Thinking about language and "political correctness"

[Mizmoon]

Repubs seem to hate political correctness, that is until they desire to control language.

What I mean is - the reason people like us became "politically correct" is because we understand the power of language. When you call black people "niggers" or women "bitches", you are denegrating them. Blacks and women recognized the hurtful power of these words and at first objected to their use. Then, in an attempt to remove the sting of these words, they reclaimed them. By calling each other "nigger" or "bitch", they tried to take them away from detractors and make the words their own.

Repubs came in and slapped the term "political correctness" on these types of efforts, mocking the very idea that language control, making cruel terms taboo, would change the way society thinks of blacks and women.

BUT, they engage in the same thing when it suits their purposes. Look at their attempt to change the phrase "suicide bomber" to "homicide bomber". Why would this matter to them? BEcause they actually DO know what we know ... that the use of language shapes the way that we see people, they symapthy we have for them, etc.

This was on my mind so I decided to post it and see if anyone cared.

[proud patriot]

1. as Ari Fleischer said to "Politically Incorrect " host Bill Maher

some "better watch what they say" I knew what hypocrites
they were on this .

[Hello_Kitty]

2. They are big wordsmiths

'Partial Birth Abortion'
'The Death Tax'
'The War on ________'

They clearly understand how to use language to mislead and manipulate.

[Mizmoon]

3. Yes, they do

even their creation and application of the term "politically correct" was a master stroke in the game of language manipulation. Effectively, our attempts at language control have been nutralized (even some people on DU claim to hate PC), but their control of language runs rampant.