Posted: 4/8/2007 5:06:50 PM EDT
| I don't get the whole Colt/Kool-aid thing, could someone clear this up for me please. |
|
This very same question just came up in the AR Forum, and was answered about as well as I've seen explained: Quote from post by saturnstyl Stolen from Wikipedia: "Drinking the Kool-Aid" Contrary to popular belief, Kool-Aid was not used in the infamous punch at JonestownThe idiomatic expression "drinking the Kool-Aid" was originally a reference to the Merry Pranksters, a group of people associated with novelist Ken Kesey who in the early 1960s travelled around the United States and held events called "Acid Tests", where LSD-laced Kool-Aid was passed out to the public (LSD was legal at that time). Those who "drank the Kool-Aid" passed the "Acid Test." "Drinking the Kool-Aid" in that context meant accepting the LSD drug culture, and the Pranksters' "turned on" point of view. These events were described in Tom Wolfe's 1968 classic, The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test.[4] It is also now closely associated with the 1978 cult mass-suicide/murder in Jonestown, Guyana. Jim Jones, the leader of the Peoples Temple, convinced his followers to move to Jonestown. Late in the year, he then ordered his flock to commit suicide by drinking grape-flavored Flavor Aid laced with potassium cyanide. In what is now commonly called the "Jonestown Massacre," a large majority of the 913 people later found dead drank the brew. (The discrepancy between the idiom and the actual occurrence is likely due to Flavor Aid's relative obscurity versus the easily recognizable Kool-Aid.) The precise expression can be attested in usage at least as early as 1987.[4] One lasting legacy of the Jonestown tragedy is the saying, "Don't drink the Kool-Aid." This has come to mean, "Don’t trust any group you find to be a little on the kooky side," or "Whatever they tell you, don't believe it too strongly."[1] The phrase can also be used in the opposite sense to indicate that one has blindly embraced a particular philosophy or perspective (a "Kool-Aid drinker", or, as a cynical response to a fanatical claim, "sounds like someone's been drinking the Kool-Aid!"). In technology circles "drinking the Kool-Aid" is often used to describe the misguided or over-abundant enthusiasm someone has for their product and its capabilities. On Arfcom it has become common practice to call Colt lovers "Kool-Aid" drinkers, and I suspect that although this term was intended to be derogatory in nature, it has become a term of endearment. You will notice many of the Colt lovers themselves will post pictures of their Colts with some Kool-Aid featured in the photo. Many references to Kool-Aid are usually found in Colt related posts. Those that don't believe Colt is superior to all others tend to say that the Colt followers are a fanatical bunch, and will "drink the Kool-Aid" which is meant to imply that what the Colt bunch believes isn't true. They just follow the crowd and believe the same in order to fit in and be part of the group. Those that are firmly entrenched in the Colt camp often find themselves being bashed for being so blindly loyal to the company, in spite of what others see as Colt's faults. You will find in most arguments discussions that the same statements are made to support either side of the argument. The same things are rehashed repeatedly about what makes Colt better, or worse depending on who's side you are on. I try to be neutral, but find myself straying somewhat to the Colt Kool-Aid drinkers side of things. I cannot deny two basic facts: Colt resale value is the highest. Colt brand recognition is the highest. Those two might go hand in hand. I hope this explains things a bit. I realize its probably as clear as mud.... but I tried. |
