innocents who might imitate him

The history of language is writ by innocents imitating.

a slippery slope

Note to attackers of the non-syllogistic use of the phrase begging the question:

     Slippery Slope is also the name of a logical fallacy.

One can be a descriptivist without defending or condoning sloppy usage, as one can be a prescriptivist and practice sloppy usage. Pronunciation shift is a part of language; discounting the contributions of someone whose usages do not match one's own only limits the holder of these prejudices.