Tragic Illiteracy in the U.S.

[Guest FactsPlease]

For a naughty comment I left here roughly two weeks ago, I received the following message when trying to log in (click here to see it):

 

http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=2pto57r&s=3

 

You have been banned for the following reason:

If

your

not going to play nice, play somewhere else.

 

Can you believe that??? Are there really people -- adults -- who still don't know the difference between "your" and "you're"? This is from a pre-programmed banning message written by Daddy, not even an off-the-cuff comment, making it even more tragic.

 

Donate here:

 

Illiteracy in America is still growing at an alarming rate and that fact has not changed much since Rudolf Flesch wrote his best-selling expose of reading instruction in 1955. Illiteracy continues to be a critical problem, demanding enormous resources from local, state, and federal taxes, while arguments about how to teach children to read continue to rage within the education research community, on Capitol Hill, in business, and in the classroom.

 

Indeed. Illiteracy deserves our pity and support -- NOT mockery!!

[+ deej]

For a naughty comment I left here last week,

 

Considering we were closed last week that's quite an accomplishment!

[Guest FactsPlease]

Considering we were closed last week that's quite an accomplishment!

 

Illiteracy is not about one-upmanship or playing "gotcha" games. I won't sink to that level, tempt me though you might try. It's a far more serious problem than that, and it's my sincere hope that the frivolousness of your response doesn't deter others from making a donation in Daddy's name to the campaign to which I linked.

[+ deej]

Illiteracy is not about one-upmanship or playing "gotcha" games. I won't sink to that level, tempt me though you might try. It's a far more serious problem than that, and it's my sincere hope that the frivolouness of your response doesn't deter others from making a donation to the campaign to which I linked in Daddy's name.

 

Mmm hmmm.

 

I see that through your many edits of your original post you finally got links included. Good job!

[KMEM]

FP-

 

I am afraid you are fighting a losing battle. Too many don't know and don't care. However, I applaud your effort in trying.

 

Best regards,

KMEM

[MsGuy]

You have banned for the following reason: If you're not going to play nice, play somewhere else.

 

That better, FP? Try focusing on the message rather than the messenger.

 

Can you believe that??? Indeed. Illiteracy deserves our... support!!

 

Bless your heart, I'm sure you're doing the very best you can.

[+ Axiom2001]

It is indeed that far "too many don't know and don't care." I, too, applaud his efforts.

 

Three days ago I received an invitation for a memorial service of a friend. The photograph of my late friend was stunningly-beautiful; it appeared to be a portrait of him done in watercolor; the paper, on which it was printed, was lovely as well, but when I read his short obit, I became quite appalled as to how it was written. I began to question who wrote it.

 

This obit was downright illiterately written. I don't know if it were written by one of his grand daughters (a middle schooler) or by one of his adult sons, but at any rate, the entire writing was an embarrassment to my late friend! Every time I think about what was sent out -- I become furious!

[+ deej]

This obit was downright illiterately written.

 

There are entire websites devoted to pointing out moments of illiteracy in mainstream media. There isn't a day when I don't have to double-take at something on the front page of our local paper. But signage is where you really see gaffes.

 

A friend (by trade an editor and typesetter) tells of the first year her county started requiring voters to present voter registration cards in order to vote. The sign read:

 

"YOUR VOTER REGISTRATION CARD WILL BE REQUIRED TO VOTE"

 

I didn't ask how her card voted.

[Guest Spanky]

Further off topic...

 

There are entire websites devoted to pointing out moments of illiteracy in mainstream media. There isn't a day when I don't have to double-take at something on the front page of our local paper. But signage is where you really see gaffes.

 

A friend (by trade an editor and typesetter) tells of the first year her county started requiring voters to present voter registration cards in order to vote. The sign read:

 

"YOUR VOTER REGISTRATION CARD WILL BE REQUIRED TO VOTE"

 

I didn't ask how her card voted.

 

Deej - the first thing I thought about when reading your post was an ad I once saw: "Sale on shirts for men with 15 1/2 necks." One of odder birth defects I imagine.

 

Then I thought about how some people believe that Sir Francis Drake circumcised the world with a 100 foot clipper (ouch!). Which of course lead me to the post where I first read that, the history of the world according to student bloopers:

 

https://www.msu.edu/user/dynicrai/school/history.htm

 

Worth the 5 minute reading time. A good and funny read.

[KMEM]

Very funny but the writer starts rather immediately with a blooper of his own. "...from eight grade through college level." A typo?

 

Best regards,

KMEM

[+ deej]

Inevitable. When correcting someone's grammar or spelling you will make a mistake yourself. It's in the rule book.

[instudiocity]

frivolouness[/color][/size][/u][/b][/i] of your response doesn't deter others from making a donation to the campaign to which I linked in Daddy's name.

Methinks the one shouting illiterate the loudest has committed the far more easily correctable sin of failure to spell check. Ignoring the possibility that Daddy is capable of typos without suffering a frontal lobotomy, you have caused quite the stir.

 

When typos gain the power to demonstrate our ignorance, we are all lessened as people. Rather, we could comprehend the difference between a simple typo your, you're and true illiteracy.

Their, they're, FactsPlease. Don't git them there panties in a wad. You'se gonna halve to put 'em on when we's finished.

[Guest FactsPlease]

Another classic

 

It is indeed that far "too many don't know and don't care." I, too, applaud his efforts.

 

Yes, I'm just sad that deej and others see it as a cause for Internet competition rather than trying to help Daddy and others like him.

