I’ve got a lot of advanced degrees. I’ve got master’s degrees in the humanities, the fine arts, and the social sciences. I’ve got a bachelor’s degree in mathematics that pretty much means I’m a pretty quick study in the sciences. I’m also a long-time Democratic Socialist lefty. But BuzzFeed pisses me right the fuck off. Why?
Just click the link. Sorry about the ads. It’s fucking BuzzFeed.
So, yeah–spelling mistakes. “Over the counter Michael wave” and “Grandma’s abdomen.” OK. Fine. I get it–ha-fucking-ha–uneducated people can’t spell. A herp-a-derp-a-derpitty-durr!
But this really isn’t funny at all.
It’s sad.
And it’s fucking frightening.
It’s not frightening because some people lack education. It’s frightening because some educated people out there think that the uneducated people they should be trying to help deserve little more than ridicule and a crude brush-off. Instead of seeing the inequalities in economic and educational opportunities, the attitude of Dave Stopera over at BuzzFeed is, “Let’s just mock the people who made these ads on whatever site we dredged to grab these screen shots. That’ll teach them not to be more eloquent!”
But why should the educated try to help the uneducated? Because that’s what education is meant to do–place us in a position to help others.
This kind of mockery–this sort of mean-spirited jab at the less fortunate–is one of the major causes of division in America today. Of course, those who write for BuzzFeed can’t really write, so they compile shit like this–lots of photos and snarky comments. Fuck, maybe I’m the elitist dickbag picking on the less fortunate….
My Job Is Scaring You 