A cryptic projection, at that. I've noticed that trumpers who are (understandably) embarrassed to be trumpers tend to use the phrase "We're doomed!" after presenting their trumpian talking points.
Have to comment on Democrats. Why do they seem like underdogs or talked about as if they are weaklings? Perhaps it’s the media, press and television who are owned by extremely rich corporations who pour money into Republican pockets. Democrats have very few chances to get their voices heard in a positive light when they are battling Goliath every day in every corner. They only get heard when a mistake is made. Does anyone know that Biden has reduced the deficit by a trillion dollars since he’s been in office? Does anyone know Biden has appointed 41 federal judges. Reduced unemployment to lowest levels since 1969. No, our news outlets don’t say anything positive only negative and accusing of our Democrats. We see stupid things like Biden falling off his bike. He bikes all of the time and we see the ONE time he falls. Ridiculous. Please be positive about what Democrats do for people. Not voting Democrat results in a Supreme Court that dictates our lives now.
We are hearing dramatic evidence these days of a president who was openly contemptuous of the law and who encouraged public disorder. This must be dealt with. The press isn't the problem. Democrats need to recover the phrase "law and order" and press the point. And Republicans need to see the light.
Democrats have all manner of opportunities to be heard. Blaming it on media is not realistic as both sides have armies of biased journalists just waiting to jump on anyone doing or saying something stupid. Which Democrats do constantly. Law and order is just one phrase they need to commandeer, which will be hard when those advocating defunding the police Bogart the microphone and completely diss and shout down anyone colleague who attempts to speak.
Those all pumped up on how wonderful the Dems are should consider....(attribute to R. Reich..)
Clinton passed free trade agreements without providing millions of blue-collar workers who consequently lost their jobs a means of getting new ones that paid at least as well.
His North American Free Trade Agreement and plan for China to join the World Trade Organization undermined the wages and economic security of manufacturing workers across America, hollowing out vast swaths of the Rust Belt.
Clinton also deregulated Wall Street. This led to the financial crisis of 2008 – in which Obama bailed out the biggest banks and bankers but did nothing for homeowners, many of whom owed more on their homes than their homes were worth.
Obama didn’t demand as a condition for the bailout that banks refrain from foreclosing on underwater homeowners. Nor did Obama demand an overhaul of the banking system. Instead, he allowed Wall Street to water down attempts at re-regulation.
Both Clinton and Obama stood by as corporations hammered trade unions. They failed to reform labor laws to allow workers to form unions with a simple up-or-down majority vote, or even to impose meaningful penalties on companies that violated labor protections.
Biden has supported labor law reform but hasn’t fought for it, leaving the Protecting the Right to Organize (Pro) Act to die inside his ill-fated Build Back Better Act.
Clinton and Obama allowed antitrust enforcement to ossify, enabling large corporations to grow far larger and major industries to become more concentrated. Biden is trying to revive antitrust enforcement but hasn’t made it a centerpiece of his administration.
Both Clinton and Obama depended on big money from corporations and the wealthy. Both turned their backs on campaign finance reform.
Obama was the first presidential nominee since Richard Nixon to reject public financing in his primary and general election campaigns, and he never followed up on his re-election promise to pursue a constitutional amendment to overturn Citizens United vs FEC, the 2010 supreme court opinion opening the floodgates to big money in politics. All of that is called "A Mountain of Baggage".
Dems demolished vast swaths of America while managing to elevate the Dem POTUS's to foundation sized wealth upon leaving office. All of that is called "Very Bad Optics".
All of the good ideas are swamped by Dems own awfulness. Until the Dems understand what American is, they're doomed and so are we to Republican led coalitions of loons.
You give us a very good summary of what has happened on the Democratic side over the last 30 years and it is not a pretty picture.
I always favor the Democrats mostly because they seem to be in favor of following the law and supporting honest elections but they are by no means perfect and they have in fact contributed greatly to the situation that the country is in.
The Democrats pretend to be for the "working" person and the "little" guy but as you point out they have to get contributions from big money just like the republicans do. In politics, you need two things -- money and voters. Money to run the campaign and get out the voters; voters to turn out and go to the polls.
Many people were surprised when the Supremes overturned Roe. They should not have been; this process and movement has been going on for about 40 years. The republicans and their allies have been working to take over state legislatures and whenever they can appoint right wing judges to the Federal Courts.
