The Grammar Czar is hereby demoted

I have to smile at some of the blogs and these "25 Random Things About Me" I've been reading lately. I smile at how many people make comments such as, "I am a grammar geek" or "I am a self-proclaimed 'grammar Nazi.'"

I smile because of what follows. As in, their postings are rife with misspellings, incomplete sentences, or incorrect punctuation.

Which I notice. After editing at newspapers and magazines (not to mention teaching freshman composition), I am used to scouring for mistakes.

Most of the time I can let it go - after all, these are not people who are writing for publication. I am terrible about editing/proofreading my own work; once it's posted, I tend to see the errata I've missed, but I'm often too lazy to go back and correct it.

But I have to pick a little at those who continue to make mistakes, over and over, when they've just stated to the world how they spend their time policing others. For example, I have run across the following - verbatim - over the last couple of days:

* The boxes I drug home have been unpacked.
* I had to pick up my niece from school. School commenced at 3, so I left the house at 2.45 p.m.
• Croc's rock
• We also had these cool little dolls, that smelled good and were packaged in perfume bottles.
• I'm sitting in my kitchen which is barren not exactly knowing what to do next.

Ouch. I know - some of these errors are not glaring; I don't think they change the meaning of the sentences or contribute to highly ineffective communication. Mostly it just strikes me as funny. Sort of like when sanctimonious members of Congress claim they are morally above reproach only to find themselves embroiled in a prostitution scandal.

I have my own grammar/usage pet peeves - which I think I'll keep to myself. The minute I point them out, someone is likely to catch me breaking one of my own rules. Besides, isn't there some quote about worrying about the speck in your neighbor's eye but not noticing the log in your own?

So to all the unofficial or unlicensed members of the grammar patrol: Let's all worry about keeping our own houses tidy, shall we? No more of the pot calling the kettle black - unless the pot is without error. And from what I see, it's not likely.