Have you noticed Repukes changing the word "insurrection"?

[Joe Nation]

I first started noticing it online in chat forums and then started hearing it in republican controlled State Houses across the country. They have two reasons to change the meaning of the word. The first is to muddy the waters so that when someone uses the word insurrection, it doesn't just refer to the January 6th insurrection but anything they choose to call an insurrection. This effectively mutes the criticism of their ilk's behavior by attempting to inject many instances of insurrection and making their insurrection just one of many, whether or not the latter instances are even remotely related to the term insurrection. If you speak out against Repuke policies, you're an insurrectionist. If you protest against Repuke policies, you're an insurrectionist.

The second thing it does, is give their ilk a talking point that they can throw back in the faces of those that point out that they tried to overthrow the government after losing an election. Never mind arguing with them that protesting policies in no way equates to an insurrection and that public protest is a Constitutionally protected right while insurrection is treason. They don't care as long as they have something to use in one of their loosely based in reality arguments.

The reason any of this matters is because in any fascist authoritarian autocratic movement, the meaning of words begins to change. The definition of insurrection is a violent uprising against an authority or government. Any protest in opposition to their agenda is now considered violence in their world. The right to protest is likely the next casualty of this anti-democratic cabal.

[brush]

1. We can just use failed coup attempt then.

See what they say about that. And emphasis the word failed.

[hedda_foil]

7. Forget the "failed" part. Let's just call it a coup.

[brush]

9. Caling it just a coup means it was sucessful.

Coup attempt would be more accurate but I like adding failed to it to rub it in that they failed.

[yonder]

2. Excellent post. Words and framing matter.

[Claustrum]

3. They do this all the time.

They did it to "woke", "liberal", "BLM", "fake news". We said TFG and the rights has a lot of fake news in the early 2015 but TFG took it and went with it. Somehow, the media pretended TFG came up and popularized the word.

It's a common tactics of theirs to take a good meaning words that we use and then changes the meaning and put a negative spin on it. And the media has always been willing participant to let them do it.

[LakeArenal]

4. They do that. Made Entitlement a dirty word

I’m sure there are many instances that I’m too lazy to try to remember.

[CTyankee]

6. "benefit" is the better word because "entitlement" has morphed into something you feel you deserve.

I don't want to argue that word so I like "benefit that we all pay for..."

[Mr.Bill]

8. Hell, they made

liberal a dirty word.

[Hortensis]

5. Of course. Words are enormously powerful, used as anything from

core ideals people will die to protect to ideal assassination with new meanings.

I remember when climate scientists' term "global warming" became increasingly believable -- and scary. So the RW mind-screwers set out to come up with an unthreatening replacement term. They decided on "climate change." "Climate" because of all the positives associated with it; people spend fortunes vacationing in and moving to nice, inviting climates. "Change" was neutral, much less alarming than evocation of unescapable heat.