Philosophical Discussions
Howdy all
I've been contemplating a bunch of political things for a while now, and I'd like to discuss them. I think this is a good forum for that sort of thing because I have a lot of friends with a large variety of opinions, hence I'm going to start putting up a question for discussion every now and then.
Since I'm going to touch upon some topics that will likely prompt heated discussion, here are some ground rules. First, I'm going to hide the question behind a cut. If you're not interested in politics, don't look. Second, I will chastise anyone who uses ad hominem attacks. Attack someone else's argument all you want, but don't attack them as individuals.
OK, time for the first topic.
Why is it acceptable for people to place a derogatory label on some groups while it is not for others? For example, there was a goodly amount of outcry on the news when Bristol Palin used the term "faggot" on her Facebook account and yet I do not see any outcry on MSNBC or CNN or NBC about the term "teabagger." In fact, I have heard and seen commentators on those channels use the term itself.
I have heard the excuse that many people who use the term "teabagger" do not know the crude sexual reference of the term. That excuse does not work for me, because the term is clearly used in a derogatory sense. That the term is more hateful than was originally intended does not, to me, excuse the fact that using "teabagger" was intended to be derogatory in the first place.
I have heard the excuse that people in the Tea Party have used the term to apply to themselves. Again, I do not think that this argument is acceptable because it is one thing to be self-deprecating or self-derogatory, and it is another thing to negatively label someone else. For example, it would be horribly inappropriate if I was to walk up to a black person and use the n-word, even if I heard them refer to other black people with that term or if they're listening to a song that uses the term.
I find this a particularly interesting question because I keep hearing how Republicans, Tea Partiers, and others on the right are people who spread hate. For example, a recent fund-raising email from the Executive Director of the NGLTF said: "But groups like the Tea Party... [are] raising millions to finance their campaigns of discrimination and hate."
Yet the language used by many Democrats, liberals, and those on the left seems just as vindictive, if not more so. The term "teabagger" is a term of discrimination and hate and accusing the Tea Party of having "hate" without specific references are two examples of such language.
Hence, back to my original question. Why is it acceptable for some terms to be used and not others?
I've been contemplating a bunch of political things for a while now, and I'd like to discuss them. I think this is a good forum for that sort of thing because I have a lot of friends with a large variety of opinions, hence I'm going to start putting up a question for discussion every now and then.
Since I'm going to touch upon some topics that will likely prompt heated discussion, here are some ground rules. First, I'm going to hide the question behind a cut. If you're not interested in politics, don't look. Second, I will chastise anyone who uses ad hominem attacks. Attack someone else's argument all you want, but don't attack them as individuals.
OK, time for the first topic.
Why is it acceptable for people to place a derogatory label on some groups while it is not for others? For example, there was a goodly amount of outcry on the news when Bristol Palin used the term "faggot" on her Facebook account and yet I do not see any outcry on MSNBC or CNN or NBC about the term "teabagger." In fact, I have heard and seen commentators on those channels use the term itself.
I have heard the excuse that many people who use the term "teabagger" do not know the crude sexual reference of the term. That excuse does not work for me, because the term is clearly used in a derogatory sense. That the term is more hateful than was originally intended does not, to me, excuse the fact that using "teabagger" was intended to be derogatory in the first place.
I have heard the excuse that people in the Tea Party have used the term to apply to themselves. Again, I do not think that this argument is acceptable because it is one thing to be self-deprecating or self-derogatory, and it is another thing to negatively label someone else. For example, it would be horribly inappropriate if I was to walk up to a black person and use the n-word, even if I heard them refer to other black people with that term or if they're listening to a song that uses the term.
I find this a particularly interesting question because I keep hearing how Republicans, Tea Partiers, and others on the right are people who spread hate. For example, a recent fund-raising email from the Executive Director of the NGLTF said: "But groups like the Tea Party... [are] raising millions to finance their campaigns of discrimination and hate."
Yet the language used by many Democrats, liberals, and those on the left seems just as vindictive, if not more so. The term "teabagger" is a term of discrimination and hate and accusing the Tea Party of having "hate" without specific references are two examples of such language.
Hence, back to my original question. Why is it acceptable for some terms to be used and not others?