in poor taste to compare the use of the Nazi to being raped. You can’t rape anyone with words. Stupid.

@WillWorkForChocolate I saw a blog post awhile back about our “rape culture”, by which the author meant the tendency to say that any injustice, big or small, is “raping” you. It was really just incoherent babbling, but it got me thinking enough that I decided to stop using the phrase because I kept picturing a man named Chase or Charles Schwab, printing out overdraft fees and tying a person to a desk and then sodomizing them with the papers. I figured there was a way to phrase it that didn’t have me giggling quite as much…

“I kept picturing a man named Chase or Charles Schwab, printing out overdraft fees and tying a person to a desk and then sodomizing them with the papers.”
@WillWorkForChocolate, I had a bank that did this to me on a regular basis (BoA). I swear to all that is holy they invented creative ways just to mess with me, no matter how straight my checking ledger was. This made me giggle, and I promise I have not been offended by this, even though I have been in the described situation.

@ZAGWRITER Both Schwab and Chase have done that to me. The inventive, creative ways to take my money, not shove printer paper up my rectum. I’m really not offended by other people using the term, just by me using the term. I’m offended when they don’t seem to mean it hyperbolically, but that’s really a totally different issue about certain people and their lack of hold on reality. Or pants. These same people could stand to put on some pants…

There are many who really get on my nerves with this in that they go too far with this. Usually when you have an opposing viewpoint and make a small mistake it’s a great way to change the subject while trying to make you look bad. nothing More, Nothing Less.

@papayalily Are you suggesting I misappropriated the term rape? How? The only thing I ever said about rape is that it’s something bad that people do. You can’t actually disagree with that statement, so what’s your problem?

@WillWorkForChocolate I’ve said it so many times now, please get it straight: I’m not against people using the word Nazi, but misusing it; also, I never, ever suggested that I have been akin to raped by reading this post. “You can’t rape anyone with words.” Yes, and you’re the first person to suggest anything of the sort. And I’m the “stupid” one?

Otherwise, what’s OP? And I still say this isn’t about censorship: it’s about respect. Do you “censor” yourself around black people by not making racist jokes? Hopefully not – hopefully you don’t make racist jokes at all because you realize how destructive and hurtful they are. Well, that’s how I see this issue.

@Paradox Was that about me? What small mistake did I make? And how have I gone too far? All I’ve done is replied to people’s comments directed at me or about me – is that unreasonable? Isn’t that what everyone on here does – isn’t that was the @ function is for?

@WillWorkForChocolate By “you’re the first person to suggest anything of the sort,” what I mean is that no one here has suggested otherwise.

@nicobanks I hate to tell you this but I read all your posts, and I could see exactly what you were saying. And if you think no one else was bothered by you comparing use of the word Nazi with being raped, then you’re delusional.

You said: “Again: just because people do it, that doesn’t make it okay. People rape each other, so if I’m raped, should I just forget it? Look the other way?”

You were upset by the word Nazi, and proceeded to compare using it as “not being okay” with turning your head after being raped.

If you think that ignoring a word is ANYWHERE CLOSE to ignoring rape, then you are truly a sad individual.

I never said that you were “akin to being raped”, what I was saying is that it’s pathetic you would compare using an offensive word to being raped, and I was making a point by saying “you can’t rape anyone with words” in order to state that offensive words are a FAR cry from rape, and should never be lumped into the same category. It’s not my fault that you’re too dense to understand what I and others on this thread have been trying to tell you.

As someone who was very nearly raped at the age of 13, who has permanent issues with normal sex and intimacy and life in general, I can tell you exactly how stupid it was of you to use rape as an example of ignoring things that are wrong in comparison of offensive words and I could explain in graphic detail why you should never have used the example of rape quite so flippantly. But I think the details of my experience and the details of my ongoing problems due to the incident would really disturb you, so I won’t go there.

The fact that you continue to defend your ridiculous statements and dig your “foot in mouth” hole even deeper is really sad and pitiable. Now please, go improve your grasp of the english language and your understanding of how VERY far apart words and rape are before you utter one more ignorant word on the subject.

If you were gentleman enough, you might have just apologized for using such a bad example, instead of defending your ignorance repeatedly.

@nicobanks I think @WillWorkForChocolate said it well; I’m not sure I can improve on that. But if you’re going to be all butthurt over the use of the term Nazi, I’m going to be all butthurt over the use of the term rape, because that shit goes both ways.

@WillWorkForChocolate Do you realize that you’re doing exactly what you first judged me for doing? You’re expressing offense at the use of a word. Well, obviously I can relate. What I can’t relate to is how abusive you’re being in your language to me (you say I’m delusion and dense, making ridiculous statements, acting pathetic, sad, pitiable, and ignorant). Disagree with my opinion as much as you like, but I never insulted anyone like this.

