Jamie Oliver got into a Twitter fight with one of his followers, and during the fight, Jamie announced he was dyslexic.It all started when Jamie said in a tweet about using fertilizer, ""Anouther true story a massive amount of uk farmers use human waist as fertiliser on there land!do any other countrys do this? Is this normal?"
One of his followers took exception to the number of spelling mistakes and said, "Not being funny fella but 4 spelling mistakes? You're influencing a generation of kids, you owe it them to be correct. Agree?"
Jamie replied, "Get lost you idiot im dislexic andIi cant spell so stick that in your pipe and smoke it!!! Its better than being smug txxt jx (sic)".
I am not sure what all the last two words are, but it seems fairly clear this is a sensitive issue for Jamie. It is great that he has overcome his dyslexia to be such a great chef and made a name for himself. I think perhaps he could have gone about it better because I doubt his follower knew Jamie was dyslexic. I didn't know he was dyslexic. Did any of you? I'm also wondering if misspelling a few words on a tweet really is going to influence kids. I doubt many kids are following Jamie for his spelling tips, but rather because they would like to be a chef like him.
Okay, forgive me if I am totally wrong here, but I would not think that dyslexia, which causes one to transpose letters, would cause you to make these kinds of spelling mistakes. As far as I have ever heard, it doesn't cause one to put letters in words (like a "y" in "countries" or a "u" in "another"...). Bringing it up now, and in such an aggressive(and possibly not even appropriate?)manner just makes him look like an ass.
ReplyDeletepeople need to get a life.
ReplyDeleteit's Twitter. who gives a crap if there are spelling mistakes??
That was my first thought as well, notvotingforsuckno...but I honestly don't know. I don't know anyone who is really dyslexic. I know a lot of people who are too lazy or don't care if they write "your" instead of "you're". Some of them SAY they are dyslexic, but really, they are like those kids on South Park who were diagnosed with ADD, but all they really needed was for an adult to tell them to SHUT UP AND STUDY!!!
ReplyDeleteas far as the two words at the end, pretty sure he meant "...being a smut twat". the last part is how brits sign off on letters, etc. so his first initial and then "x".
ReplyDeleteI know he's dyxlesic. There didn't used to be the support in schools that there is now, and Jamie's education may have suffered. I've seen 'waist' misused so many times, and lots of people can't do plurals.
ReplyDeleteHe's doing OK IMO. At least the guy is passionate about his job, and he does his own tweets!
So he can't spell or use proper grammar, a lot of people can't, so what?
ReplyDeleteNot only was I a classroom teacher since the time of Moses, my youngest is dyslexic (she is a grown woman now) and yes, the kind of spelling mistakes he made are very typical. It is a common misconception that dyslexics simply "switch letters around" or write "B"s and "D"s backwards... not true. Dyslexia is much more involved than that and manifests itself in many ways. Adding extra letters is really common--many dyslexics do not have the slightest handle on phonics so often what they write can make you scratch your head in wonder.
ReplyDeleteI'm with notvotingforlessuckno. My understanding of dyslexia is the same.
ReplyDeleteThere are disabilities that will cause the kinds of errors that J.O. made, but if he'd been diagnosed with that kind of disability, don't you think he'd use the name of it properly?
And, yup, even if he also has dyslexia, choosing to post it in an angry tweet back at some clueless follower just makes J.O. look even more stupid.
That said, that tweet follower needs to get a grip and a sense of humor. I am completely persnickety about the English language and I have just developed a tolerance for bad spelling and grammar. Some of the funniest, most entertaining and/or most insightful posts on THIS blog, for instance, often come in packages that wouldn't get past Strunk and White. There are different rules for the new technology.
Clarification:
ReplyDeleteWhen I say posts on this blog, I mean comments.
I heart Jamie.
ReplyDeleteI'm a pedant and have corrected people on Twitter, but only people I can't stand (fake Dina Lohan and Shanna Moakler are favourites).
ReplyDeleteI heart Jamie. As an animal lover, I am so impressed with the work he's done to improve awareness of and the lives of farm and factory animals.
The internet is chock full of typos and spelling mistakes. I think there's not as much emphasis on spelling in schools as there used to be -- I'm amazed at the way many bright young adults misspell and misuse words. Especially since I don't write very well myself.
ReplyDeleteIdiotsavant03, that's very interesting. Thank you for sharing that.
GladysKravitz:
ReplyDeleteI got a little giggle that you remembered suckno's first name was les! I thought he was long forgotten around these parts. (which is probably a good thing)
Kids are interested in Jamie Oliver?
ReplyDeletei'm pretty damn sure i'm dyslexic and i invert shit all the time.
ReplyDelete(shrug)
i'm sorry there is nothing more annoying and pretentious than correcting spelling and grammar...ONLINE. Unless you are a teacher with a red pen in your hand grading papers, you end up looking like a dick with no self control.
I had a teacher in high school who was dyslexic. Sometimes he would have us pronounce the words he couldn't figure out for him, or he would have us write them correctly on the chalkboard, and none of us ever took the piss out of him for it. It's just not right to tease people about things they have no control over.
