I introduce a new blog verb: to Marcotte. (MAR-kot)
To Marcotte is to misinterpret an analogy (whether through abysmal misreading or malicious intent) in an extreme, bizarre, or otherwise conversation-destroying fashion.
Example:
Commenter 1, attempting to explain why he thinks open borders are a bad idea: "It's like having a house. You invite lots of people over, but you don't leave the front door open 24/7 and put a neon sign out front that says "welcome, free drinks".
Commenter 2: "So you're saying that Mexican immigrants are all alcoholics? That's appalling!"
Usage:
(1) Used prophylactically, to introduce an analogy into a conversation: "I really hope you're not going to Marcotte this analogy...imagine that you're on a beach, and..."
(2) Used descriptively, to summarize or accentuate a recapping of an argument: "and then she Marcotted his argument and of course the thread went to hell."
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2 comments:
You should post that at Pandagon. I doubt she comes here much.
I'd propose a similar verb for the phenomenon where somebody protests you're not allowed to take their thinking to its logical (not absurd) conclusion, but there are too many candidates for the naming honor.
Well, I am not actually trying to pick a fight with her, so I don't think I'll post it over there. It's just a common practice, and I was thinking about it, and it needs a name...and poof, there it was in my head.
Yeah, who'd we name the logical conclusion phobia after? Everybody does that one [grin].
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