Comments on: Obama Tries to Suffocate Ridiculous Gates Controversy with Soothing Blanket of Words, Common Sense

By: RevBev

RevBev — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 02:01:12 +0000

Resisting temptation? Well, probably a good idea….but very curious ;)

By: aardvark

aardvark — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 01:53:21 +0000

OK, I’m a white guy, as most of you know. A year ago last May my eldest son unwisely conspired with his brethren to have a beer party. I say unwisely, because he and I had discussed how vulnerable our house was to a raid by law enforcement. (Highly visible, lots of routes for officers to access, etc.) Well, he and his brethren thought all bases were covered. So, about 11:30, not a few minutes after I discovered kids climbing the electric tower and made them get down, law enforcement arrived. Now, I will say that I have a written set of rules for parties at my house, including a no alcohol policy and I regularly patrol.

So, law enforcement is everywhere, wanting kids to blow in the straw, and that’s fine because I am thoroughly pissed they did have alcohol.

And my ten year-old son comes up to me and says to me, “Dad, I have got to take a shit.” And I tell him to go into the house and do so, when a sheriff’s deputy tells me that it is inappropriate for my son to use that language. I am nonplussed, and I asked him what he means. And he repeats to me, that what my son said was inappropriate. And I told him that he was being inappropriate; he asked me what I meant, and I repeated that I thought he was being inappropriate. At that point, he forcefully told me I was being inappropriate, and ordered me to “stand back.” Which I did.

It was clearly an abuse of power.

Think about this for a moment; an officer is dressing me down because my ten year-old said he had to take a shit, and the officer thought that was inappropriate language?

I was fortunate enough to have a recourse. I promptly called 911 and left a message for the sheriff, with whom, due to my wife’s murder, I had a good working relationship. And presumably Sheriff Murphy intervened. We have never talked about it.

Hate to think what might have happened if I was black.

By: SomeGuy

SomeGuy — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 01:38:50 +0000

Some might call it a teachable moment, a few might even call it Providence. If President Obama, Prof. Gates and Sgt. Crowley find some common ground, some good might even come out of all this. If not, I just hope things do not get worse.

By: Swopa

Swopa — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 01:23:15 +0000

As a recovering copyeditor, I’m proud of myself for not even being tempted to wade into this grammar controversy.

By: RevBev

RevBev — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 00:50:04 +0000

We grew up with that “correcting” as well. Then my older sister (RIP) became an English Professor, and she edited/reviewed some professional writing for me. Let me tell you…being corrected by an adult older sister will get one’s attention and stick…like a remedial education. Thanks for the reminder;))

By: tejanarusa

tejanarusa — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 00:39:47 +0000

Yeah, as you say, “once tuned in…”

On the other hand popular usage of mistakes can grind people down—I learned the right way from my parents (who were relentless in correcting my grammar as I grew up), but in their later years, they began making the mistake themselves, just from hearing it all around them.

By: Gitcheegumee

Gitcheegumee — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 00:39:05 +0000

@36
The Raw Story | Investigative News and PoliticsThe Raw Story is a culling news, arts and business reporting from around the world.
www.rawstory.com/ - Cached - Similar

By: RevBev

RevBev — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 00:37:00 +0000

Thanks for a more detailed explanation….I thought the mistake was clear, but as you write, for me, also, it’s a big pet peeve. Once tuned in, one can hardly ignore the error. Good for you. Thanks.

By: Gitcheegumee

Gitcheegumee — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 00:36:37 +0000

This MIGHT be of import re: Gates ‘ initial reaction.
Namely a history of these incidents in Cambridge.

Media ignoring previous claims of Harvard police racism-Raw Story

By: tejanarusa

tejanarusa — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 00:32:51 +0000

PJ, I’m sorry, those “extra words” are what makes that construction wrong.
Yes, “He and Crowley and Gates will have a beer.”
He, Crowley, and Gates are subjects of the sentence. Names don’t change in English depending on usage, but pronouns do.

Important word in that sentence: “about”. With about you use “him, her, them, or us.” Not he, she, they, we.
The president does tend to make that ever-more-common mistake, not using the “him, her, them” forms when the object of the pronoun (or of the verb) is plural, as “he and I went to the store,” but “Mom told him and me to go the store.”

I think it comes from having it drummed into us not us not to say “Me and him went to the store,” and we don’t recognize that the constructions are different.
There, grammar lecture done. Hope I was clear - it is one of my pet peeves.