ReplyDeleteThis, of course, is just in general and is not specific to this case.
amen Jax!!!!
ReplyDeleteI get COMPLETELY annoyed when people correct spelling/grammar in comments or anything else online! who the f**k cares??!! get a life.
Also, my husband is dyslexic and he can not spell to save his soul. Even small repetitive words like "what", etc. he has to stop and think about or ask me. He is 40 and they just didn't know/address it in those days. It is a VERY sensitive subject, and even our kids try to be gentle about it, they know it embarrases him to read or try to spell.
This made me laugh. Are that many kids following him on Twitter? And most people can't spell worth sh*t anyways online.
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ReplyDeletePoor spelling and grammar are two of my (many) pet peeves. Of course, dyslexia cannot be picked on, but sometimes, it's SO HARD!!!!*LOL*
ReplyDeleteI don't like Jamie Oliver though. I just don't. His fingernails are always dirty and they always film his hands really close. And the FUCKING LISP!!! I KNOW he can't help it *LOL*...but I get SO ANNOYED! I live with a chef so I have to watch HOURS of Food Network. I leave the room for two TV chefs: Jamie "choirboy" Oliver, and Nigella. Argh. I hate her. SHE DOESN'T EVEN COOK!!! All she does is pick at everything and stick her fingers in everything while trying to look "sensual". I have nothing but contempt for Nigella. Luckily, the chef feels the same so I seldom have to watch her food porn show.
What?
Dyslexia is not a quantifiable disorder. There are more than one aspect or degree. I doubt dyslexia is the reason for the misspelling and that sort of line about you owe it to children is the sort Jamie himself lectures about with food, and so it seems farming practices as well. Isn't he just as smug?
ReplyDeletei have the same type of issue. thank god for spell check. i remember trying to learn to spell the word "friend" in 4th grade and my parents were just brutal on me "are you stupid?...omg it's a 6 letter word" followed by hysterical fits of laughter.
ReplyDeletethis is a real sore spot with me. most people do the best they can most of the time, cut those with limits that are different than yours a break.
I am dyslexic....and I don't ever worry about it unless I'm online posting and someone attacks my spelling errors!! I generally keep a copy of Webster's Instant Word Guide in my purse! My copyright is from 1980 I have had it through High School and college. Poor spellers should also use there "word" program to proofread their comments....
ReplyDeleteSee, vitazza, you take the extra step that I'm sure would allow anyone save for the most annoying pedant to overlook what spelling errors you DO end up overlooking, which I'm sure, as per your post, are few and far between.
ReplyDeleteI'm really sad that a lot of people think that "just because it's the Internet" that spelling doesn't matter or shouldn't matter. I think it's ok to make the odd grammatical mistake and that it's cool to let a couple of typos slip here and there, but if it gets to the point where it becomes difficult for others to read what it is you're trying to say, you really should slip away from the Internet until you learn to spell beyond the 4th grade level. People, especially young people, have gotten way too lazy. They should follow vitazza's excellent and admirable lead!
Dyslexia should not be an excuse for making a ton of errors in a single 140-character post. People should be more careful.
Oh, and ahdaboom, requirements for spelling and vocabulary have (or appear to have) greatly dropped since your parents' generation -- even since mine. I must not be much older than you, yet "friend" was something that my classmates and I covered in the first grade. By the fourth we were covering words such as "inevitable" and "constitution" on both vocab and spelling lessons. Perhaps they were shocked you weren't hitting on "friend" until the 4th grade?
It is a myth that Dyslexics only reverse letters. That is probably the first symptom when they are learning to write in pre-k or kindergarten. It is normal to reverse letters in the beginning but stops in a non-dyslexic child. Dyslexic people have a hard time reading and writing, especially if not reading out loud or vocalizing out loud what they are writing. They are usually of average or above average intelligence but listening to them read or write, it is hard to tell it. My son makes mostly A's in every subject (even spelling), but his spelling when he is "free writing" is horrible. His hand writing and spacing between words is horrible as well. The same word that he memorized for lasts week's spelling test will be spelled wrong. He is in 3rd grade. He hates to be called dyslexic but I knew he was 3 years before he was diagnosed. (mother's instinct) It just is not normal for a bright child to have that much trouble learning to write and sound out the letter sounds. He works very hard and has received no accommodations thus far. We do study for open book tests unlike most other kids in class. Otherwise the vast amount of reading would be overwhelming on a timed test. So yes maybe Jamie could have not gotten so mad over the comment but he was writing to his friends and fans. That's is kind of personal. I would hate to have to spell check everything I write to my friends. Friends (and fans if you have them) should accept you bad spelling and all. I agree some people are just lazy and don't want to put the effort in to write correctly, or speak correctly for that manner, but I guess we shouldn't judge harshly if we don't know the situation. Don't knock dyslexic writing until you've tried it! Fortunately for most of us, we will never have to try it. Just for your info a few successful dyslexics are: Salma Hayak, Einstein, Charles Schwaab, Gen. Patton, Tom Cruise, Jay Leno, Orlando Bloom, and Mcdreamy on Gray's Anatomy (I love him but I can't think of his name).
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