“it was [stupid] of you to use rape as an example of ignoring things that are wrong in comparison of offensive words… you should never have used the example of rape quite so flippantly”

To be specific: I used rape as an example of something bad that people do, as part of my argument that you shouldn’t ignore something just because people do it. I honestly do not see how that’s flippant. I think rape is very serious. I wasn’t making a joke about it. I think it’s a bad thing that people do. I know you don’t disagree with that. So how did I use it flippantly?

I think you think I used it flippantly because you don’t agree that misusing the word “Nazi” is bad, so you think it’s outrageous I brought rape up at all. Fine. I can see now that it’s a reactionary word. I can see you’re upset. I do apologise. I didn’t mean to hurt anyone with my use of the term, and not just that, but I honestly didn’t think I would hurt anyone with my use of the term because I was being serious. I wasn’t making a joke, I wasn’t being coy, I was being serious. All the same, I see now that I chose the wrong example. I’m sorry.

So I’d like to rephrase. In response to the argument “who cares, everyone does it,” I’ll say this instead (to mean the exact same thing): Just because people do it, that doesn’t make it okay. People steal from each other, so if I’m burglarized, should I just forget it? Look the other way?

“If you were gentleman enough, you might have just apologized for using such a bad example”

Up until this post I did not realize I had offended anyone. You and papayalily were talking about misappropriating the term, things like “raping my bank account,” but I hadn’t done that (as I’ve explained repeatedly, and as you yourself have recognized – “I never said that you were ‘akin to being raped’ ”).

And I’m a woman.

@nicobanks You are the first person I’ve ever encountered who has a problem with the term. Saying it’s bad and not providing an explanation as to why it’s bad assumes that everyone knows they shouldn’t do it in the first place. However, almost 2 decades ago, Seinfeld (the Jewish sitcom) had the Soup Nazi, signaling to people that it was ok to use the word that way. So you’re getting mad at people for doing something wrong when they didn’t think they did anything wrong – this isn’t like yelling at someone for jaywalking or pirating music, it’s like yelling at someone for having ice cream on Saturday.

I doubt anyone would care if you hadn’t brought it up. But since you reprimanded people for (as you see it) not being impeccable with their words, people aren’t really interested in letting it slide when you aren’t impeccable with your words.

@papayalily My very first post did explain, albeit implicitly, why I think it’s bad. Maybe I wasn’t clear enough, okay, but since then I have explicitly explained myself – in this post, for instance, bottom paragraph: http://www.fluther.com/102123/do-you-consider-yourself-a-grammar-nazi/#quip1671303. And I never yelled at anyone.

So, people aren’t interested in letting it slide when I’m not impeccable with my words. That’s fine with me. I read and considered what @WillWorkForChocolate said about my use of “rape.” Actually, I read and considered everything you and WillWork said about it. When it became apparent to me that I had offended someone, I apologized, and I’m still sorry. I’m fine with that entire process. But that has nothing to do with the insulting things that WillWork said to me. I don’t see how you can justify that. Even you with your “if you continue to cry wolf like this, no one will listen when you’re in the middle of being raped.” Aside from being, in my opinion, nonsensical, that’s a harsh thing to say, and you’ve yet to even explain yourself.

@nicobanks K, I’m going to say something now, and I’m not sure how it will be taken. Please note that it’s been a crazy halloween night and i’ve been drinking some. BTW, when I drink i don’t really consider using a filter between my brain and my mouth, because frankly i just plain dom’nt give a shit anymore. just so you have been warned. Your rebuttal is utter bullshit, mmkay? You don’t seem to really get it. You don’t get where your logic and reasoning is screwed up here. No matter how many ways you try to go around it , you can’t possibly justify comparing offensive words to rape. It’s not that I felt horribly affronted by it and i’m going to cry into my pillow, it’s that it was completely stupid. It wasn’t like comparing apples to oranges; it was more like comparing apples to Mercedes. It made no sense and it was just plain ridiculous.

You wanna make a comparison about offensive words to something else that people do, then make a reasonable comparison. offensive words are a dime a dozen. You can let yourself be affected by them, or you can realize: “Hey, it’s just a word, it can’t hurt me”. To compare it to being raped is thoughtless, senseless and just plain ignorant.

Oh, and BTW, burglary can make you feel almost as violated as being raped. I should know since my home was burglarized when i was 14 and the fuckers had actually pawed through my panty drawer. I had to throw them away and buy new ones because I couldn’t stand to wear them after some creeps hands had been on them.

And many grats on being a woman. Yippee.

@WillWorkForChocolate You have made your opinion very clear, why are you repeating yourself? I apologized for mentioning rape, I took back my comparison, and I rephrased. What more could you possibly want from me? You want me to agree with you that it was a stupid thing for me to do? I do agree! It’s crystal clear to me that it did not bring about the response I intended. It’s crystal clear that it sparked an emotional response in you and maybe others that I regret. I wish I had never said it. Now what? You want to keep spouting insults at me? Is that fun for you or something?

“Oh, and BTW, burglary can make you feel almost as violated as being raped.”