Actually, more like 60 years. Perlsteins “Nixonland” lays out the organizational work the ‘Pubs have been doing since the 60’s. If anyone wants to understand how the ‘Pubs did it, read Nixonland.
You are ageing into another pronoun, which is Geezer. Only you will know for sure when you move into this category, although acquaintances may be able to judge that better. The growth into a Geezer may go way back, even into youth, when you might have had some symptoms of being a Geezerette.
I am proud to say I am one myself and have earned it honorably and by living 2 years longer than you. I was raised in a small mid western (Michigan) town that I believe is a sister city to Lake Wobegon.
I proudly identify as a geezer. It fits me well at 87. In our geezer skier group you have to be 70 to qualify for membership! However the younger guys (and gals) get apprenticeships.
I'm absolutely a geezer, yet I don't feel, think, or act like a geezer. I've even had the local surf punks...who are adamantly anti-geezer...marvel when I told them my age.
Is this a trans situation, where I can have a medical procedure to transition to a proper geezer body? I mean, I've always felt like I was a geezer trapped in a young mans body. I identify as geezer. I dress like a geezer. Yet, nobody respects my choice.
I demand to be allowed to use the geezer's bathroom with it's giant stall, grab rails, and orthopedic seat. When I've entered the geezer stall, geezers gathered at the wash basins all look in disgust and threatened to call the attendant to force me to use the bathroom that corresponds with my physical presence.
We (and we only use this pronoun because I have a stick of dynamite in my pocket) were pleased that you spent a little more time on issues that concerned us and not 'They' (the nincompoops who littered the Capitols tea party (do we date ourselves?) . What happens in DC hasn't really affected us 'N since the last check bounced. Sorry to miss the Ryman. but Youse'n are a LEGEND and the pittance Us'n has in Her pockets wouldn't buy a N Y cappuccino. Peace...Sirs
My wife and I attended the reprisal of Prairie Home Companion at the Ryman Auditorium this past weekend. Kudos and congratulations to al of you. I am a dour German-Scot-American and do not even sing in the shower. But somehow you enabled me to join in when you invited us all to sing the medley of nostalgic songs. Indeed, you got ~2000 mostly deeply conservative people to join you in song. It gave me hope.
@RK, Pretty sure you and I probably don’t share any pronouns, but with open hearts sharing the words of a song, and laughing at the same Keillor humor, and at ourselves, maybe there could be a “we”.
Some of us attended churches which had choir directors who knew what four part harmony is. We even had some hymns which one could read without singing and the words of the hymn had a message or told a story.
Is that being nostalgic?
One of my pet peeves about modern church is that they have people read the scripture and the people who read the scriptures can't read and don't understand punctuation. They stumble through the reading and stop in the middle of sentences and run over comas and punctuation.
Sometimes the scripture reading in unintelligible.
I read lessons and prayers monthly in my Lutheran Church and I read them before to catch pronunciation and nuances in, including different voices for the different speakers. Inspired by our Pastor, who has acting experience, I try to put some drama into the readings.
I am always shocked when I hear alleged Harvard "graduates" use poor English. This includes MA governor Charlie Baker, who is surprisingly a rather inarticulate speaker. I assume that many of them are products of so-called "Nepotistic Legacy Admissions" to some of our elite universities. This may be true of Mr. Clark as well.
Brilliant use of humor to convey your anger. What Lewis Black might sound like without all the F-bombs.
Alternative pronouns grabbed my attention fir about a minute, but then quickly became annoying. Thanks to Mrs Nelson in 8th grade I’m afraid I’m a bit of a bigot about grammar. I’m just not happy when nouns and pronouns disagree.
I'm laughing out load reading the later part of this letter. Basically, what I hear you saying, if we can't learn to laugh about the current goings on as of the corrupt Trump post presidency and what is to come, well then?
Spot on GK! You know, Latin, French and German all have neutral personal pronoun sets. Seems English is a bit behind the times in that department. Having a singular gender neutral, like zie/zim, would also leave the poor, bedraggled plurals (they/them) alone.
You're the second author I've read who has used the word "flibbertigibbet" - the other is Shakespeare, so you're in good company. :) I really like "scheiss and scheissen and scheissenself.", but I don't know if I'd ever dare to use those terms, except maybe in my head. I think one should be able to use any pronoun they wish to describe themselves, as long as they're willing to gently correct people who unintentionally use the wrong term...
