Monday, March 26th, 2007...7:17 am
The Gates of Delirium
I detest the “-gate” construction. You know, where reporters name a scandal by simply ending it with the word “gate” and think themselves clever. I find it lazy, and none too revealing about the nature of the scandal. It also tends to diminish the importance of the Watergate scandal when every second rate minor scandal gets the “gate” designation regardless of its non importance (travel-gate?).
The over reliance on “-gate” also pushes out other clever names. For example, back in 1987, The New Republic designated the selling of arms to so-called Iranian moderates so that the money could fund the Nicaraguan Contras “Iranamok.” I thought that this was a good name, but it got crowded out by “Iran-Contra-gate” or the even more pedestrian “Iran-Contra Scandal.”
But, this blog has adopted the name “Gonzo-Gate.” R-Cubed reader Mercedes came up with it. Yes, it’s got “-gate” at the end of it, but it has alliteration. It also serves as a reference to the television program Trapper John, MD. So, I’ll be using that from here on.
1 Comment
March 26th, 2007 at 6:29 pm
Never thought I’d miss Ronzo, but heck, Bonzo would have made a better A.G. than Gonzo.
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