Sheeple, sheeple, Apple People
Docile, gullible, and easily fooled,
Webster takes a dig at fanboys,
It’s so funny, it’s actually cool!
Nope, I’m not off my rockers; just offering up an ode to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, which has thrown a not-so-subtle shade at Apple and Apple lovers, but in such a classy manner that I can’t help clap for them.
What am I blabbering about?
Merriam-Webster has just added a new word to it’s online dictionary – ‘Sheeple’ and defines it as ‘people who are docile, compliant, or easily influenced: people likened to sheep’. Basically, ‘a mass of ignorant, unoriginal human beings that herd together and follow mindlessly,’ which is how the hugely popular Urban Dictionary puts it.
So, a new word has been added to the dictionary – why make a brouhaha about it?
Well, Merriam-Webster grabbed this opportunity to make a dig at Apple and its fanboys. Among the examples on how to use this word, you find this gem:
Apple’s debuted a battery case for the juice-sucking iPhone — an ungainly lumpy case the sheeple will happily shell out $99 for.
This sentence has been borrowed from Doug Criss’ article published in December 2015 on CNN’s website. And given that this is how fanboys tend to behave, I think sheeple is a fairly accurate word to use, even if it isn’t the most complimentary.
So, sheeple of the world unite, please. Apple is going to give us plenty more opportunities to leave our brains behind and sing tall praises of the company, regardless of what they do. Let’s live up to our description and continue to look at Apple with that glazed look in our eyes like it was going to bring deliverance. Never mind that they price their products to the moon and back, never mind that they killed Jack, never mind that they can’t offer decent battery life, or that of late, they’ve done little to earn our respect.
We continue to adore them. Baaaah!