U R an Asshole.

Despite my own personal interest in grammar, I am of the opinion that a person should refrain from dishing out grammar advice unless their input has been explicitly requested. Sure, I can’t go a few minutes surfing the web without cringing at a misplaced apostrophe, giving myself a face-palm after seeing incorrect then/than usage, but that doesn’t mean I need to go around taking a red pen to each mistake. When it comes time to blame someone for these terrible crimes against the English language, I blame the quality of education here in the good ol’ U.S. of A.

Facebook is a common place where these grammatical offenses are committed, but it’s certainly not the place to go around correcting others (besides if you did so, you’d be busy all day). I recently read a post on a parenting page I belong to and was saddened to see that at the end of a woman’s heartfelt note asking for parenting advice, she felt the need to add “I know I’ve made grammar mistakes, please don’t give me grammar advice, I need real advice.” Really? It’s come to that, has it? People are worrying about how well an individual asking for help uses language? Judging someone under such circumstances is, to me, outlandishly narcissistic.

Giving unsolicited grammar advice outside of the professional or academic setting (ie: correcting someone’s Facebook status) is a level of assholery that I am sure most people hope to avoid, and I will not even touch that topic any further. Likely the most common place I see individuals feeling the need to express their astute grammar skills to the uneducated public is during debates on Facebook. There’s nothing that makes me more disappointed in someone who is arguing a point that I agree with than when they start judging their opponents spelling and grammar. 

Interrupting a debate to correct someone’s grammar is an egotistical grab at power. There is no need to point out that someone is making mistakes, anyone with half a brain will be able to see it on their own. Bringing it up isn’t only pointing out the obvious, but pointing out that you are a major Douchey McDoucherton. And, most notably, if you are resorting to arguing over something other than the debate topic at hand, you’ve already lost.

The next time you see a grammar mistake that irks you, try giggling about it with a friend who also enjoys grammar instead of taking it out on the offender. If they are close to you and their grammar misconduct is truly getting out of hand, send them a Facebook message in private or buy them a grammar book. No need to humiliate anyone.

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