Sheeple? More like a Naiple!

I have seen people in blogs being called sheeples.

I just walked down the hall and asked 5 people (~ ages 30, 35, 22, 24, 45) if they knew the meaning of the word “sheeple”. No one knew what it meant.

From Wikipedia: Sheeple is a term of disparagement, a portmanteau created by combining the words “sheep” and “people.” It is often used to denote persons who acquiesce to authority, and thus undermine their own human individuality. The implication of sheeple is that as a collective, people believe whatever they are told, especially if told so by authority figures, without processing it to be sure that it is an accurate representation of the real world around them. The term is generally used in a political or religious sense.

The term is also used for those who are tolerant of government intrusion and regulation. In a column entitled “A Nation of Sheeple,” columnist Walter E. Williams writes, “Americans sheepishly accepted all sorts of Transportation Security Administration nonsense. In the name of security, we’ve allowed fingernail clippers, eyeglass screwdrivers and toy soldiers to be taken from us prior to boarding a plane.”[3]

Unfortunately, the people who label others “Sheeples” are often “Naiples”.

From TopOfTheThread-ipedia: Naiples (pronounced “nah-e-ples”) is a term of disparagement, a portmanteau created by combining the words “naive” and “people.” It is often used to denote persons who are quick to label and criticize others, without having the real life common sense as to what is actually necessary to implement change. They live in a theoretical, academic, or virtual world without regard for the actual world. They see things in black-and-white.

The term is also used for those who are critical of government intrusion and regulation without regard for the true real-life minimal affect of the intrusion versus the potential large gain of the action.

In reality Walter E. Williams is a Naiple. The small inconvenience of not being allowed to have fingernail clippers, eyeglass screwdrivers, etc. on a plane, is worth the potential gain of saving hundreds of lives (even if it is a long shot.)

The Naiple would rather scream about their rights, rather than the realize the positive effects and results of actions.

The Naiple, Mr. Williams, sees the limiting of what is allowed on a plane as a black-and-white, when in reality, it is gray.

( Note: Mr. Williams does bring up valid points in his article but certain aspects, like the TSA reference, are off-base.)

(photo pro.corbis.com)
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