This made me laugh so hard that I accidentally blew coffee out of my nose. Blowing a beverage out of my nose has only happened one other time in my entire life, and that was red wine. What a weird feeling! But anything that starts with a laugh is OK in my book.
We attended the show at the Ryman on the 10th and were also touring the auditorium while you were rehearsing. The portrait they took of us at the mic was very bad because I was giddy at the prospect of being that close to my radio hero. (I was the grey haired, large camera toting Hillbilly if you choose to recall) This show was my 56th birthday present and, so far, this was the best birthday present I have ever gotten.
I was in awe of the Ryman and the Prairie Home Companion live at the Ryman was a bucket list event. I was brought to tears while singing hymns with a hall full of kindred fans. Thoughts of the last time my Mother and I did anything together (October of 2005 we laughed and laughed at Dusty and Lefty knitting for stress relief. Mommy died a month later.) All the years with my late husband on Saturday nights. Cocktails at six "with Garrison", dinner at eight. Stan passed in 2016 just before the 40th Anniversary show. PHC was the soundtrack at my home for all those years.
You did not disappoint, Mr. Keillor. I smiled to myself at the contrast of "Rehearsal Garrison" vs "Curtain Garrison." Your warmth and hospitality. Humor and candor. The news from Lake Woebegone reminded me starkly of my own friends and family who can recall in three dimensional detail everything I have ever done yet choose to allow me to chastise myself. The blessings of life long acquaintance, continued fellowship and mutual respect were the lessons I gleaned from the story. That and a warning where the scattering of ashes might be concerned.
I could continue to gush but I won't. I just wanted to make sure you are aware that a conservative, Christian country girl reads TWA every morning, has been a fan of PHC since it's first broadcast and, while we diverge in politics, we always agree on the Trinity. Many more years and Blessings to you, Sir.
Blessings on you, ma'am, and I'm glad you enjoyed the Ryman and the hymn singing. I apologize for the show ggoing three hours but you're young and you bore up well.
We have a special second-person pronoun here in rural Connecticut. "Yuz" is equivalent to the South's "y'all," but once I heard a local lady address everyone in the room as "all of yuzes," essentially a plural of a plural. Maybe it's not standard English, but it makes more sense than calling one person "they," which can only lead to confusion.
The use of the pronoun "Yuz" is very common among natives of New Bedford, MA, as well. I think that the Portuguese-speaking citizens in this area may have coined it as a translation of an equivalent 2nd person plural pronoun in their native language. I have a friend (with no Portuguese ancestry) from New Bedford who has two masters degrees and teaches Italian at several Boston area universities. She was offended when I mentioned the use of the word "Yuz" by some New Bedford residents. I agree with you that it makes sense grammatically, but, like "Y'all", it has an air of semi-literacy. I block people in Facebook who use "Y'all" in their posts.
I'm not a Facebooker, but I think you might be missing out if you block people for using improper grammar. I grew up in a blue collar family, so I know that a lack of education does not necessarily preclude an intelligent, interesting mind. My late father dropped out of school in eighth grade, but he was smart as a whip. Posts on a forum should not be considered in the same way we would look at a published book - posts are just another form of communication. When I read a post, I look at the content and ignore any possible grammatical mistakes... people of all educational levels have interesting things to say! Plus there are regional differences - "yuz" is normal in the northeast, "y'all" is common down south. Tomato, tomahto, whatever, we're all just trying to communicate. Open your mind, you may discover unexpected magic.
Most of us were all doing pretty well before our country fell into the Trump ditch.
Sounds like projection from the Trump crowd.
A cryptic projection, at that. I've noticed that trumpers who are (understandably) embarrassed to be trumpers tend to use the phrase "We're doomed!" after presenting their trumpian talking points.
LMAO
I intend to use "I, me, mine" to indicate that I identify as a narcissist
Ooooooh.... Well done!
Have to comment on Democrats. Why do they seem like underdogs or talked about as if they are weaklings? Perhaps it’s the media, press and television who are owned by extremely rich corporations who pour money into Republican pockets. Democrats have very few chances to get their voices heard in a positive light when they are battling Goliath every day in every corner. They only get heard when a mistake is made. Does anyone know that Biden has reduced the deficit by a trillion dollars since he’s been in office? Does anyone know Biden has appointed 41 federal judges. Reduced unemployment to lowest levels since 1969. No, our news outlets don’t say anything positive only negative and accusing of our Democrats. We see stupid things like Biden falling off his bike. He bikes all of the time and we see the ONE time he falls. Ridiculous. Please be positive about what Democrats do for people. Not voting Democrat results in a Supreme Court that dictates our lives now.
