In the Ghetto
This morning Chuqui linked to what has to be one of the most ridiculous things I’ve read on a weblog in a long time: Tribe.net poobah Marc Canter’s derisive assertion that Mac users (and developers) are in a “ghetto.”
Now, never mind the obvious contradiction in Canter’s argument: he starts his post as a somewhat haughty defender of the “cross browser, multiplatform” world only to later reveal that he’s really only interested in what one browser and platform (Internet Explorer and Windows) can do. And forget about his misplaced pity for apps like NetNewsWire, which only shows Canter’s ignorance of the vibrant Mac indie scene (which I have experienced firsthand as the developer of an indie app). And, finally, ignore your outrage at the logical end of his argument, which is that no matter how useful or time saving or life-enhancing inventions by Apple or its indie developers are for Mac users, it’s all for naught since if it doesn’t happen on Windows, it doesn’t matter (and he’s not just talking about browser stuff here—he includes “digital lifestyle” in his list). All of that is annoying, to be sure, but not exactly unique and worthy of rebuttal in itself.
What really made me want to spend my valuable time writing a response to Canter’s post was not so much a fault in his argument as a fault in his language. By resorting to a loaded word like “ghetto” to make his point, Canter commits what is, in my opinion, one of the worst linguistic sins of modern politics—a tendency described by George Orwell in his essay “Politics and the English Language.” As Orwell writes, using the broad misapplication of the term “fascism” as an example:
The word Fascism has now no meaning except in so far as it signifies “something not desirable.”…Words of this kind are often used in a consciously dishonest way. That is, the person who uses them has his own private definition, but allows his hearer to think he means something quite different.
The use of the term “ghetto” here is no different. The word has several legitimate meanings—all of which call to mind negative things like racism, oppression, captivity, and (yes) fascism—but none, realistically, that should encompass computer users and developers who are loyal to a particular platform because they genuinely prefer it. Writers who use language so imprecisely are taking advantage of the modern “devaluation” of such words in an attempt to taint their target with long-standing negative associations.
This sort of imprecision is often an effective smokescreen that hides the essential weakness of the writer’s actual argument by confusing the issue. After all, who wants to be accused of being in a ghetto? Fortunately, that’s not much of an issue in this case, since that is by no means what the Mac platform is.