So, today, at the risk of incurring the wrath and pearl-clutching of my editorial-minded friends on Facebook (and, having been an English major and working in publishing for 13 years, let's just say I have a lot of them), I let it be known my displeasure with a certain few grammar lists of do's and don'ts going around right now, lists that imply "stupidity" on the part of anyone who makes mistakes, like the wrong usage of "Its vs. It's" "You're vs. Your," "Could HAVE vs. Could OF" in their Facebook statuses.
As a copy editor, these are things I'm paid every day to find in editorial copy. If I see errors like that in a published work, something someone got paid for to write/edit? Why, yes, I might sigh a little (but not too much, as being a copy editor has taught me that EVERYONE makes mistakes and no one is above them). But in a Facebook status? Nyet. Not gonna ruin my day. Why? Well, I have several theories, and all of them stem from this sort of thing being my day job, which I guess is ironic and I should be more upset about it, but there you go.
Being a copy editor is like being in a constant grammatical war. Every day, I find things that go beyond it's vs. its and you're vs. your (which, sidebar, are mistakes I've made in my own statuses, not because I don't know any better, but because I was rushing through my status, or tired, or my attention was divided. This, however, does not make me stupid). Things that could ruin my magazine's reputation (egregious factual errors), or have publicists sicced on us (misspelled names on exclusive interviews). I've seen people fired over Big Deals like this, and it's horrible, because you can catch a million errors as a copy editor, but the one thing you don't catch, it's your head on a spike. And it's not going to be for a celebrity saying, "I could care less" in an interview and me not fixing it to "couldn't care less." So the weight of these types of errors kind of makes me like "whatever" when I see someone using the wrong "your"
on Facebook.
Also, when I'm editing a story, and I come across a rogue "loose" when the writer means "lose", I don't sit there and think to myself, "God, this person is ridiculous", even if they have more than a few errors. Because, in my case, I know these people are pressed for time, are writing several things at once. And, mostly because it is my job to fix their mistakes, not judge them for making them in the first place. Another reason I can't get bent out of shape for poor grammar in a Facebook status: I'm not being paid to care about that, and I like leaving my work
at work.
Also, I'm a copy editor. I say this yet again to point out why I went into this field: Because reading has been my strong suit from an early age. I could've majored in finance...and flunked out of college, such is my lifelong struggle with mathematics. I'm useless when it comes to chemistry, so I won't be finding us a cure for cancer. I took six years of Spanish and could barely get by when trying to converse with a maintenance worker who showed up at my press-trip villa in Mexico. I don't have the right personality to become a good nurse or caregiver. I'm too selfish with my life to ever want to be a cop or a firefighter. I have my own failings, and it's just by chance that social media revolves around the usage or words and not, say, figuring out fractions (I'd be so f***ed if that were the case, you guys), so I don't look foolish to the 294 people who follow me (unless they hate the Yankees or HGTV, of course).
Finally, while there are some Facebook friends I haven't seen in years, I have a special affection for each and every one of them in some way. I don't "friend" people I actively dislike. So if someone's tragic flaw is not knowing the difference between "their" and "there", I'm not gonna hate on them for it. Their misuse of a word isn't going to bring down the economy or start a tsunami or kill a puppy or make the Yankees lose the World Series. And they're not "stupid" for doing this.
Having said all this, I think I do understand the level of frustration my friends are feeling when they post these lists. A lot of it is the fact that these are things we're ALL taught when we're young, stuff that's hammered into us from kindergarten through senior year of high school at the most basic level. And you know there may be people who "matter" out in the real world who judge you on these sorts of things. But in my own case, I know why I became a grammarian: Because of my love of reading. Which stemmed from parents who read to me and encouraged me to read more from a young age. Which helped me really and truly figure out how to master the English language. Ideally, more parents would be encouraging with books, but for whatever reason, it may not be the case with everyone out there. I don't know everyone's story and therefore, I don't want to get annoyed with anyone because of that.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to get my W2s together because I'm going to H&R Block this week to get my taxes done, because my horrible, awful no-good math skills make taxes intimidating for me. If my accountant makes a mistake that gets me audited? I'm gonna be pissssssssed. But if she uses "e.g." when she means "i.e.", yeah, not a deal breaker.
We all have our strong suits.
