Fachidiots

Here is a term that caught my fancy. Fachidiot. It is new and not in common usage yet, but hopefully it will make its way into our everyday language. A "Fachidiot" is a specialist or expert who has amassed an encyclopedic knowledge of his own narrow field but is clueless when it comes to the broader world. Gee, I know some people like that. They read my articles and come back with comments that show they know nothing of the art of debate.

Once armed with the term, you begin to detect the presence of the Fachidiot in your own life. Computer networks can be run by Fachidiots who compose registry entries in hexadecimal but refuse to shower. Environmentalists, often, are the kind of fellows who think their special knowledge of tree-frog habitat entitles them to an unchallengeable opinion about the next five centuries of world economic development. Conspiracy theorists are arguably Fachidiots.

The 9/11 squawkers will recite the specific heat of jet fuel to the fifth decimal place. But they can't explain how hundreds of U.S. government officials could agree to and conceal the events behind an historic mass murder pulled off in broad daylight.

They'll cite chapter and verse about the 'torture' that happened at Abu Gharib or Guantanamo Bay, yet refuse to acknowledge the fact that humiliation is not torture. They'll whine about supplying Muslims with Korans but taking away their pillow if they're uncooperative is torture, but skip over the fact that Muslims will not take away your pillow, they'll take away your head.

Our jerk of the year, James Loney, was recently seen on TV being magnanimous in his forgiveness of his captors. Fine and dandy. The man is supposedly a Christian and lives by the 'turn the other cheek' bit. Still no word of thanks to the British troops that risked life and limb to save his scrawny butt. Mr. Loney is gay. I don't care one way or the other, but I think his refusal to testify at his captors trial has much more to do with what the Muslims might do to him than his 'turn the other cheek' philosophy.

Fachidiots exist in the likes of Cindy Sheehan and her supporters. For some reason, they still think the draft is in place and don't recognize the fact that the US army is built on volunteers. Men and women sign up and go to fight in foreign lands to protect her right to caterwaul without the threat of ending up in prison.

Fachidiots run rampant through the non-smoking lobby. It's their way, or the highway. They want to ignore designated smoking rooms (DSR's) which gives everyone the right to enjoy an evening at the local watering hole or bistro. The smokers can sit in a separate room and look like monkeys in a zoo to the outside world, but the non-smokers want to deprive them of that, up to the point of banning them from their own private clubs where smokers could enjoy a brandy and cigar without being shat upon.

Fachidiots are the people of PETA who want to give the Earth back to the animals. They want us all to be vegetarian, without mentioning all the vitamins and supplements you need to get the same thing you are when you eat animals brought up for the express purpose of feeding us.

I can only hope the term 'Fachidiot' becomes popular. Just be careful how you pronounce it. The proper Germanic pronunciation brings it close to being a bad word.