shoop and the death of snark

Well, that's a ridiculous proposition, I have to admit. Snark ("snide + remark") won't die anytime soon. But what if it did? Would we miss anything? I mean, what use in the great wide world does snark serve? It's worth thinking about.

Snark can, at bottom, be entertaining from time to time. An unfortunate or foolish decision by a world leader, a difficult economic climate, even an atmosphere of fear and forboding--in such cases, perhaps a bit of clever and well-phrased snark can be welcome. It might well be a legitimate way to deal with some of the outrages of the world around us. And some people are pretty good at it--throughout history, and even now, although even the best practitioners aren't pleasing all the time. Snark, pretty much by definition, can't be pleasing all the time.

Snark, moreover, has become an unwelcome way of communicating in general, and that's the snarky body in which I think it would be nice to stick a wooden stake. Because when one indulges in a snide remark in a discussion or in everyday discourse, all too often it becomes a substitute for reasoning. In other words, whatever reason the snark-meister has for disagreeing with you simply becomes the snarky remark itself--a poor substitute for a reasoned, thoughtful argument. It also speaks to an overall rudeness and incivility on the part of the snarkiste, an attitude that claims that reasons are unnecessary as long as the remark is sufficiently hurtful and spiteful to put you in your place--so that others may laugh with me and laugh at you. Thus, debate and useful rhetoric die as snark invades the barren grounds of discussion like so much weed or crabgrass.

Can sincerity thrive in our time? I think so. I think snarks will find themselves more and more niche oriented as people who really want to discuss and even debate a particular topic will clear the cobwebs of snarkery off the mantel and get down to cases. And that's fine--those who want to snark will always find a place for it. Even those of us who don't care so much for it might want to visit now and then--occasionally, snarking can be pretty funny. But not all the time, and not from everybody all at once.