Progressives, Pagans and Liberals Guarding Their Educational Privilege

Last updated on: March 29, 2013 at 12:30 pm by Peter Dybing

Progressives, Pagans and Liberals Guarding Their Educational Privilege 2013-03-29T12:30:00-06:00 Peter Dybing

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“This person has no credibility, they can not construct a sentence and their spelling is atrocious”

“If you want people to take you seriously, get an editor”

“You might want to learn how to spell before you sit down to write”

Over the past few months I have witnessed all of the above statements as part of online discourse. These statements intentionally ignore the intended content of published material opting instead for the opportunity to express what appears to be educational privilege and judgment.

17% percent of Americans still do not finish high school. Among minorities these numbers are well over 20%. By arguing that correct English is a pre requisite to credibility of opinion are we not establishing and reinforcing the idea that those with out the privilege of educational accomplishment deserve less consideration of their views? Further, there are many individuals that suffer form perceptual handicaps, myself included, add to this the thousands of Americans who suffer from dyslexia and we can see that exclusion based on mastery of language is an insidious concept to say the least.

My argument here is not that those who are highly proficient in language use don’t deserve respect, but that those who have no such skills are more likely to be marginalized by society and have their voices given little credence. How, as a community, can we disregard the voices of those most marginalized by the broader society? Are not their voices the very ones that should be amplified when calling for social justice, educational opportunity or equality?

While I do believe that we each, according to our skills, should to be clear in communication, I do not support the idea that poor grammar or spelling lessons the validity of a viewpoint. I choose instead to actively seek to understand the message with compassion and an open heart.

So you decide my friends, as for me I am tired of the ‘Grammar Nazi’ approach to community discourse!

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