We are hearing dramatic evidence these days of a president who was openly contemptuous of the law and who encouraged public disorder. This must be dealt with. The press isn't the problem. Democrats need to recover the phrase "law and order" and press the point. And Republicans need to see the light.
But the Rs refuse to watch the Jan. 6th Committee hearings.
Democrats have all manner of opportunities to be heard. Blaming it on media is not realistic as both sides have armies of biased journalists just waiting to jump on anyone doing or saying something stupid. Which Democrats do constantly. Law and order is just one phrase they need to commandeer, which will be hard when those advocating defunding the police Bogart the microphone and completely diss and shout down anyone colleague who attempts to speak.
Those all pumped up on how wonderful the Dems are should consider....(attribute to R. Reich..)
Clinton passed free trade agreements without providing millions of blue-collar workers who consequently lost their jobs a means of getting new ones that paid at least as well.
His North American Free Trade Agreement and plan for China to join the World Trade Organization undermined the wages and economic security of manufacturing workers across America, hollowing out vast swaths of the Rust Belt.
Clinton also deregulated Wall Street. This led to the financial crisis of 2008 – in which Obama bailed out the biggest banks and bankers but did nothing for homeowners, many of whom owed more on their homes than their homes were worth.
Obama didn’t demand as a condition for the bailout that banks refrain from foreclosing on underwater homeowners. Nor did Obama demand an overhaul of the banking system. Instead, he allowed Wall Street to water down attempts at re-regulation.
Both Clinton and Obama stood by as corporations hammered trade unions. They failed to reform labor laws to allow workers to form unions with a simple up-or-down majority vote, or even to impose meaningful penalties on companies that violated labor protections.
Biden has supported labor law reform but hasn’t fought for it, leaving the Protecting the Right to Organize (Pro) Act to die inside his ill-fated Build Back Better Act.
Clinton and Obama allowed antitrust enforcement to ossify, enabling large corporations to grow far larger and major industries to become more concentrated. Biden is trying to revive antitrust enforcement but hasn’t made it a centerpiece of his administration.
Both Clinton and Obama depended on big money from corporations and the wealthy. Both turned their backs on campaign finance reform.
Obama was the first presidential nominee since Richard Nixon to reject public financing in his primary and general election campaigns, and he never followed up on his re-election promise to pursue a constitutional amendment to overturn Citizens United vs FEC, the 2010 supreme court opinion opening the floodgates to big money in politics. All of that is called "A Mountain of Baggage".
Dems demolished vast swaths of America while managing to elevate the Dem POTUS's to foundation sized wealth upon leaving office. All of that is called "Very Bad Optics".
All of the good ideas are swamped by Dems own awfulness. Until the Dems understand what American is, they're doomed and so are we to Republican led coalitions of loons.
You give us a very good summary of what has happened on the Democratic side over the last 30 years and it is not a pretty picture.
I always favor the Democrats mostly because they seem to be in favor of following the law and supporting honest elections but they are by no means perfect and they have in fact contributed greatly to the situation that the country is in.
The Democrats pretend to be for the "working" person and the "little" guy but as you point out they have to get contributions from big money just like the republicans do. In politics, you need two things -- money and voters. Money to run the campaign and get out the voters; voters to turn out and go to the polls.
Many people were surprised when the Supremes overturned Roe. They should not have been; this process and movement has been going on for about 40 years. The republicans and their allies have been working to take over state legislatures and whenever they can appoint right wing judges to the Federal Courts.
Best wishes.
Actually, more like 60 years. Perlsteins “Nixonland” lays out the organizational work the ‘Pubs have been doing since the 60’s. If anyone wants to understand how the ‘Pubs did it, read Nixonland.
Thanks for that recommendation. I will look at it when I get can find it and get a chance.
Upset with the treatment of Democrats? Go look at the elephant in the room. It currently weighs just over 9%.
Sorta sits wherever it wants, you know?
For which the Ds are not to blame
Bullshit. They got at least some responsibility.
Bob Buntrock is right. It's a global problem right now, escaped by no country in the world.
You are ageing into another pronoun, which is Geezer. Only you will know for sure when you move into this category, although acquaintances may be able to judge that better. The growth into a Geezer may go way back, even into youth, when you might have had some symptoms of being a Geezerette.
