Wishywashy minds.

[Kai]

The minds of the American people have become so wishywashy. Words that used to be useful in description are no longer useful anymore. For example, a nazi used to be someone who promotes censorship, book burning, tolitarian indoctrination, genocide and eugenics, torture and other fascist characters. Now a nazi is someone who bans clove cigarrettes.

It used to be that bigot meant a clearly intolerant and discriminatory person who bases their opinions of someone on broad aspects of identity rather than the content of their character. Now a bigot is someone who thinks torture is morally abhorent.

It used to be that racist meant someone who judged people initially by the color of their skin and based all other opinions of a person around that. These days, the word racist means anyone who doesn't give the white man special treatment.

It used to be religious persecution was the inquisition, the crusades, mass murder and genocide, economic and social exclusion, forced emmigration. Now religious persecution is refusing to put up a christmas display on public property, or removing the ten commandments from a court house.

Cause the tv god can't be wrong can it? It wouldn't be broadcasting 24/7 into your living room if it was false, a just society wouldn't allow it. Yet we don't live in a just society, and we certainly don't live in a clear and competent society. Might as well start all talking in gibberish, because thats what public discourse has become, a string of gibberish and meaningless syllables, like some sort of chant which lulls the mind into euphoria. All the clear words of communication have gone to shit, and the whole of the nation are like chickens with their heads cut off. This is the disgusting world we live in, where political opinions are coddled, especially of the "poor little defenseless" white man. This is a world where I can't even call out someone on human mistreatment so deplorable it makes my blood boil.

Fuck you, Kai.

[AFK]

People have lost their goddamned minds and are just uttering whatever syllables are available to them.  Think before you speak is passe apparently. 

[LMNO]

I agree, Kai.


And yet, I find it unbearably amusing.

Actually, this could probably go in the horrormirth contest, if you wanted.

[Kai]

People have lost their goddamned minds and are just uttering whatever syllables are available to them.  Think before you speak is passe apparently. 

It's gotten so passe that it was passe to me last night. Should have listened, should have worded things more carefully. Had I, I wouldn't be having issues now. Oh, I would have still called him out on it, but I would have done it better.

I agree, Kai.


And yet, I find it unbearably amusing.

Actually, this could probably go in the horrormirth contest, if you wanted.

Put it in. Thanks.

[Jenne]

  This drives me nuts, too.  No such thing as real hyperbole anymore, and it really takes a lot of meaning away, or the thrust of the original content, anyway.  That can be rather horrormirthy in many contexts, I so agree.

[The Good Reverend Roger]

Also, "Class warfare" now means "making noise when a rich man fucks you".

[Cainad (dec.)]

Nothing to add, just

[Captain Utopia]

 

I wonder if this can be considered as part of a trend? Small words used to describe big concepts because that was the most concise and accurate way to convey them in a limited communication environment which required those qualities. But now, with so many different media sources each with their fragmented audiences, is it surprising if they develop their own languages?

The value of keeping small words and accepted meaning pristine is diminished when you know your audience, and you know they'll receive it in your own established context.

For example, what is Fox News really saying when they repeat talk of "death panels" without correction? Are they making a case against one particular aspect of healthcare reform, or are they saying that they'd like to see more people showing up with placards at demonstrations they help organise? If so, are they not also using their new language in a concise and accurate way?

If the warped language cannot be divorced from the speaker, and the context in which the speaker utters it, it also betrays their agenda - but this seems currently to be too ethereal a concept to enter public discourse :-/

[Golden Applesauce]

It seems that, as a linguistic principle, more common words acquire more and more meanings, becoming broader in scope, while less commonly used words lose meanings until they're narrower and narrower, down to only a single meaning and connotation, and eventually not used any more.

(I don't know if this is a real evolutionary linguistics principle, but it sure SEEMS true.  There was someone here who actually knows a lot about linguistics?  Please comment?)

[LMNO]

I think that's Jenne's subject of choice...?

Um.

Or Khara's.  For some reason I confuse the two.

[Cainad (dec.)]

Verb is a linguistispag.

[Kai]

I wonder if this can be considered as part of a trend? Small words used to describe big concepts because that was the most concise and accurate way to convey them in a limited communication environment which required those qualities. But now, with so many different media sources each with their fragmented audiences, is it surprising if they develop their own languages?

