on using plain english...

Communication... What is the intent of our way of communicating? That's what I'm on about here. To highlight the issue, I'll identify three types of communicator:

The Plain Speaker: Intends to be understood by as wide a spectrum of people as possible.

The Intellectual Snob: Intends to exclude "the uneducated" or put himself above his readers/listeners by using big words like some sort of code intended only for the illuminati (sorry for the big word here, but if you don't understand it, you can piss off!).

The Obfuscator: Uses big words to confuse or to avoid having his arguments or statements challenged. The obfuscator is often an intellectual snob trying to get away with a bit of intellectual dishonesty rather than admit his error in logic.

Both here in the blogosphere and at cocktail parties, Plain Speakers are a rarity, vastly outnumbered by Intellectual Snobs and Obfuscators. When forced into "polite" conversation with such low-life, Intellectual Snobs and Obfuscators will quickly put Plain Speakers in their place and thereby quite rightly silence them.

Have you noticed this?

Is it any wonder I'm so hostile?

And then they say, "You're hostile, Gerry. Calm down or we won't talk with you."

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr...

Update: A new species has been identified:

The Sycophant: Pores over dictionaries and all sorts of "authoritative" texts and websites, and hangs on every word The Intellectual Snob utters, in order to "learn the lingo" well enough to impress the pants off his hero. He's the guy who almost throws his neck out nodding enthusiastically every time The Snob speaks.

Late Update: Expert opinion just obtained by this blogger indicates that an incredibly large percentage of Intellectual Snobs adopt the arrogant and superior stance they do as a result of subconscious overcompensation for a huge undiagnosed inferiority complex.

Makes perfect sense to me...