In this case, I'm referring to Twitter's reaction to Ivanka Trump's use of the word "otherwise." So if you haven't seen it yet, here you go:
So Twitter is a storm of laughter and taunting about her incorrect use of the word "otherwise." Never mind that, scanning through their comments, I can immediately start seeing their own errors in grammar and punctuation. And after scanning one person's Twitter feed, I couldn't do much more than sigh and think, "Wow, this is just this person's life, filled with hate. At least on Twitter."
But for all the laughter and taunting ... they are wrong.
Not all of them, but most of them. One person's comment was perhaps correct: most of us would probably agree it's an awkward way to use the word, and probably she meant to use the word "overall" or something like that. "Cuddling my little nephew Luke ... the best part of an overall incredible day!"
But the taunting comes from the interpretation that she is saying she did not like cuddling her nephew. To the people who are laughing because they think that's what she's saying ... sorry, but the laugh's on you.
"... otherwise incredible day" definitely means that cuddling with Luke was not incredible. That it was something else. That's what "otherwise" means. No argument there.
But it's also clear that she said cuddling with him was the best part of an incredible day.
So if the best part of an incredible day is something other than incredible, it simply means that cuddling Luke was better than incredible.
Again, "best part" is certainly better than another part, and "otherwise" certainly means it wasn't incredible. So by definition, "better than incredible." I think that's a pretty good compliment to young Luke.
Now seriously, some of us are excellent with math, others with writing, others with science or history. Some of us know how to show compassion. Some of us are great parents. Some of us build incredible things with our hands, others do so with their minds. We all have our strengths and we all have our weaknesses.
Can you imagine where things are going if we all use our strengths to batter those who are weak in those areas ... and meanwhile we can expect to get beat up on our own worse challenges? Sounds to me like any sane person's nightmare. And yet that's what this kind of hatred and spewing leads us toward.
I think we can be better than that, and I pray that we will be. I prefer using my strengths to help those who need my help. And I prefer being able to ask for help where I need it.