Updated December 15th, 2020 at 17:11 IST
Merriam-Webster takes jibe at op-ed asking Jill Biden to drop 'Dr.', netizens impressed
Dictionary maker, Merriam-Webster cheekily shut down an opinion piece on US President elect-Joe Biden’s wife and the next US First Lady Dr Jill Biden.
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American company mainly known for its dictionaries, Merriam-Webster cheekily shut down an opinion piece on US President elect-Joe Biden’s wife and the next US First Lady Dr Jill Biden on December 14. After the Wall Street Journal on Friday published an op-ed in which the writer made ‘sexist’ remarks and argued that the First Lady-elect should drop ‘Dr.’ in her title that she earned after her doctorate from the University of Delaware in 2007 because according to the writer, she is not a ‘medical doctor’.
Joining the widespread criticism of the opinion piece in which the writer referred to 69-year-old as “kiddo” and called her doctoral thesis as “unpromising”, Merriam-Webster posted a ‘hilariously sassy’ remark on its official Twitter account. While sharing the link to its page on the history of the word ‘doctor’, the social media account of the dictionary simply explained that the word comes from the Latin of ‘teacher’. Thousands of internet users who had united in defence of US First Lady-elect hailed the response by Merriam-Webster and denoted the same as “simple”, “effective”, “true”.
The word 'doctor' comes from the Latin word for "teacher." https://t.co/wUihrn6Hyq
— Merriam-Webster (@MerriamWebster)
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Netizens thank Merriam-Webster
From thanking the dictionary-maker for weighing in on the “meaningless” op-ed published on Friday to people calling the writer of the article “ignorant”, Merriam-Webster’s indirect but ‘sarcastic’ response won the internet. The official post has not only garnered more than 83.5k likes but thousands of retweets. Several internet users trashed the media outlet as well for publishing ‘sexist’ article on the US First Lady-elect in the first place.
Sweetness cannot wait for my daughters 3rd grade “DR” to perform my open heart surgery
— James Davis (@JamesDa40910501)
exactly. @WSJ do better. seriously. you have just smeared so many women with these now multiple op-eds revealing your misogyny. all you need to do is apologize. now. https://t.co/p9QfeDAkVc
— Louise Carrie Wales, PhD. (@StudioWales)
*chef's kiss* (off) to @WSJopinion #PaulGigot https://t.co/7aemvWudEE
— Desiree (@Desarrayed)
Thank you for weighing in with this meaningless piece of trivia that takes the argument completely out of context.
— Lord Wallrose 🇺🇸🇭🇷🇸🇰🏳️🌈🎙📺 (@212TruthSeeker)
Paper defends op-ed
However, as per reports, Paul Gigot, who is responsible for the paper’s opinion section, backed the decision to run the op-ed written by Joseph Epstein. While Gigot wrote in a follow-up op-ed on Saturday that Biden supporters reacted in a “very Trumpian” manner, Epstein had suggested US First Lady-elect drop ‘Dr.’ in her title because she is not in the field of medicine. Gigot even accused the Biden media team of elevating ‘Epstein’s work’ as ‘political strategy’.
"The complaints (about the article) began as a trickle but became a torrent after the Biden media team elevated Mr Epstein's work in what was clearly a political strategy," wrote Gigot. “Why go to such lengths to highlight a single op-ed on a relatively minor issue? My guess is that the Biden team concluded it was a chance to use the big gun of identity politics to send a message to critics as it prepares to take power. There's nothing like playing the race or gender card to stifle criticism," he added.
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Published December 15th, 2020 at 17:13 IST