Leonard Pitts Jr: No, it's not the economy, stupid. Trump supporters fear a black and brown America

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31. It's sad and discouraging to see how profoundly ignorance plays a part in this.

I’m just struck, right off the bat, by the bad spelling and grammar. Just spent too much time writing and editing copy. Can’t help it. But I always find myself there. The way they look “on paper.” I learned that as a young job seeker long ago, AND as a news director with many a job application and inquiry to process.

Way an applicant would communicate, the way he or she would write about themselves, describe qualifications, shape cover letters - all that was instructive about basic smarts and communication skills, usage, grammar, professionalism, and general knowledge. It was always a good tip-off about whether an applicant could really be taken seriously. A “sorting hat”, with apologies to Harry Potter.

I see all kinds of basic stuff like that in a lot of these communicators these days. Whether it’s the misspelled protest signs or the bad grammar in their speech, it’s generally a reliable “tell.” Even in this era of tweets and texts, that stuff still matters.

I used to gobble up articles about how to present yourself on paper, how you look on paper, and what that says about you and how seriously you deserve to be taken - by, for example, a prospective boss or supervisor, or other figure who would presumably be holding your livelihood in their hands. It made a powerful impression on me - that lingers to this late date.