Honestly, it sounds almost so silly to say but . . . few things raise my ire as much as careless (or ignorant) use of language. Yesterday, this video (below) by Rep. Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) received attention on various web services and blogs. Referring to her as the “Bronx Bolshevik,” Biz-Pac Review ridiculed her cringe-worthy assertions.
Is this a real clip?
— Joel Fischer (@JFNYC1) March 11, 2020
One of AOC’s Democratic challengers, Michelle Caruso-Cabrera said: “keeping AOC in office makes us (the citizens of NY-14) look like fools.” Twitter posts were amusing and predictable. I leave it to others to express their reactions as they may.
For me, my first impulse was to ignore the video. I dislike contributing additional views to any video I consider inane. But AOC’s statement irked … specifically the repeated use of that non-word: patroning. My spell-checker rejects the nonword, and so do I!
After my first impulse, I did what I usually do. Admitting my own incomplete knowledge, I consulted a dictionary app. The heading “Definition of Patroning” caused momentary concern but below that, the pertinent information: “No definition for patroning” is circled with red. Yep. Exactly what I thought.
Momentary doubts dispensed with, my next impulse was to act. A sonnet should be composed … and here it is.
One word of warning: this sonnet employs a tongue-in-cheek approach to an item from the national news. No unkindness (to anyone) is intended. In these serious days, I think it’s past time to rediscover our collective sense of humor. It sounds almost so silly to say … if you know what I mean.