 

This is also a very instructive one -- seen at a conservative political rally: a real classic (click here).

 

I suspect he might be the next forum moderator here.

[instudiocity]

Deej - the first thing I thought about when reading your post was an ad I once saw: "Sale on shirts for men with 15 1/2 necks." One of odder birth defects I imagine.

Forget the necks, what other appendages came in greater quantities?

 

Then I thought about how some people believe that Sir Francis Drake circumcised the world with a 100 foot clipper (ouch!).

That probably took a while.

[orbital sander]

Where have all the whiny schoolmarms come from? Who cares about grammar on an M 4 M Escort forum? Are your lives so boring? Do you have such a need to assert your superiority here?? Good Lord help us all....

[Guest FactsPlease]

Who cares about grammar on an M 4 M Escort forum? Are your lives so boring? Do you have such a need to assert your superiority here?? Good Lord help us all....

 

Just because it's a forum about escorts doesn't mean we have to toss aside our humanity and concern for fellow citizens. Illiteracy is a real problem -- including in the U.S. -- and just because I'm here to talk about cocks is no reason to suspend my belief that we all must pitch in together to work on this.

 

Selfish much?

[KMEM]

os-

 

We indeed don't have to be school marms but you wouldn't want to be on a flight with me if I flew as some people write, would you?

 

Best regards,

KMEM

[instudiocity]

I won't give a fart in a windstorm about how you write if you're my pilot! It's all about your skills and abilities as a pilot.

 

A friend of mine, with a Master's degree, the rank of Major in the Army, and the ability to fly a helicopter up my ass without cutting me, couldn't read worth a crap. I mean, he literally spent 5 minutes readying out loud a 3 sentence paragraph of less than 100 words. But strap a helicopter to his butt and he was AMAZING. And not too bad in the sack either.

[KMEM]

Interesting but, again, you wouldn't want him to fly with the same ability as his reading skills. How could anyone with the reading skills you mention either get a master's degree or be a major in the army? I would hate for what you characterize to be literally true.

 

Best regards,

KMEM

 

PS-Stick and rudder isn't all there is to flying.

[Guest FactsPlease]

FP-

 

I am afraid you are fighting a losing battle. Too many don't know and don't care. However, I applaud your effort in trying.

 

Best regards,

KMEM

 

Thanks, KMEM. You can see so many here trying to minimize its importance or belittle my effort, rather than pitching in to help Daddy.

 

I was shocked, appalled and saddened when I received that note and waited patiently to return so that I could turn it into something positive.

 

That's how I was raised.

[KMEM]

Sorry to seem to be cruel, but, are you a crop?

 

Best regards,

KMEM

[+ Charlie]

I see a huge gap here between a few grammatical errors and illiteracy. I love red-pencilling errors as much as the next person, since it proves my educational superiority, not to mention my superior proof-reading skill, in the easiest way possible. However, if those who made the various errors in these posts (I detected several niggling errors that went uncorrected in the thread, such as an improper use of the subjunctive) were truly illiterate, they wouldn't be capable of posting here at all. Illiteracy is a major problem for many people in modern culture, but let's save our concern for the real thing, not for minor errors in casual posts on an informal website.

[MsGuy]

I detected several niggling errors that went uncorrected in the thread, such as an improper use of the subjunctive.

 

Charlie's right. If we were to waste our time on such things, we wouldn't have time for the good stuff.

[wayout]

 

Indeed. Illiteracy deserves our pity and support -- NOT mockery!!

 

While I am fine with having pity on illiteracy, I am not ok with supporting it. My point being, it is difficult to construct almost anything perfectly and it is not uncommon for there to be spelling, syntax and logic problems in written communication, even when written by highly intelligent and literate people. Having said that, however, I do believe it is useful to continuously try to keep the standards as high as possible. The situation can be complicated because while errors may often times be objectively defined there are also those errors of a subjective nature.

 

Deciding on whether the true intent of the original post was to highlight illiteracy or to take a petty shot at the site owner is left to each reader's interpretation. The improper use of "your" is clearly an objectively defined grammatical error and some may argue (as the original poster is doing) that it is a sign of a significant problem of illiteracy in our society. Others may argue that it is more of a sign of lack of care, sloppiness and/or laziness in the way people write. All are valid concerns and serious problems, getting much worse as texting has practically eliminated the need for structuring sentences, using proper grammar, selecting appropriate words, etc. In my view, the bad habits of texting are starting to propagate to other ways of communicating.

 

I can choose to react to the original post in a variety of ways. I decided to take it at face value and to think of this as an opportunity to heighten my own awareness of how well (or poorly) I communicate and to take extra care to avoid being sloppy or lazy.

 

As a side note, the response by Deej caused me some discomfort and raised in my mind the difficulty of the role of an administrator. Was his post a personal view like the rest of us or one based on being a representative of the site as an administrator? If it was as a representative of the site then it is disappointing that he did not simply acknowledge the error and say that it would be corrected. Also, I don't know if as an administrator he has the ability to track the number of edits made on any post or was simply watching the thread so closely that he observed many edits by the thread originator, but if it is the former then I would suggest that using that type of information only accessible by the administrator in a reply to subtly put down something or somebody (my interpretation admittedly) is not appropriate.

[KMEM]

I think the point about communicating is a good one. Are we distracted by poor spelling and other errors in a post to the point of wondering what the poster had in mind? Sometimes I am. Other times I wonder why he doesn't care enough to use spell check, etc. However, we all make typo's or other errors; does it hurt to try to keep them to a minimum?

 

Best regards,

KMEM