Turdistan? Everyone enjoys the use of generic, humorous and useful expressions which characterize things. We enjoy the simplicity of generalizing and the occasional use of a stereotype The idea, is to explain the selected term once [as I do when defining a Lingovation], and then to use it frequently enough that it propagates. People use references like "progressives," "have-nots," "head-bangers," "spooks," "Podunk," "bumpkin," "con-artist," "guru," "Bush-ism," "Third World," "inbred," "hillbilly," "Millenials," "Boomers," "supremacists," "Scrooge," "too-big-to-fail," "conservatives", "Benedict Arnolds, "Hitlers," "conservatives" and the like all of the time. If you haven't heard or used any of these, well then, you've probably been living under a rock. [GEICO used this last allegorical generic with great success in one of its advertising campaigns - the Gecko was, sadly, missing].
Some of them are allegorical, some are merely cliches, and some of them are just pop-culture accidents (many of which are actually being germinated from Twitter hashtags!). Many are acronyms [or even 'numeronyms'] accumulated over the ages. SNAFU, BOHICA, OMG!, LOL, TTYL, and, of course, WTF?
These generics are crude, but they are extremely powerful in conjuring up a vivid picture in the readers', listeners' or observers' minds, and they save you a great deal of explanatory verbiage. In a world of 140-character messages, 20-second soundbites, and societal ADHD these comical generics are extraordinarily useful in creating brief messages.
Please use them in your slogans with impunity. Do it before everybody and his uncle does it. Remember that a successful campaign can make you a gazillionaire. Especially if it goes viral.
Douglas E. Castle [http://aboutDouglasCastle.blogspot.com]
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Here's an example of my comical generic for...
TURDISTAN – Any small, non-industrialized and resource-poor nation (except for some reserves of sand, rock and scraps of metal from bullet casings and Improvised Explosive Devices) in a constant state of ethnic civil wars, tribalism and war-lord rule,, governmental upheaval and continuous violence. The average life expectancy is usually in the range of 30 years, but the village elders (i.e., individuals who have survived more than 36 years) generally give the appearance of heavy smokers in their late 70s to 80s. No formal educational system and an absence of any intellectual, technical or professional talent (when the locals grin broadly for the rare National Geographic photo opportunity, posed either brandishing or leaning on their antiquated Soviet-made “occasionally” automatic weapons, the absence of any dental attention becomes painfully evident). The principal import of any Turdistan is weaponry, and its principal exports are hateful and inflammatory speech, expatriate labor (these renegades become cabbies and convenience store operators in foreign countries mostly), and hallucinogenic plant products, when in season. [Turdistan]
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