WHO SAID SO? I have often wondered how those people who accept the use of the term "they say" as sufficient proof that they are hearing quoted is true.
It happens so often in relation to news stories that before too long one has valid reasons for questioning which portions are and which have been added by "they."
Just who this "they" might be is never made clear and the sayer, obviously, does not know who said it or they would want to add extra stability to assertions they are proving by appending a well-known name as back-up for the their statement. We've heard so much "they talk" about the relationships of various individuals in the current "Runaway Bride" story out of Georgia, thatch "maybe" information. When someone knows for sure who said a thing, they go out of their way to mention names to add validity to what they are saying. They feel that will compel you to accept it as truth.
The entire concept of home remedy medication is based on this premise of "they say", it seems, but it is often augmented by using such terms as "the old folks used to say," instead of just plain "they say." Still others attribute what is being said to"grandmother", "your grandmother," ,"my grandmother" or "our grandmothers" - anything which seems to give the statement validity. A even more direct approach is to name a group: "Doctor's say: ..." makes a good lead in for something about which you are not quite certain. We run into that one daily on radio and TV when we are told: "Leading doctors and hospitals say..." one painkiller is supposed to be better than all others because they use more of it. We are not to wonder even
day or two las them supplies of the medications at no charge or at a very low cost, so they "use" more of it than others. It lends assurance to the statements made - however wild.
Gossip is based on "ify" ins and outs. These days, it is sometimes difficult to tell gossip and rumor from fact. Fiction and fact are often blended ,even in the best of news presentations today, and the mood oF the "anchor person" seems to add interpretations to the "writer's "materials set before them to read. Personalities often take over, so when we to echo that story later one we often "quote" that small-screen star. "Brokaw said.". Or, better still, set it back a few years with:, "as Walter Cronkite used to say..." or," was it Ed Murrow who used to say?" Make it years ago.. . any one of them can become "theys" and will append credence to whatever you wish to say.
The overall result is that truth does not have to be true at all in order to be believed. It is little touches such as "they say" which substantiate weak and wobbly assertions far too often. One must keep a wary ear out for such sounds these days.
A.L.M. May 3, 2005 [c522wds]
