posted
Anyone who follows the news has probably heard we had what was, even for Chicago, a major killing spree here this week. I don't want to make light of the seriousness or tragedy of what happened - 6 innocent people and the gunman himself were dead when it was all over.
The gunman was an ex-employee of the small company where the bloodbath occurred. Apparently this wasn't absolutely clear in the first wave of coverage.
The AP headline that was issued immediately carried this headline:
quote:Disgruntled worker opens fire at Chicago warehouse; 7 dead, including gunman, authorities say
This got me wondering, not for the first time, when and how the press decided that "disgruntled" was the word of choice to use to describe some person who takes a gun and blows away a bunch of coworkers.
According to the dictionary, "disgruntled" means "ill-humored or discontented."
Seems to me that underpaid teachers working for their 2nd year in a row without a contract could be described accurately as "disgruntled." A disgruntled worker might have a lousy attitude, leave work early, or badmouth the boss.
Now, to be fair, the term "disgruntled" was dropped from coverage by the next day. My question is why was it used at all? Why is it ever used in cases like this?
posted
I guess you could argue that someone who goes on a shooting spree is disgruntled in the extreme. I think it would be more fun if they used "malcontent". Posts: 5879 | Registered: Apr 2001
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Guy having a really bad day. (and, yeah, most if not all of these are by guys.)
Farmgirl: disgruntled belongs to the same "club" and "nonplussed" and "nonpareil."
Not to mention that other word "escalator" - escalate usually means to intensify or go up (didn't use the dictionary here, be kind). Yet "escalators" go both "up" and "down."
Hint - in some of these cases, we have the French to blame - or ourselves for partially adopting their words.
Posts: 4344 | Registered: Mar 2003
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posted
I agree. I think that to be willing to mow down a bunch of people and then yourself you've got to be a little beyond disgruntled. So, imo, disgruntled just doesn’t work. Though a few other words come to mind which might be suitable: evil, hateful, psychotic or malevolent.
Posts: 15 | Registered: Aug 2003
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posted
Part of the problem is that some AP writers use words like disgruntled to sound a little more important without really increasing the reading level of their piece. Unfortunately, they misuse words, which muddies the English language.
Posts: 903 | Registered: May 2003
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quote: CAMP BUEHRING, Kuwait -- Disgruntled soldiers complained to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld on Wednesday about long deployments and a lack of armored vehicles.
Note: Rumsfeld faced a roomful of "disgruntled" soldiers and did not get shot at.
I hope this heralds a new era in the appropriate usage of the word "disgruntled" in press coverage.
Posts: 4344 | Registered: Mar 2003
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posted
You know Space Opera, I would love, just once, to hear a serious news show open with that! I'm sure the FCC would spoil everything, but it sure would be funny!
Posts: 5879 | Registered: Apr 2001
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It's interesting, though, that long experience with the usual media usage of the word conjured up a picture of Rumsfeld diving for cover.
Posts: 4344 | Registered: Mar 2003
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posted
It's a strange thing but newspapers and other media outlets often "downplay" incidents. Maybe it's some half-hearted desire to not be sensationalistic...
Just think of how many times they use the word "accident" when they mean crash. Disgruntled for flipped-out and gun-wielding.
Posts: 472 | Registered: Aug 2004
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quote: It's a strange thing but newspapers and other media outlets often "downplay" incidents.
WHAT?! I think it's quite the opposite... They turn every little thing into BIG NEWS! In this case, they probably don't really know what disgruntled means, that's all...
And I've seen news on Romanian, French, English, European (Euronews), Canadian and American newspapers & TV channels, and I must say that the Canadian and American ones make even the smallest thing look much more spectacular than the average European news. It's like everything's a show... It really bothers me sometimes... And apparently we're starting to learn from that! Sheesh... Posts: 4519 | Registered: Sep 2003
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