Obnoxious Buzz Words

Over the years, you're bound to hear a lot of stupid stuff. Lord knows some of that stuff has probably come out of your mouth more frequently than you'd like to admit. I know it has from mine. The English language is a curious one. It's probably one of the least complex European languages to speak and write but it has all sorts of odd words and phrases that get mixed in. Middle-management types like to make up words. Some of them are annoying or downright obnoxious. They're called buzz words. Words that make stupid people sound smarter than they really are. So therefore, I've compiled a list of these buzz words and phrases that I'm really sick of hearing.

1. Carbon Footprint
This is a fairly recent invention. I first started hearing it in early 2007. Each summer I jokingly resolve to increase it given my interest in RC motor sports. The phrase is designed to give the image of a huge boot print but what it really means is how much carbon dioxide that you, as an individual produce each year. It's combined with imagery, such as one with a giant shoe print superimposed on a picture of the Earth. The image is designed to demonize people by making them think they're literally stomping on the environment each time they get in their non-hybrid car.

2. Green
Environmental buzzwords are popular these days. This one is an oldie though. I personally first started hearing this in the early 90s though it's probably much older than that. People associate the colour green with plants, which they associate with nature. Green has become an obnoxious buzzword by its sheer overuse in today's language. Green cleaners, green car, green energy, Green Shift, green vomit.

3. Islamophobia
This term developed after 9/11. It comes from the Greek root word phobia, which according to Wikipedia (which is my bible) is an irrational persistent fear of situations, activities, things, or persons. The term phobia is a clinical one which stems from anxiety disorders but it has been corrupted for non-clinical uses. As the word suggests, Islamophobia is an (claimed) irrational fear of Muslims or Muslim culture. Muslims usually use it as a force field to shield their religion from any sort of criticism. It frequently popped up in the Mark Styne fiasco. University students' unions love this word. I wonder if World War 2 had occurred today, would Winston Churchill be considered Deutschophobic?

4. Israeli Apartheid
Another term popular with students' unions, it tries to link the current Israel's treatment of Palestinians with South Africa's treatment of blacks during the Apartheid era. I don't ever recall Nelson Mandela shooting up schools or mowing down civilians with a bulldozer though. It's designed to bring up very negative, genocide-esque images of what's going on with Palestine but it corrupts the reality of the situation, which is a civil war. Apartheid and civil war are not the same thing. South Africans should be offended at the use (or rather abuse) of this phrase.

5. Colonialism
Some would like to suggest that all the world's problems from 1492 up to present were the sole cause of white, European men raping and pillaging. This is another term that frequently pops up in universities, especially in history or political science courses. The notion that all white people are is racist and all they do is go out and attack foreign lands and enslave their citizens is in itself racist. It's conveniently forgotten that China, Japan, and the Muslim world had colonies of their own at one point. Spain was once a Muslim colony up until shortly before the age of Columbus. Generally, this term is more frequently used with globalization to denote how the US is supposedly taking over the world as a neo-colonial power. It's another tired hack phrase used by non-democratic countries and people who can't get their own houses in shape and need an easy scapegoat.

6. Obamania
Barak Obama is this generation's John F Kennedy. He's huge in the US. Not only may he be the first black president, but people love him. In his recent trip to Europe, he received a rock stars reception. It's a little odd that a politician would be making foreign visits during an election rather than campaigning in his own country. The media has dubbed his popularity as Obamania, a combination of Obama and Mania, suggesting that people are crazy about him. Obviously the media has stolen this from Trudeaumania of the 1970s. Trudeau was a popular and charismatic individual like Obama, he also turned Canada into a laughing stock during his years as PM. We're still trying to fix the mess. Makes you think twice about Barak.

7. FUD
This appears often on tech forums, and is usually misused. It's an acronym for spreading Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt. Pointing out flaws of a product, person, or idea is frequently labelled as FUD by people who want to quickly dismiss debate. Sometimes appears in politics. I prefer my own FUD acronym for people who use this annoying term: F-ed Upped Dummies

8. Queer
Sometimes words can take on two meanings. Queer is a now archaic word in English meaning something is odd or strange. It's now used to describe anything and everything that has to do with homosexuals. Ironically, the word was once used as a putdown for gays but they've since "made it their own." Queer TV, queer bar, queer person, queer rights. This word alone is more irritating than anything else. Makes me glad I'm strait and therefore I don't have to use it to describe myself. This word, along with gay, needs to be taken back from homosexuals and restored to its original, non-corrupted meaning. Also, can we please get rid of that tasteless parade, or at least get some better looking lesbians in it. You're here, you're queer, we are used to it. Now put your pants back on.

9. Human Resources
Nothing really political about this term but it's still a buzzword that bothers me. It replaced personnel in the office world. The Human Resources department is of course in charge of hiring and firing. The thing I don't like about this term is how highly impersonal it is. It makes you seem as though you're no different from the plastic or steel being put into the product your making. Personnel on the other hand gives the image of dealing with people, not objects. Human resources is not exactly a PC term so it's a mystery as to how it became popular.

