Tribal semantics ... by Bob Nelson
I had an interesting exchange with Sean Treacy the other day. (Yes, Sean... I actually do think about what I read and write, even when the other party is you...)
I realized that Sean was arguing from semantics, although I doubt he was doing it consciously. Here's how "arguing from semantics" works:
1) Re-define a word to mean something that is not standard English. For example, define "drunk" as "having a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of .001 or above". (That is far, far more strict than the law, which is .08.)
2) Demonstrate that Mr X occasionally has a BAC of more than .001.
3) Declare that Mr X is often drunk.
This declaration will outrage anyone who knows Mr X, and who knows perfectly well that he never, ever drinks enough to reach the usual BAC of .08.
But! If there are other folks who accept my re-definition of the word "drunk", then they will easily agree that Mr X is often drunk.
"Barack Obama is a socialist!"
For most people, that statement is ridiculous. But let's imagine for a moment that there is a segment of the population that understands "socialist" to mean "someone who proposes universal health-care". And let's imagine that there is another segment that understands socialist to mean "someone who wants to extend unemployment benefits". And yet another segment with "someone who preaches 'equality'"...
By these non-standard definitions, Mr Obama is indeed a socialist!
Eureka!!!
This is how the wingnuts operate: they redefine words to mean whatever is useful to them, and then apply those redefined words rather than standard English.
This method is coherent with their relationship with reality. They make up stuff to "prove" whatever they please. So it is perfectly logical for them to redefine words to fit whatever conclusion they wish to reach.
The members of the various segments of the population whose peculiar definitions of "socialist" are applicable to Mr Obama recognize each other. The phrase "Obama is a socialist" becomes a sort of password; it proves that the speaker is a member of the tribe of those who hate Mr Obama enough to bastardize their own language.
Frank Luntz is Dr Frankenstein. The monster he created has escaped his control.
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Red Rules apply:
- Be polite.
- Stay on-topic. The topics is "debate by semantics".
As a general rule, it's a good idea to agree on vocabulary before getting into a deep conversation. If I understand correctly what is happening with our wingnut friends, that agreement is even more essential.
I agree he is a socialist.
Off-topic.