Misusing the
term ¿elitist¿
May I enter a protest at the use of the world `elitist¿ as a synonym for unfeeling/arrogant/bad, both by the website and by contributors?
May I enter a protest at the use of the world `elitist¿ as a synonym for unfeeling/arrogant/bad, both by the website and by contributors? As in `lampooning only Laloo seems to suggest an elitist mindset.¿ It has been reproduced in headlines on more letters on the subject, and by contributors, too. This is a standing of the word `elite¿ on its head, a trend on for some years. Elite meant the best---an elite regiment, an elite of administrators and so on. You are destroying the particular meaning a word had, one we need to express. If you wish to refer to something which mocks, something to be decried--please say so. The website should, for one, not go along: unless you believe increasingly popular usage sanctifies misuse.
Dilip Rangachari
Delhi
September 22, 2002