What’s your point?

@WillWorkForChocolate Okay, look, I take back the burglary comparison, too. I see it has once again sparked an emotional reaction in you that I did not anticipate and which I regret. I can also see that however I think I’m using it either is not getting across, or else I’m just plain wrong in my logic. I am sorry, truly. In the interest of avoiding further insult and misunderstanding, I’m going to avoid all comparisons, and say it straight-forwardly:

All I’m trying to say here is that I am offended by the misuse of the term ‘Nazi’ for reasons I have already provided, and that just because it’s commonly done doesn’t make it okay.

You don’t have to agree with me, but so what? I think everyone in this thread disagrees with me, but no one else is getting this riled up about it or being so insulting to me. Accept our difference of opinion and let it go already.

My point on the burglary thing was that yet again you made a completely ridiculous comparison that made no sense. Did you not read the part about how you continue to compare apples to Mercedes? You obviously don’t understand the fine points of making realistic comparisons, so really, just give it up and leave it alone already.

Let it go? Sort of like how you let it go after a couple of us told you how stupid that comparison was and you continued to defend it instead of saying something like “Oh, wow, right. My bad. That was a pretty stupid comparison” and then continued defending yourself with more ridiculous comparisons? Mmkay. I’ll let it go. Only because I’m eating lunch and you’re giving me indigestion.

I honestly think you only took it back because you felt it was expected of you, not because you actually grasped what an ass you made of yourself by comparing words to extreme personal violation and abuse.

stops following

@WillWorkForChocolate I never meant to compare words to extreme personal violation and abuse. That’s why I took back my references to rape and burglary, because they had been taken in a way I hadn’t intended and had offended people.

I’ve done everything that you say I should have done. You say that I don’t understand how to make comparisons so I should just give it up. I did that in my last post. You say I should stop defending my comparisons and admit they were a mistake. I’ve done that, too.

And now you refuse to accept my apology because you think it wasn’t sincere.

How very big of you.

“Let it be, let it be, let it be, let it be.
Whisper words of wisdom, let it be. ”

@ZAGWRITER /Sigh I suppose you’re right (or Paul was, anyway). It’s just terribly frustrating… as I told @papayalily, I don’t anticipate agreement when I express my opinions. But I do hope to be understood!

Maybe I didn’t read the threads completely, but did not @nicobanks apologize, and you folks keep pounding Nico! Give it up! I support Nico on this one!

No. I don’t care. If a word that is spelled incorrectly or a misuse of punctuation might lead to their sentence meaning something completely different than what they intended – I will say something. Otherwise, no.
Read: “Let’s eat Grandma!” vs “Let’s eat, Grandma!”

I am offended by the term ‘grammar nazi’ and I think educated Brits or Americans should not use it at all, at least not in an international forum.

Calling a person such as a strict teacher a grammar nazi in Germany, is like calling an oppressed student a nigger in the United States. Both are very strong and powerful words. I know many Brits and Americans are not aware of this, and this is the reason why I do mention this.

The term is an insult to all victims of Nazism, because it trivializes the true meaning of a perverse ideology.

Thank you, Mister Matt. Now, give us a term that would be “respectible” for all to use, with the same meaning. I find myself closest to those who have been called the “grammar N”. But, when one wants to make fun of us, what should they use?

@MissA What about a “grammar neurotic”? (Or a “neurotic grammarian.”)

How about grammar prig?

@nicobanks Are you responding to the right person? Where did I mention names? Seriously what are you talking about?

@Paradox I opened my comment with “Was that about me?” for a reason. A simple “no” would do, if it wasn’t. This is the comment in question: http://www.fluther.com/102123/do-you-consider-yourself-a-grammar-nazi/#quip1672190.

@papayalily The word rape has other meanings besides non consensual intercourse. See this for example. So when someone says “my bank is raping me with overdraft fees”, they are indeed using the word correctly without referring to forced intercourse.

@chocolatechip Agree to disagree.
ETA: I wonder if they’ve added that as a slang usage because of how people say “my bank is raping me”. As I understand it (but really have no idea), that links to a less formal dictionary than, say, OED (which doesn’t include that definition) or American Heritage or Merriam-Webster.

@papayalily Now that some time has passed, can we try this again? I don’t understand what happened, and I’d very much like to.

So far as I’m concerned, I never said that misusing the word “Nazi” is like raping someone. What I did say is that just because something is common practice – like rape, for example – that doesn’t mean it’s good or right.

Do you still have a problem with this? Why? Honestly, I would like to avoid repeating this scenario in the future, but I can’t do that if I don’t understand what happened. I walked away from this at the time thinking the solution is to never mention the word “rape” in theoretical contexts, ever. But the more I think about it, the more unreasonable that seems. Is that what you think I should do, though? Can you explain why? I’d appreciate your input.

No because a person may have Dyslexia it is not their fault they may try their best to write correctly but it doesn’t mean they should be discriminated against.