This subject is important enough to mention, as it's one of the many topics I encountered very, very rarely in the past, but noticed it spreading like a poison, along with the problems and destruction it can cause. While I've seen numerous references to Orwell's 1984, it resurfaced in a quote by another sci-fi writer- paraphrased: If you can manipulate the meanings of words, you can manipulate the people who use the words. I've also heard it referred to as a cult tactic- its purpose: to gain the upper-hand; to push buttons to obtain the most negative reaction; to gain compliance, to get another person to back down.
I heard very little of this in the distant past. One example was shortly after Roe v Wade. The propaganda: But what about rape and incest? I didn't think much about it at the time, but later wondered Why do they use the latter word when 'incest' that leads to pregnancy is rape? In the world of manipulative vocabulary, it is designed to cause a more emotionally-charged reaction: 'rape' is bad, but 'incest' is much worse.
IRL, I only had one encounter with manipulative vocabulary and its effects. I'd met a young woman around my age who made the mind-boggling statement When I meet a guy, I just go to bed with him- because I don't play games. In other words, she was not supposed to be in charge of her own behaviors and decisions, but felt she needed to comply with individuals who manipulated her with words. In recent years, that term seems to have faded away, replaced with 'drama.' Similar to my long-ago friend's experiences, it is used to gain compliance, it is used to attack anything the speaker does not like.
In many cases, it's as if individuals sit around leafing through a Thesaurus, searching for the most emotionally-charged words. One popular example is torture- you never 'bother' a person, you never 'annoy' a person, you 'torture' them. When one wants an emotionally-charged reaction it is not difficult to see why they choose that particular word over the other, more common words. Similar to other words used for this same purpose, such as abuse and control, the original, legitimate meanings fade away in favor of using words to obtain a negative reaction and compliance.
More recently, a word that has come into the scope of manipulative vocabulary is racist. Racism is a horrible, horrible thing, but that's not what speakers often aim for when they use the terms. As an example: around a year ago, I was surprised to read a celebrity's remark that 'The American Dream is racist!' As I've never paid much attention to celebrities, I checked to see who she was- a 24-year-old actress. As 'The American Dream' is based on the ideals of equality- equal dignity and equal opportunities- and 'Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness,' how exactly could anyone consider it to be 'racist'? Even more unusual, the young woman had had opportunities the kids I grew up with never had- she had a head start on her career by attending a Professional Children's School. The American Dream is based on ideals- a person may or may not attain it, but those ideals apply equally to everyone.
There are individuals who do not want equality, but want, instead, special considerations- something is wrong if one person does it, but not wrong if another person does it. Example: there were two individuals, one male, one female; while it should not be relevant, the two individuals did not know each other, they only happened to be in the same place at the same time. The young guy began putting his hands on the young woman, and she became frazzled and upset. When I told him to leave her alone and get lost, he whined to his friend that I was a 'racist.' Most people have the common sense to know it is not ok to manhandle someone- and the fact that they were two different races was irrelevant. More recently, I read a news story where individuals were claiming laws against, and penalties for, domestic violence and illegal drug use are 'racist.' While you certainly couldn't prove it by me, the rationalization they used was that African-Americans and Hispanics are more likely to commit these crimes, so instead of acknowledging a crime is a crime regardless of who commits it, they insisted that considering these acts to be crimes is 'racist.' In both instances and other similar instances, when anyone believes they deserve special considerations, and/or that laws and standards that apply to others should not apply to them, they themselves are speaking from the standpoint of racists.
Regardless of the words and terms, manipulative vocabulary has got to go. At the very least, people need to be aware of this issue, and not become caught up in it. Otherwise, like my long-ago friend, your decisions and behaviors will not be your own, but a knee-jerk reaction to those who use manipulative vocabulary to get their own way.
I heard very little of this in the distant past. One example was shortly after Roe v Wade. The propaganda: But what about rape and incest? I didn't think much about it at the time, but later wondered Why do they use the latter word when 'incest' that leads to pregnancy is rape? In the world of manipulative vocabulary, it is designed to cause a more emotionally-charged reaction: 'rape' is bad, but 'incest' is much worse.
IRL, I only had one encounter with manipulative vocabulary and its effects. I'd met a young woman around my age who made the mind-boggling statement When I meet a guy, I just go to bed with him- because I don't play games. In other words, she was not supposed to be in charge of her own behaviors and decisions, but felt she needed to comply with individuals who manipulated her with words. In recent years, that term seems to have faded away, replaced with 'drama.' Similar to my long-ago friend's experiences, it is used to gain compliance, it is used to attack anything the speaker does not like.
In many cases, it's as if individuals sit around leafing through a Thesaurus, searching for the most emotionally-charged words. One popular example is torture- you never 'bother' a person, you never 'annoy' a person, you 'torture' them. When one wants an emotionally-charged reaction it is not difficult to see why they choose that particular word over the other, more common words. Similar to other words used for this same purpose, such as abuse and control, the original, legitimate meanings fade away in favor of using words to obtain a negative reaction and compliance.
More recently, a word that has come into the scope of manipulative vocabulary is racist. Racism is a horrible, horrible thing, but that's not what speakers often aim for when they use the terms. As an example: around a year ago, I was surprised to read a celebrity's remark that 'The American Dream is racist!' As I've never paid much attention to celebrities, I checked to see who she was- a 24-year-old actress. As 'The American Dream' is based on the ideals of equality- equal dignity and equal opportunities- and 'Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness,' how exactly could anyone consider it to be 'racist'? Even more unusual, the young woman had had opportunities the kids I grew up with never had- she had a head start on her career by attending a Professional Children's School. The American Dream is based on ideals- a person may or may not attain it, but those ideals apply equally to everyone.
There are individuals who do not want equality, but want, instead, special considerations- something is wrong if one person does it, but not wrong if another person does it. Example: there were two individuals, one male, one female; while it should not be relevant, the two individuals did not know each other, they only happened to be in the same place at the same time. The young guy began putting his hands on the young woman, and she became frazzled and upset. When I told him to leave her alone and get lost, he whined to his friend that I was a 'racist.' Most people have the common sense to know it is not ok to manhandle someone- and the fact that they were two different races was irrelevant. More recently, I read a news story where individuals were claiming laws against, and penalties for, domestic violence and illegal drug use are 'racist.' While you certainly couldn't prove it by me, the rationalization they used was that African-Americans and Hispanics are more likely to commit these crimes, so instead of acknowledging a crime is a crime regardless of who commits it, they insisted that considering these acts to be crimes is 'racist.' In both instances and other similar instances, when anyone believes they deserve special considerations, and/or that laws and standards that apply to others should not apply to them, they themselves are speaking from the standpoint of racists.
Regardless of the words and terms, manipulative vocabulary has got to go. At the very least, people need to be aware of this issue, and not become caught up in it. Otherwise, like my long-ago friend, your decisions and behaviors will not be your own, but a knee-jerk reaction to those who use manipulative vocabulary to get their own way.