RC
RC's JournalDU has several groups that has a habit of twisting, stretching, even making up meanings for words
that one or more of the group have decided for the rest of us, for any number of reasons, that they don't want used on DU.
The problem is though that most of these words are used everyday in the real world, on TV, the radio, blogs, message boards, printed/online newspapers, you and I in everyday conversations. Often in context unrelated to the reasons give for their banning.
There is this silly idea that banning whatever word will correct the problem they have associated the word with, regardless of context.
English is a conglomeration of languages, resulting in a very high number of synonyms - and homonyms. Banning words is a losing proposition.
What is the difference between using a given word or one of its synonyms? (Homonyms muddy the waters even more.) If the substitute word comes into common usage, it too will eventually be put on someone's no-no list, to start the bickering all over again. Why? Because the root cause of any slights, slurs, insults, sexism. bigotry, racism, whatever are not being dealt with, because the word itself is the point of contention, not the underlying problem.
Maybe the Democrats can deal with diversity,
but there are a bunch here with all the characteristics of Republicans. They are making DU suck with their wanting everyone else to lockstep with them.
Instead of using a word someone wants banned, use a synonym that means the same thing.
Yeah, that's the ticket. Makes as much sense as someone coming to DU because it is a Liberal/Democratic leaning site and trying to straight jacket DU into their own blinder enabled image of the world.
Hmmm, yeah, that is what is happening.
I agree here.
I wish the usual suspects would stop trying to make the rest of DU into their own version of what they made their Safe Haven to be.
The open forums need to reflect the reality of the rest of the world, not the world view of some Word Police type that looks for and sees only words that can be used as slights, slurs, bigotry, homophobia and sexism, real or imagined, in almost every post by anyone not of their clique. Context and meaning being tossed out in their furor to be offended for mere use of a word.
Word policing is in itself, a form of bullying. But some here thinks that's OK because they are the ones doing it.
Eh, no it ain't. And like in the real world of the elections just past, people are tired of being told by fringe groups what to think and do and are pushing back.
Good one!
What we need now are Living-Wage-Jobs. Not just jobs. Jobs are a dime a dozen and that is the problem. 'Just jobs' are cheap.
We need full time, Living-Wage-Jobs. Jobs that pay into Social Security. Jobs that pay into Medicare. Jobs that pay the taxes that support the services of government. Jobs that put extra money in the pockets of families, so they have money to spend on Main Street. That money will circulate through the economy, supporting other Living-Wage-Jobs. And come back to you in a better all around thriving economy.
What we need to work on first, is to get control of the election machinery away from private hands.
Any election involving any Federal office, needs to be under Federal rules and laws, not state.
What we have now plays right into the Republicans hands. We only did as good as we did because so many people voted, we swamped out the Republican's pre-weighted results. Our election now are no more fare than in any banana republic.
People involved in Election fraud, need to be going to prison.
I HAVE VOTED! I voted for every Democrat on the ballot.
[center]
I HAVE VOTED! I voted for every Democrat on the ballot.
If enough people do the same, we can start really improving this country, the economy and work on repairing our image around the world.
The picture of the flag, I took this morning, represents the status of our country at the moment.
Hopefully we can work on replacing that image with one we can be proud of.[/center]
She can't do what you asked.
Because it is not happening here.
I was the shy, skinny, socially inept kid in school. So I know something about bullying.
Wanting to ban words because it was used against one or a few despicable people, then when others come along and broad brush the definition, to fit 3rd party, not involved in the original context used, is in itself a form of bullying. It does nothing to stop the real bullying, because the bullying mind set is still there.
That is one reason why we English speakers have so may words and phrases that essentially mean the same thing. Ban the word, another will take its place. The mind set is still there. That hasn't changed. Also why do so many just invite themselves to be included in the put-down, when it is obvious from the context they were nowhere near the intended target? Well, bullying does come to mind, but this time it is from the self invited.
Using a word where the context was applied to one deserving person, then stating that the mere use of that word automatically is implied to apply to a another whole separate group, not mentioned, not in contention, not in evidence in context used, just because the 4th definition of that word was used as a put-down a hundred years ago...??? Something is wrong here alright and it is not the mere use of a word.
The word itself is the problem? Really? And banning the use of that word will correct the problem? How?
That is like fixing Global Warming by admonishing everyone to not exhale because CO2 causes Global Warming and breathing out contributes more CO2 to the atmosphere, so everyone stop exhaling already!
As with that solution, there are better ways.
And there are people deserving of the vilest insults and putdowns we can think of. That does not mean anyone else, other than the intended target, is included. So stop inviting yourselves.
The government provides needed services more efficiently than private business can.
That is a fact you can see in your own bank account.
These services still cost money though. Think of emergency services as insurance. You pay for insurance, whether you use that insurance or not, correct? Well, think of government services the same way.
For the people themselves providing those services, those are paying jobs. Jobs, the same as in the private sector. They pay taxes, social security, retirement. Pay rent/mortgage, the same as people in the private sector. The only real difference is they work for the local, state or federal government.
Government services do not need to make a profit. They do not need a very highly paid CEO, bonuses, stocks and bond holders to keep in mind. Prime time advertizing, etc. All this has to be paid for by the customer. So how can private enterprise even compete with keeping the costs down.
The fact is they can't. Not only that, they won't because management keeps going after that ever more profit, so they can pay themselves even more.
Think of our health care insurance as the worst case example here.
Privatization = Profitization.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10021667137
It really is that simple.
Oh, really?
Are you sure about that? Because I graduated high school by the time the generation X came along and have never been any kind of Right wing anything.
From my stand point, based on history, PC Police types come across as being more the authoritarian bully type, who do their best work with backup or in groups against their target. That is a conservative lock step characteristic.
Notice the pile-one and threads in META.
Another conservative characteristic is to couple whatever it is they don't like to something worse and try to make them somehow equivalent. Like taking any word used to describe one women in an unflattering way, to make it simultaneously apply all woman anywhere and then to compare that word to something far worse, such as the hate and racism of slavery, as if they were somehow the same. That dilutes the impact of the very real hate and racism generated by slavery. Stop it. There is no real comparison.
That's like saying allowing Gay Marriage will legalize marrying your dog, or some such bullshit.
Instead of banning words as the problem, work on the real problems of unequal pay, unaffordable day care, the glass ceiling, attacks on reproductive rights, lack of affordable medical care, and a whole long list of inequalities that need to be corrected. Correct all these and the word use problems you have, will go away on its own.
The Word Police are a distraction and in fact makes the very real problems, as stated above, worse by generating discord with those they disagree with, instead of working together to right the obvious wrongs.
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Gender: MaleHometown: North Dakota
Home country: US of A
Current location: Kansas City MO
Member since: 2001
Number of posts: 25,592
