[stupac2]

“Grammar snobbery is one of the last permissible prejudices,” says John McWhorter, a linguistics professor at Columbia University. “The energy that used to go into open classism and racism now goes into disparaging people’s grammar.”

I tend to agree with the idea that good grammar reflects effort on the part of the writer.  Mistakes are allowable (lord knows, I've made plenty).  But if someone doesn't make the effort to write clearly, why should I make the effort to read them?

I think he's making a slightly different point, which is that people use grammar snobbery as a way to look down on people who, once upon a time, they'd use outright racism (or classism) to look down on. I think this is why the whole "Obama is clean and articulate" thing becomes a gaffe.

[stupac2]

“Grammar snobbery is one of the last permissible prejudices,” says John McWhorter, a linguistics professor at Columbia University. “The energy that used to go into open classism and racism now goes into disparaging people’s grammar.”

I tend to agree with the idea that good grammar reflects effort on the part of the writer.  Mistakes are allowable (lord knows, I've made plenty).  But if someone doesn't make the effort to write clearly, why should I make the effort to read them?

I think he's making a slightly different point, which is that people use grammar snobbery as a way to look down on people who, once upon a time, they'd use outright racism (or classism) to look down on. I think this is why the whole "Obama is clean and articulate" thing becomes a gaffe.