A list of words not to use
Sometimes, to make a point we like to compare things. While at times this can be a great tactic, other times it can come off just offensive.This usually happens when using a historical tragedy as a comparison. Im not saying you can never use a historical tragedy as a comparison,but if you do please make sure the situations are actually comparable. To help with this,i have decided to make a list of events/people you should think twice before using as fodder,along with evidence of them being used incorrectlySlavery
Examples of bad comparisons- Food Stamps,Obamacare,Jennifer Lawrences shooting schedule(Tho to be fair,Russel has since apologized for this)
Why its bad-Unless if the thing you are referring to is the systematic denial of all human rights and personal agency for a entire group of people, it is not ok to use this as a comparison. Just because you feel a program is unfair,does not make it slavery.
Hitler
Examples of bad comparisons- Both Bush and Obama have been compared to him. From what i've seen,this comparison is usually used politically
Why its bad-Unless if the person you are referring to is systematically trying to exterminate a entire group of people the comparison is not appropriate. Now i am no fan of Bush, but i do not believe he is comparable to Hitler. Comparisons to Nazies are bad for basically the same reason. 99% of the time there are better ways to voice your disagreement with someones leadership/actions
Holocaust
Examples of bad comparisons- Again,Obamacare
Why its bad-If you're not referring to a systematic annihilation of a entire group of people, don't bring it up.Just like with slavery,just because you disagree with a program doesn't mean it has any relation to the Holocaust.
Rape
Examples of bad comparisons- Filibuster reform
Why its bad-Most often this is used to express discomfort caused by someone or something. However,unless if said discomfort comes from unconsensual sex, you don't get to compare it to rape.
I realize these explanations probably got a bit repetitive, but that's because they all basically boil down to the same thing. Which is appropriating a horrible,tragic event just because you don't like something and can't think of a better way to get your point across.
Sweet, so it's still okay to compare my job to a Japanese internment camp!
ReplyDelete"In a videotaped interview with the North Carolina Tea Party in October, Brannon, a Rand Paul-endorsed doctor..." Nope. You lost me at "Rand Paul-endorsed doctor.
"Brannon suggested that bipartisan compromises also 'enslave' Americans." ....to what, exactly?
lol, I like how MoveOn.org asked followers to submit 30-second ads critical of Bush. What the hell did they think was going to happen? Hitler. That's what. Hitler invariably happens in these situations.
I think you should also add "Nazi Communist Fascist Socialist Satanist" to the list of no-no comparative terms.
Obviously the two are totally the same thing yo.
DeleteAnd i thought about using putting "socialist" on the list,but i was afraid it might turn this into a political discussion...which i didn't feel like getting into