"Disappeared"

[Tommy Carcetti]

"Disappeared" is a fascinating verb.

When used literally ("That stain just disappeared" ), it takes on an almost magical, supernatural sense.

When used figuratively or metaphorically ("He was tired and disappeared off to bed for a while" ), it's far more mundane.

But when it's used in the passive sense--"He was disappeared," "She was disappeared," "They disappeared him"--it suddenly becomes one of the most bone-chilling words in the entire English language.

[magicarpet]

1. It only denotes such a sinister disregard for human life.

That is one of the main places evil resides - to effectuate someone's disappearance.

Poof - you are gone,... never to be seen or heard from again.

[wordstroken]

7. Yes. Beyond heinous and frightening.

[NNadir]

2. I just saw a great movie ostensibly about a penguin on "The Disappeared" in...

Argentina.

The movie is called The Penguin Lessons.

[sop]

3. Mafia Don prefers "rubbed out" or "whacked."

[ET Awful]

5. Orwell chose to go with "unperson" NT

[Buns_of_Fire]

6. Krasnov would say "Doubleplusgood."

That is, he might if he studied anything other than Mein Kampf.

[Javaman]

4. and it's been in vogue, sadly, since the creation of the black sites.

it's now party of our language, which, on it's own, it fucking terrifying. but I guess that's their point.

[Warpy]

8. It generally means an inconvenient person has been murdered

and his or her body left in the middle of nowhere, never to be found---or at least not until the murderers have all died rich and safe in their feather beds.

I hoped I would never see it here, but I've watched civil protections eroded by Republican after Republican my whole life.

Welcome to herll.

[Tommy Carcetti]

9. There are actually other terrible verbs in the English language that are more direct and to the point.

Kidnapped
Tortured
Raped
Murdered

The thing about "Disappeared," however--and what makes it even scarier--is that it could potentially encompass any one of those terms.

Or possibly all of them.

[Skittles]

10. I've never been one of those people who thought, "IT CAN'T HAPPEN HERE"

but it still chills me to the bone it is.......happening here