RE: It is never Ok, OP/ED
February 12, 2015 at 9:10 pm
(This post was last modified: February 12, 2015 at 9:15 pm by Strider.)
I don't know, Brian. I want to disagree with you in a way, but I think you're right because certain words take on a different meaning after people hijack them and twist them into something else. For instance, now it's racist to say "thug" even though I've used it in the past to describe criminals or bad people, regardless of their race. Now, you can't use it for fear of being labeled a hateful racist. When I still had a Facebook account last year, a discussion came up in a liberal group I belonged to about a white guy who had robbed an old man. I called him a thug. The members of that group came unhinged. It's ridiculous.
Anyway, even Dawkins has advocated before for "militant atheism" at a TED Talk, and I know he wasn't using the term to promote violence or anything. I understand where you're coming from with your line of reasoning regarding its usage. I tend to agree because I don't like the word either, nor its connotation, especially in the way that we tend to see it used nowadays.
tl;dr
I don't like the word either.
Anyway, even Dawkins has advocated before for "militant atheism" at a TED Talk, and I know he wasn't using the term to promote violence or anything. I understand where you're coming from with your line of reasoning regarding its usage. I tend to agree because I don't like the word either, nor its connotation, especially in the way that we tend to see it used nowadays.
tl;dr
I don't like the word either.
"We are all born ignorant, but one must work hard to remain stupid." ~ Benjamin Franklin
