This topic came up the other night Defiant channel. Found this on the web.
People shouldn't say "Shotgun!!!" if they don't know where it came from!
You've all heard this before. The term "Shotgun" refers to the front passenger seat of an automobile and calling "Shotgun!" is basically the act of claiming the position of the passenger seat for one's self. Why do people like that position the most? Well, it's the most coveted of all positions when riding in a car. Everyone knows why. A clear unobstructed view of the road. A window that rolls all the way down. Right in front of the A/C vents. Easy access to the radio and climate control. Those are some pretty good reasons why people like being in the passenger side when they're not driving and there're multiple car occupants.
Anyway, now that you understand what it means, onto the rant.
I think most of the people who call "Shotgun" are idiots. Okay, before you start bitching to me believing that I'm calling you and idiot, finish reading the rant.
I find it annoying that people use that term yet there's a good chance they don't even know where it originated. Every time I'm not driving and there are to be multiple passengers in a car and I hear someone call "Shotgun!" I always wonder just how smart that person is.
I can't stand people that use words or phrases they have no idea where they originated. When someone calls "Shotgun!" and I'm pissed that they called it before I did, I would ask them "Dude, do you even know where the word came from?" to which they usually answer "No,". That's when I would smile and call them a moron for calling "Shotgun" even though they have no idea where it came from and that they should go look the term up to seem less idiotic next time they call "Shotgun". Usually, by then, we're all in the car and I'm in the back seat. I think of making the person in the passenger side seat feel like an idiot as a form of exacting revenge for that person having called "Shotgun" first.
Where does the word "Shotgun" come from and why does it refer to the passenger side seat of an automobile?
Most people think "Shotgun" is a relatively new term but that's not the case, that it probably originates from police cars keeping their shotguns racked in the passenger side. In actuality, the position of Shotgun stems all the way back to the days of the wagon in the Wild West. Back then, there was very little safety from attacks by bandits, outlaws, Indians, rival settlers, etc on these wagons. Because of this, driving a wagon, especially while being pursued usually took most of the attention of the driver. This leaves the driver vulnerable. To solve this problem, another member of the party usually sat by the driver's side to his right and would be carrying a Shotgun to fend off any attackers should they try to attack the wagon. That is where the term came from. It referred to the person who carried the "Shotgun" which was basically the passenger side part of a wagon. Even though there is no longer a need to carry such firearms like a shotgun nowadays, the term referring to position still remains.
You should know what the hell certain terms or phrases come from before you use it. Most of the time when I heard people use some term like "The whole nine yards", I would come out and ask if they know where that term came from. Usually, they don't know that term's origins. You know what that's equivalent to in my book? Using a fancy vocabulary word to which you have no idea what it really means but using it simply because you were exposed to it so much and BELIEVE you know what it means. Maybe that's why you'll never heard me walking around saying stuff like "
Wow, that's dope" or "Naw, man, that's wack". Why? Because I don't know where those terms came from and would therefore not use it.
Before you go look up the term 'The whole nine yards'. I might as well tell you. The term you sometimes say in conversations originated from the fact that twenty-seven feet (nine yards) was the standard length of a machine-gun belt, and that firing off the entire round was shooting "the whole nine yards." Therefore, that is why the term basically referred to 'everything' since it referred to 'every bullets in the belt having been fired off'.
But I say 'Cool' alot, right? Am I aware that it seemed to have originated from jazz musicians around the time after World War II? No, I didn't know that.. Did you? I figured. Quit nitpicking everything. I get enough of that in the fanfics I write.
The point of this rant is that I find it very idiotic how people call "Shotgun!!" and expect you to abide by the rules of the game when they have no idea what it really means yet assume they do simply from exposure to it from others. Calling "Shotgun!!" and not understanding it is like playing a game and not really knowing the rules and getting by with what you think you know for a while....that is, until someone like myself comes along that are aware of the rules and point out that you don't seem to fully understand everything about the game you're playing.
That is why I think most people who call "Shotgun!!" yet not know what it really means are idiots. I think people out there should lose their claim for the "shotgun" position in a car if they don't know what the hell that word came from.
Do I feel better after demeaning you in front of everyone by pointing out you don't know where the term comes from? Hell yeah. Of course, I have my reasons. Secretly, I'm angry at myself because most people call "Shotgun" before I do. The rules of "Shotgun" still applies for getting the passenger seat even if they person doesn't know its origins.
At least this way, I can vent and make you feel like an idiot because I already feel like an idiot for not having called "Shotgun" first.
And what if you already knew the term's origin anyway? Well, then you will save face AND you will get the passenger seat.
You're a lucky person because, I should be that lucky person, not you!