I am proud to say I am one myself and have earned it honorably and by living 2 years longer than you. I was raised in a small mid western (Michigan) town that I believe is a sister city to Lake Wobegon.
John Schoepke
I proudly identify as a geezer. It fits me well at 87. In our geezer skier group you have to be 70 to qualify for membership! However the younger guys (and gals) get apprenticeships.
I was a geezer (geezerette?) way back when I was a teenager. My body is finally catching up with my brain.
I'm absolutely a geezer, yet I don't feel, think, or act like a geezer. I've even had the local surf punks...who are adamantly anti-geezer...marvel when I told them my age.
Is this a trans situation, where I can have a medical procedure to transition to a proper geezer body? I mean, I've always felt like I was a geezer trapped in a young mans body. I identify as geezer. I dress like a geezer. Yet, nobody respects my choice.
I demand to be allowed to use the geezer's bathroom with it's giant stall, grab rails, and orthopedic seat. When I've entered the geezer stall, geezers gathered at the wash basins all look in disgust and threatened to call the attendant to force me to use the bathroom that corresponds with my physical presence.
I’m a Millennial itching for his shotgun, porch, and fabulously well crafted lawn.
Can I still buy those? Or do I need surgery too?
Yes…no. It’s all still possible for reasons I’d expand upon but I’d be laughed off the stage for being a cornball.
Let's self identify as Cornholes.
People will burn themselves in hilarious fashion. It'll be great.
An old soul? :-)
He came out the womb as a Geezer larvae.
The most distinguished Geezer strain of Humanoid; too bad there's not more of us. :)
I helped create "nerd" with which I still identify.
We (and we only use this pronoun because I have a stick of dynamite in my pocket) were pleased that you spent a little more time on issues that concerned us and not 'They' (the nincompoops who littered the Capitols tea party (do we date ourselves?) . What happens in DC hasn't really affected us 'N since the last check bounced. Sorry to miss the Ryman. but Youse'n are a LEGEND and the pittance Us'n has in Her pockets wouldn't buy a N Y cappuccino. Peace...Sirs
My wife and I attended the reprisal of Prairie Home Companion at the Ryman Auditorium this past weekend. Kudos and congratulations to al of you. I am a dour German-Scot-American and do not even sing in the shower. But somehow you enabled me to join in when you invited us all to sing the medley of nostalgic songs. Indeed, you got ~2000 mostly deeply conservative people to join you in song. It gave me hope.
@RK, Pretty sure you and I probably don’t share any pronouns, but with open hearts sharing the words of a song, and laughing at the same Keillor humor, and at ourselves, maybe there could be a “we”.
Those hymns were not nostalgic songs for some of us who attend churches whose music directors are sympathetic to the classics.
Some of us attended churches which had choir directors who knew what four part harmony is. We even had some hymns which one could read without singing and the words of the hymn had a message or told a story.
Is that being nostalgic?
One of my pet peeves about modern church is that they have people read the scripture and the people who read the scriptures can't read and don't understand punctuation. They stumble through the reading and stop in the middle of sentences and run over comas and punctuation.
Sometimes the scripture reading in unintelligible.
Any way best wishes.
I read lessons and prayers monthly in my Lutheran Church and I read them before to catch pronunciation and nuances in, including different voices for the different speakers. Inspired by our Pastor, who has acting experience, I try to put some drama into the readings.
The paragraph about Mr. Clark would have caused my ginger ale to be ejected through my nose had I been drinking it as I read about Janice’s evolution.
Oh my, keep doing this as long as you can, Mr. Keillor. Your columns sustain my hope for decency and sense.
That's why I never drink anything while reading Mr. Keillor's columns. :)
It is a danger, no?
I am always shocked when I hear alleged Harvard "graduates" use poor English. This includes MA governor Charlie Baker, who is surprisingly a rather inarticulate speaker. I assume that many of them are products of so-called "Nepotistic Legacy Admissions" to some of our elite universities. This may be true of Mr. Clark as well.
Brilliant use of humor to convey your anger. What Lewis Black might sound like without all the F-bombs.
Alternative pronouns grabbed my attention fir about a minute, but then quickly became annoying. Thanks to Mrs Nelson in 8th grade I’m afraid I’m a bit of a bigot about grammar. I’m just not happy when nouns and pronouns disagree.
I'm laughing out load reading the later part of this letter. Basically, what I hear you saying, if we can't learn to laugh about the current goings on as of the corrupt Trump post presidency and what is to come, well then?
