Bad grammar doesn’t make you stupid. But obsessing over it might.
The Traditional Rule:
Grammar is about correctness. If you make mistakes, it shows poor education, low intelligence, or lack of attention. Language errors disqualify you.
Why It’s Broken:
Because the idea of “correct grammar” has been hijacked. What started as a system for clear communication has become a tool of exclusion — used to judge, humiliate, and disqualify people who don’t match a narrow, class-coded, and outdated model of language.
Grammar is no longer just a guide — it’s a weapon. It’s the smug look at the job applicant’s typo. It’s the meme mocking a non-native speaker. It’s the pedantic Tweet correcting someone’s your/you’re as if that somehow invalidates their entire argument.
It’s not about clarity. It’s about control.
Weaponized Grammar in Action:
Job Listings: “Must have impeccable grammar.” → Translation: “Must sound like someone educated in an upper-middle-class suburb.”
Social Media: “Learn to spell before you argue with me.” → Deflection tactic, not a debate.
Standardized Testing: Punishes students more for split infinitives than lack of critical thinking.
Politics: Voters mock politicians for mispeaking, while ignoring catastrophic policy choices.
The Class and Race of Grammar Policing:
Grammar correction disproportionately targets people of color, immigrants, and working-class speakers.
Code-switching (switching between dialects/languages) is a skill, not a flaw.
Black English, Indian English, Chicano English, Singlish — these are rich, rule-governed, expressive dialects. Not “bad English.” Just not white, elite, academic English.
Absurd Examples of ‘Correctness’ Being Weaponized:
“He don't know nothing.” → Perfectly clear. Double negatives are used for emphasis in many languages — including early English.
“Ain’t” has been around since Shakespeare. Still taboo in “educated” circles.
“She be working late.” → Expresses habitual aspect in Black English. Standard English can’t match that nuance without extra words.
“Me and him went to the store.” → Clear. Common. Still demonized.
Why Grammar Policing Is Often Hypocritical:
The same people who rage about “its vs. it’s” will happily say “gonna” or “wanna.”
“Whom” is praised but rarely used — even by its defenders.
Ending a sentence with a preposition is condemned… except by everyone.
The Reform Proposal:
Separate grammar from intelligence. A grammar error is not a character flaw.
Acknowledge dialects as valid systems. They are not broken English — they are different Englishes.
Stop grammar policing in public discourse. It silences voices rather than amplifying them.
Teach grammar as a tool, not a test. Empower students to code-switch — not to feel shame.
How It Would Work in Practice:
| Situation | Old View | Reform View |
|---|---|---|
| “Ain’t” in writing | Unacceptable | ✅ Valid in context, especially in dialogue |
| Double negatives | Illogical | ✅ Used intentionally in dialects and music |
| “Me and him went...” | Wrong | ✅ Common usage — intelligible and expressive |
| Bilingual speakers | “Broken English” | ✅ Bilingual brilliance |
| Errors in emails | Unprofessional | ✅ Depends on clarity, tone, context — not typos |