Although illiterates don't know it, (what do they
know?), Illiteracy" of course does not denote
"analphabetism", but "ignorance resulting from not reading".
Unlike analphabetism, it assumes technical ability of reading
acquired, yet unused, uncultivated and unable to penetrate
the gist of read material. An illiterate can read a short
article about a traffic accident, but cannot get the gist of
it. Of anything, for that matter.
Dictionaries give synonyms of "illiterate" as barbarian,
ignoramus, know nothing, blockhead, bonehead, dunderhead,
fuckhead, hammerhead, knucklehead, loggerhead, lunkhead,
muttonhead, numskull, shithead, halfwit, etc.,
"Shithead" seems to meet the case admirably, but let's
be polite, and call them by euphemism "barbarians".
Statistics show that the brilliant education systems
of "leading" countries like UK, France and Germany produce
about 40% illiterates. Due to some natural filtration and
sedimentation process, the chat lists are crammed with them
in a much higher percentage.
One asked me, why am I losing all this time to read
illiterate, moronic, barbarian insults.
Well, one just could save Sodom and I found on the lists
two or three cultivated, knowledgeable people from whom
I have learned a lot. But, don't get wrong, one can learn
a lot from barbarians as well, namely, how far can go the
uncouth, arrogant ignorance.
I decided to incorporate outstanding barbarian speculations
into my essay on (un)culture written for the RD site.
You can see, what extra flavor add the first few
quotations. Awaiting even more spicy ones I thank the
barbarians for their efforts and beg them to keep on going.
The RD site is read by thousands daily, so they will be
celebrated. Who knows, some may even get a Guiness record.