On Smarm
First there was snark, the "hostile, knowing, bitter tone of contempt"; bullshit criticism of anything that doesn't fit one's own flimsily constructed worldview. But as Gawker's Tom Scocca posits, it's a reaction to smarm, an equally odious posture of self-satisfaction; the notion of being above criticism of any kind, which is built on similarly shoddy foundations. Both are as smug, selfish and ignorant as each other. #link