Introduction to Idiot Flags

The hit Broadway show "Avenue Q" features a delightful song that uses highly literate language to convey a simple human need -- the need to chuckle at others' misfortunes and be glad that we are not they. The word is "schadenfreude," and a link to a cleverly animated video of the song that speaks to its definition and offers a variety of examples can be found here.

For the linguists among you, "Schadenfruede" (properly capitalized as are all German nouns) is a combination of "Schaden" (damage, harm) and "Freude" (joy) -- literally, to experience joy from harm to others.

Idiot Flags celebrates a specific type of schadenfruede -- that which comes from celebrating one's intellectual superiority over the unfortunate rubes who have misused the English language, put ice cubes in their Chateau Lafite, or committed any one of a variety of other crimes against intelligence that we see so regularly.

This is not a forum for political commentary per se -- for example, we would not take a President of the United States to task because we disagreed with his politics. We would, though, have something to say about him bonking his head, spitting on the ground in public, or using poor grammar. (Note to readers, if you follow the links you'll see that our disdain for idiotic behavior is bipartisan.)

The target is the act, not the actor...although so frequently one does reflect upon the other.

We'll also post, from time to time, things that really bug us regardless of whether we've seen them recently, along with the occasional personal rant.

It's our hope that Idiot Flags is at the very least amusing, that it can, perhaps, act as a cautionary guide for those who might just not know any better... and most of all, that it will allow you to join us in schadenfreude as others demonstrate to us what dopes they truly are.