OPB: "critter"

... I choose not to call police officers "pigs". Why? Because it's disrespectful to actual pigs, that's why! There are plenty of good alternatives to use here, like "thugs" for example. I'm not too concerned with showing disrespect toward thugs.

That excellent point comes from the libertarian critter's latest post, asking after the origins of the term "Congresscritters".

I think I provided the answer. We'll see if someone suggests a different source.

bkMarcus said...

And all this time, I assumed I knew what your blog title referred to. I felt like I was "in" on it. Turns out I was so in I was out of it.

I believe that Robert Anton Wilson (or his late wife, Arlen) coined the term:

I coined the term spokesentities, because I was in a restaurant in Boulder, and they gave me a card, to evaluate the food, the service, this that and the other, and they asked me to evaluate the waitperson. And it asks for comments. So I wrote in the comments, I wrote, "Waitperson stinks of human chauvinism. Change it to waitentity at once!" And I signed it "animal lover."

And then I started using that, then, and my wife, Arlen, changed it to waitcritter.. Waitcritter, Congresscritter; clergycritter... I wouldn't want a clergy-critter getting into my house.

(source)