Tuesday, April 2, 2019

The Grammar Police

Driving to Prince, listening to Arizona Public Media, at 10 o'clock in the morning.

It was too early to be as upset as I was about to be.

"Hi! I'm (I can't remember her name) the new (reporter of some kind) here at AZPM.  I've listened to public radio since I was a child.  My mother would listen with my sister and I.......

And I was very glad that the light turned red right then.  I needed both hands to pound on the steering wheel.  I needed to close my eyes and scream.

One block later I was parked at school, dialing the station from the front seat of my car.  Annette-the-Volunteer answered the phone and heard my rant.  She gasped appropriately.  We shared our angst.  She's a retired English teacher so she gets it.

It hurt our souls.  We commiserated thusly:
They get paid to talk! 
This is PUBLIC RADIO!
My kids listen to this!  
And ultimately, on so many many levels, it's just not right! 
I hung up after requesting that the spot be pulled and re-recorded.  I really don't want to hear it again.  This is my radio station; I pay to support it.  I should have a voice.

And besides, on so many many levels, it's just not right.

4 comments:

  1. Do they teach grammar now? We hear it every day. My favorite is lie, lay, lain and lay, laid and laid. Almost never spoken correctly.

    Grrrrrr.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That was G'ma's pet peeve, too. She walked me through it a dozen times -- through her dementia!
      a/b

      Delete
  2. I'm still high centered on the constant misuse of it's and its. Really, how hard is it?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's really not as hard as it's made out to be. :-)
      a/b

      Delete

Talk back to me! Word Verification is gone!