Abusegate

Why is it that when a scandal of any type breaks in the news the word "gate" is tagged onto the end? I understand where the reference comes from, but I have to wonder if they do. It refers to the Watergate Scandal in 1972-73 which brought down US President Richard Millhouse Nixon. The term Watergate had nothing to do with water, nor gates.

Watergate was the name of the complex the Democrats were holding their conference in, where the burglars connected to Nixon's office were arrested breaking into in an attempt to bug some of the Delegates offices. So why do people just add "gate" to the end of a name? It makes them look like fools who are trying to be smart without having a clue why.

I'd understand if this was everyday bloggers more interested in celeb scandals looking for quick and dirty headlines but this happens all the time by so-called "professional journalists". Even if the journalists miss it, where are the editors? This is what they do for a living, not a hobby. It's just another word the media in general like to use wrongly, which I'll explore in other blog posts.