Sammy Hardy ’11
Staff Writer
What is Westport known for? Most residents would like to think that this town is known for its educational system, for its beautiful landscapes, and perhaps for the fact that the late Paul Newman was a longtime resident. However, looking at the definition of “Westport” from urbandictionary.com, one may come to a different conclusion.
UrbanDictionary.com, the website that defines almost every slang or subculture term in the American language, is a site filled with coarse, offensive opinions, as well as profane statements. Most entries also include sexual content or references. The website is often used for humorous reasons, has existed since 1999.
Over four million definitions are on the website, but this is not your typical dictionary. Someone sitting at his or her computer at home can type any definition of any term.
This gives the small search bar at the top of the page an unlimited amount of possibilities. One can search absolutely anything that comes to mind.
“I think the site is used for fun. It’s just something to look at when your bored, which is like most sites on the internet,” said Darby Searl ’11.
Like most words on the website, the “Westport, Connecticut” entry is defined multiple times. These definitions are not your standard descriptions, including population, major landmarks, and historical events. Instead, most include disrespectful comments toward people in Westport.
One lengthy definition reads as follows:
“A very rich town. A place that has huge mansions luxury cars lining the streets and celebrity residents that just seem to blend in. The kids in the town are oblivious to the real world. There are two high schools in the town, Greens Farms Academy (for the very rich kids) and the public Staples High School (for the run of the mill rich kids). Staples has a stick so far up its academic *** it can’t even bend over. A Westport night for kids consists of getting drunk or stoned going to a house party the cops showing up then everyone goes down to the beach. Basically, the town is upright and I would advise not moving here if you don’t like to compete with everyone else.”
Most of the other definitions on Westport include similar content.
None include statements besides how much money the town has or what material possessions people own. Urban Dictionary does, however, leave room for comments, giving a fair response to defend the town. The definition has drawn the attention of most students in Staples, and several students agreed with what outsiders thought about the town, while others did not.
“I do not believe that Westport is like what Urban Dictionary says we are,” said Maddy Kligerman ’11. “You can’t say something about a group of people that you don’t know.”
However, other Staples students feel that the Urban Dictionary entry reveals some harsh truths about the town.
“I do think that the website does exaggerate some aspects of the town, but some things they say are true in retrospect,” said Harry Lawrence ’11.
Overall, students agree that Urban Dictionary’s stance on Westport does take an offensive spin.