10: Awareness
I'm not entirely sure when people first started using this term but it seems it's getting thrown around a lot lately. It's used mostly by the left wing, they being the kings of buzzwords. It's particularly popular with left leaning NGOs like WWF and and Greenpeace. It basically means to make people "aware" of particular global issues. Of course making people aware usually means telling people only your distorted view of the issue. Awareness tends to be just another propaganda method than anything else.

11: Solidarity
An old term, popular with unions and independence groups. It means uniting to fight a specific force. Polish Solidarity is a classic historical example. However, lazy left wingers and general "do gooders" like to use their term to feel good about themselves. "I'm in solidarity with (insert oppressed minority group)!" No you're not you moron. Most of the people who make these claims are urban hipsters who have never even left downtown Toronto once in their lives. They love to use their term to make themselves feel connected with groups they feel are being oppressed, but what it really means is "I feel for you, but Arrested Development is on so you're on your own".

12. Fair Trade
At first, you first started seeing this phrase as upscale chain coffee houses like Starbucks. What it supposedly means is that the coffee buyer (the chain) paid a third world farmer a fair market rate for their product. The whole idea is to uplift the poor farming class out of poverty. This is yet another concept to make white, urban hipsters feel good about themselves each time they decadently pay $5 for a small (excuse me, tall) double mocha latte. The exact meaning of fair trade is a bit of a mystery since nobody outside these big companies knows what a fair value for coffee is. The whole irony is that fair trade really doesn't do much. Juan Valdez can make several times the money growing coca than growing coffee. Coca, or more specifically it's refined form cocaine, is of course another favourite product of urban hipsters. Buying the drugs keeps them under the thumb of the drug lords and no amount of "fair trade" coffee is going to change that. I've started seeing this term being used on other products.

13. Elitist
We supposedly live in an elitist society. Those who run our country, rich white men, are the elites. This term gets kicked around a lot, and like Islamophobia, it's used to shield the negative activities of certain groups from criticism. Elitists don't necessarily have to be white men. For example, when Bill Cosby spoke out against family issues plaguing African American society, he was labelled an elitist by black leaders. It's designed to make more successful people in our society appear out of touch with the lower classes, despite many of them coming from humble beginnings. Those who succeed often take the role of iconoclasts, especially if that person comes from a minority group who has convinced themselves they are being kept down by "the man". White socialists also like this term for the same reasons.

14. Nazi
Oh, boy. This has to be the grand poohba of left wing buzz words. It is the most commonly misused political word I can personally think of. George W Bush has frequently been called a Nazi over his past 8 year term. Of course, who could forget when university professor Ward Churchill called the 9/11 victims "little Eichmanns". The flagrant use of the term Nazi truly diminishes the reality of what the NSDAP did during it's reign over Germany from 1933 to 1945. The people who conquered lands, devastated Europe, and systematically murdered 6 million Jews and other minorities. Whether you agree or disagree with Bush's policies, I think any sane person who knows their history can say he's certainly not a Nazi. The term is generally misused to refer to any authority figure one does not like.

15. Initiative
I hear this a lot when discussing anything related with the city of Toronto. "We're developing a new transit initiative" or "We're working on the waterfront initiative". The Oxford American Dictionary has two definitions that fit the use of this buzzword. The first being "the power or opportunity to act or take charge before others do." The second is "an act or strategy intended to resolve a difficulty or improve a situation, a fresh approach to something." In the city's eyes, what this means is going to the province and the feds, hat in hand, looking for money from grandiose projects. It's not really taking initiative at all since they want someone else to do it for them. The word works though because it makes stupid people think someone is doing something for them when they really aren't.


So there you have it. 15 annoying and obnoxious terms that get all too frequently kicked around. You might be asking why most are left wing terms. The right does like to use buzzwords too but I find not as frequently. Most of these terms are ones that pop up most often in the media. Of course, I'll add more as I come across them in later postings.

Updated Aug 16/08

16. Sustainable:
The environmental movement has tons of great obnoxious buzzwords to choose from. Sustainable is a popular one that's popped up in the last couple of years. It basically means that you are using pollution free energy (wind & solar) which can be sustained without limit, or that you are using environmentally friendly products to sustain the environment. Truth be known, it's mostly an expensive marketing ploy for "eco-friendly" products and to sell overpriced solar panels for yuppies to mount on their roof.

17. Poverty:
Poverty is a very serious issue in the developing world. That I don't dispute. What really grinds my gears, as Peter Griffin would say, is its use in developed nations. The problem with the word poverty is that there is no set global definition for the term. It's kind of offensive to equate someone living in public housing Jane & Finch though with someone in South America living in a cardboard shack. Apparently anyone who makes under $20,000 is impoverished in Canada. Ironically, it's quite possible for someone living under the poverty line to live quite comfortable. Take my Grandma for example, who earns a pension less than that. Also don't forget that Canadians are entitled to "free" health care and social services that truly impoverished people are not. The word poverty suggests extreme poorness. Therefore I peg it at less than $2 per day with little hope for improvement. In Canada, almost nobody falls under that category. We wiped out poverty in our country decades ago so please stop using this term.