Spot on GK! You know, Latin, French and German all have neutral personal pronoun sets. Seems English is a bit behind the times in that department. Having a singular gender neutral, like zie/zim, would also leave the poor, bedraggled plurals (they/them) alone.
You're the second author I've read who has used the word "flibbertigibbet" - the other is Shakespeare, so you're in good company. :) I really like "scheiss and scheissen and scheissenself.", but I don't know if I'd ever dare to use those terms, except maybe in my head. I think one should be able to use any pronoun they wish to describe themselves, as long as they're willing to gently correct people who unintentionally use the wrong term...
This made me laugh so hard that I accidentally blew coffee out of my nose. Blowing a beverage out of my nose has only happened one other time in my entire life, and that was red wine. What a weird feeling! But anything that starts with a laugh is OK in my book.
Coffee nose blowing is just a good excuse to clean up the kitchen table. :)
Nasal table lavage!
Oh gooodness that's funny!
We attended the show at the Ryman on the 10th and were also touring the auditorium while you were rehearsing. The portrait they took of us at the mic was very bad because I was giddy at the prospect of being that close to my radio hero. (I was the grey haired, large camera toting Hillbilly if you choose to recall) This show was my 56th birthday present and, so far, this was the best birthday present I have ever gotten.
I was in awe of the Ryman and the Prairie Home Companion live at the Ryman was a bucket list event. I was brought to tears while singing hymns with a hall full of kindred fans. Thoughts of the last time my Mother and I did anything together (October of 2005 we laughed and laughed at Dusty and Lefty knitting for stress relief. Mommy died a month later.) All the years with my late husband on Saturday nights. Cocktails at six "with Garrison", dinner at eight. Stan passed in 2016 just before the 40th Anniversary show. PHC was the soundtrack at my home for all those years.
You did not disappoint, Mr. Keillor. I smiled to myself at the contrast of "Rehearsal Garrison" vs "Curtain Garrison." Your warmth and hospitality. Humor and candor. The news from Lake Woebegone reminded me starkly of my own friends and family who can recall in three dimensional detail everything I have ever done yet choose to allow me to chastise myself. The blessings of life long acquaintance, continued fellowship and mutual respect were the lessons I gleaned from the story. That and a warning where the scattering of ashes might be concerned.
I could continue to gush but I won't. I just wanted to make sure you are aware that a conservative, Christian country girl reads TWA every morning, has been a fan of PHC since it's first broadcast and, while we diverge in politics, we always agree on the Trinity. Many more years and Blessings to you, Sir.
Blessings on you, ma'am, and I'm glad you enjoyed the Ryman and the hymn singing. I apologize for the show ggoing three hours but you're young and you bore up well.
The time flew by!
We have a special second-person pronoun here in rural Connecticut. "Yuz" is equivalent to the South's "y'all," but once I heard a local lady address everyone in the room as "all of yuzes," essentially a plural of a plural. Maybe it's not standard English, but it makes more sense than calling one person "they," which can only lead to confusion.
I'd always wondered how that was spelled. Thank you!
I always thought it was spelled "Youze", but "Yuz" is better!
That's the way it's spelled in NJ.
I should add that I've never seen it written. I really don't know how it would be spelled. But it sounds more like yuz than yous.
The use of the pronoun "Yuz" is very common among natives of New Bedford, MA, as well. I think that the Portuguese-speaking citizens in this area may have coined it as a translation of an equivalent 2nd person plural pronoun in their native language. I have a friend (with no Portuguese ancestry) from New Bedford who has two masters degrees and teaches Italian at several Boston area universities. She was offended when I mentioned the use of the word "Yuz" by some New Bedford residents. I agree with you that it makes sense grammatically, but, like "Y'all", it has an air of semi-literacy. I block people in Facebook who use "Y'all" in their posts.
I'm not a Facebooker, but I think you might be missing out if you block people for using improper grammar. I grew up in a blue collar family, so I know that a lack of education does not necessarily preclude an intelligent, interesting mind. My late father dropped out of school in eighth grade, but he was smart as a whip. Posts on a forum should not be considered in the same way we would look at a published book - posts are just another form of communication. When I read a post, I look at the content and ignore any possible grammatical mistakes... people of all educational levels have interesting things to say! Plus there are regional differences - "yuz" is normal in the northeast, "y'all" is common down south. Tomato, tomahto, whatever, we're all just trying to communicate. Open your mind, you may discover unexpected magic.