The value of keeping small words and accepted meaning pristine is diminished when you know your audience, and you know they'll receive it in your own established context.

For example, what is Fox News really saying when they repeat talk of "death panels" without correction? Are they making a case against one particular aspect of healthcare reform, or are they saying that they'd like to see more people showing up with placards at demonstrations they help organise? If so, are they not also using their new language in a concise and accurate way?

If the warped language cannot be divorced from the speaker, and the context in which the speaker utters it, it also betrays their agenda - but this seems currently to be too ethereal a concept to enter public discourse :-/

This was less about linguistics and more about increasing frusteration with the inability to communicate meaning due to word parroting and misuse.

[Golden Applesauce]

I wonder if this can be considered as part of a trend? Small words used to describe big concepts because that was the most concise and accurate way to convey them in a limited communication environment which required those qualities. But now, with so many different media sources each with their fragmented audiences, is it surprising if they develop their own languages?

The value of keeping small words and accepted meaning pristine is diminished when you know your audience, and you know they'll receive it in your own established context.

For example, what is Fox News really saying when they repeat talk of "death panels" without correction? Are they making a case against one particular aspect of healthcare reform, or are they saying that they'd like to see more people showing up with placards at demonstrations they help organise? If so, are they not also using their new language in a concise and accurate way?

If the warped language cannot be divorced from the speaker, and the context in which the speaker utters it, it also betrays their agenda - but this seems currently to be too ethereal a concept to enter public discourse :-/

This was less about linguistics and more about increasing frusteration with the inability to communicate meaning due to word parroting and misuse.

Ah.  In that case, develop a habit of interrupting conversations when you hear a word used incorrectly and yell "THAT'S NOT WHAT THE WORD MEANS!  You can't BE "racist against old people."  I WILL KILL A MOTHERFUCKER!!!"

Carry a small dictionary with you and whip it out on people.  (I did this for a while in middle school.  Being known as the guy who always has a scientific calculator and a dictionary does weird things to your reputation, although perhaps not as weird as being the guy who always has a plastic lightsaber on him.)

[rong]

don't mean to threadjack, mods feel free to move or delete this post or whatever, but this reminded me how i always seem to notice words coming in and out of fashion.  i can't decide if it's a law of fives thing and the words were always being used, but it seems like you see or hear someone use a word and then you see or hear it being used more and more and then it sort of fades away.

the last word i noticed in this case was "crux"  i think it's already in the fade away stage, but for awhile it was popping up all over the place.

unfortunately i can't remember what other words i've noticed come in and out of fashion (you know, cuz they fade away).

anyhow, just wondering if anyone has had similar experience and if anyone thinks it's a law of fives thing or if there is some merit to it.

[Kai]

I wonder if this can be considered as part of a trend? Small words used to describe big concepts because that was the most concise and accurate way to convey them in a limited communication environment which required those qualities. But now, with so many different media sources each with their fragmented audiences, is it surprising if they develop their own languages?

The value of keeping small words and accepted meaning pristine is diminished when you know your audience, and you know they'll receive it in your own established context.

For example, what is Fox News really saying when they repeat talk of "death panels" without correction? Are they making a case against one particular aspect of healthcare reform, or are they saying that they'd like to see more people showing up with placards at demonstrations they help organise? If so, are they not also using their new language in a concise and accurate way?

If the warped language cannot be divorced from the speaker, and the context in which the speaker utters it, it also betrays their agenda - but this seems currently to be too ethereal a concept to enter public discourse :-/

This was less about linguistics and more about increasing frusteration with the inability to communicate meaning due to word parroting and misuse.

Ah.  In that case, develop a habit of interrupting conversations when you hear a word used incorrectly and yell "THAT'S NOT WHAT THE WORD MEANS!  You can't BE "racist against old people."  I WILL KILL A MOTHERFUCKER!!!"

Carry a small dictionary with you and whip it out on people.  (I did this for a while in middle school.  Being known as the guy who always has a scientific calculator and a dictionary does weird things to your reputation, although perhaps not as weird as being the guy who always has a plastic lightsaber on him.)

I already carry a stack of notecards, several pens, vials and forceps on me. I don't need a dictionary as one is accessible by internets.

So, you can expect I get weird looks.