Guest guest Posted May 15, 1999 Report Share Posted May 15, 1999 On 15 May 1999, Jatukarnya das wrote: > > > > No, but for myself I was thinking more along the lines of polyanish-ish, but I am a hard-core cynic. > > > I don't know that that means, English is not my first language. Could you explain? > > English may not be your first language, but compared to me you can spell as if it were. As best as I can explain it, a 'Pollyanna' refers to someone who is so sure of the righteiousness of their own position that their righteosity is becoming somewhat discomforting to others. I think the term might have come from a Disney movie from the early 60s called 'Pollyanna'. It starred Halley Mills, who later became well known in ISKCON as a devotee, as a child actress. Anyway, Pollyanna was this intensely 'mode of goodness' type character who seemed to uplift all the town's residents from their various personal character deficiencies. It was a decent enough kid's movie at the time, but expecially towards the late sixties when America's youth, who were spoon fed this kind of stuff as kids, became cynical, this movie in particular came to be known as something soppy, and the Pollyana character as a sugar coated version of a real person, and thus the term came in use, 'so and so is acting like a Pollyanna.' Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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