Support

The English language is a wondrous thing and I have long been fascinated by the uses some words get hijacked into. We are not talking nonsense new age made up words here; spokesperson for example. No, words that have morphed over time and not over centuries. In my lifetime, my adult lifetime even, 'gay' has been transformed. As an innocent youth in the fifties and sixties I often had gay times. This was going to the beach with Mum and Dad, eating ice creams and winning a goldfish at Verwood carnival. I now never use the word gay for anything - wouldn't dare.

The word that has fascinated me for ever, though, is 'support'.

SUPPORT

verb [trans]
1 bear all or part of the weight of; hold up : the dome was supported by a hundred white columns.
• produce enough food and water for; be capable of sustaining : the land had lost its capacity to support life.
• be capable of fulfilling (a role) adequately : tutors gain practical experience that helps them support their tutoring role.
• endure; tolerate : at work during the day I could support the grief.
2 give assistance to, esp. financially; enable to function or act : the government gives $2.5 billion a year to support the activities of the voluntary sector.
• provide with a home and the necessities of life : my main concern was to support my family.
• give comfort and emotional help to : I like to visit her to support her.
• approve of and encourage : the proposal was supported by many delegates.
• suggest the truth of; corroborate : the studies support our findings.
• be actively interested in and concerned for the success of (a particular sports team).
• [as adj. ] ( supporting) (of an actor or a role) important in a play or film but subordinate to the leading parts.
• (of a pop or rock group or performer) function as a secondary act to (another) at a concert.
3 Computing (of a computer or operating system) allow the use or operation of (a program, language, or device) : the new versions do not support the graphical user interface standard.
noun
1 a thing that bears the weight of something or keeps it upright : the best support for a camera is a tripod.
• the action or state of bearing the weight of something or someone or of being so supported : she clutched the sideboard for support.
2 material assistance : he urged that military support be sent to protect humanitarian convoys | [as adj. ] support staff.
• comfort and emotional help offered to someone in distress : she's been through a bad time and needs our support.
• approval and encouragement : the policies of reform enjoy widespread support.
• a secondary act at a pop or rock concert.
• technical help given to the user of a computer or other product.
PHRASES
in support of giving assistance to : air operations in support of the land forces. • showing approval of : the paper printed many letters in support of the government. • attempting to promote or obtain : a strike in support of an 8.5% pay raise.
DERIVATIVES
supportability |səˌpôrtəˈbilitē| |səˈpɔrdəˈbɪlədi| noun
supportable |səˈpɔrdəbəl| adjective
ORIGIN Middle English (originally in the sense [tolerate, put up with] ): from Old French supporter, from Latin supportare, from sub- ‘from below’ + portare ‘carry.’

All good dictionary stuff and all true. But it is no longer used like that. It has come to have its biggest use in the advertising industry. More of this in a while. First a brief history of Obald and support. The earliest use of it that struck me as a bit weird was when I first came across the athletic support. We are in noun territory here. Is the humble jock strap a secondary act at a rock or pop concert? Hardly. Does it act in a tripod like way to support the camera one keeps in ones nether regions? I think not. Emotional support in times of athletic distress? Do you wrap it around an ailing computer? Athletic support - a load of tosh. And even in these early days it is advertsing tosh. An Acme Athletic Support is much morre likely to get you to part with 3/6 of hard earned dosh than a mere jock strap, is it not?

The next use of support that got on my goat and still makes me squirm is the support person. If one of the victim class is about to go through a trauma in his life - paying the rent out of his own money for example, returning an overdue library book, this sort of thing - he is entitled to take a support person with him. What a load of crap. These people don't have friends, relatives or even mates - they have to have 'support people'. These are the same wallies who have caregivers instead of parents. Not much advertising here I'll grant you but this leads us onto Support's latest role in his lexicographical life.

We are urged at every turn to buy quackery products that support things that don't need support and are in most part totally unable to receive any. 'One simple pill of rat's foreskin and goat dropping extract is all you need to support your immune system' Eh? Now I know a bit about the human immune system. I'm not a clinical immunologist I'll grant you but I can guarantee I know an awful lot more than the tosser who tries to sell me snakeoil on the box before the weather. The immune system cannot be 'supported' by anything let alone the ground up bits of obscure shrubs no one has ever heard of. Pine bark? Jolly good to make a pine tree feel all warm and comfy but not much use if you are not a pine cone. I won't be using any bits of pine tree to support anything about my person thank you very much. Another thing I was never told needed any supporting during my time at medical school was 'joint health'. Apparently all you need to get this little number into spiffo form is to mince up a shark or two and make them into 'easy to swallow capsules'. What capsule that isn't the size of a loaf of bread isn't easy to swallow, pray tell? What a load of bollocks.

People who would have you support various unsupportable bits of your anatomy and physiology also tend to be very big on wellness. They talk down to you in smooth, no smarmy, voices and point out that their macerated lizard eyelid juice is clinically proven without giving any evidence of same. They respect things a lot and they make me vomit.

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