Changing Definitions to Fit your Agenda

There’s something that has bothered me for a while. It isn’t a partisan issue. It’s a societal issue. It’s the idea that words should fit a narrative, instead of the narrative being built on language.

I’m not talking about people in a particular field using a particular word a particular way, that just happens to be used a different way outside of that situation. For instance, in science, a “theory”, is the closest thing you can get to fact. There is no such thing as a fact in science. Gravity is a theory. Evolution is a theory. So far, those are the closest explanations to those concepts we’ve found. So far, no evidence to the contrary has been found. In colloquial terms, a “theory” is more of a guess. I’m not talking about that.

I’m also not talking about how languages change over time. “Cool” used to mean a temperature. Now it can mean “good” or “fun” or a plethora of other things. Some slang terms become so widely used that they become the common usage, and then they are added to the dictionary. Ain’t is now in the dictionary, and I still haven’t forgiving Merriam Webster. I’m not talking about that.

I’m talking about a style of debate and argument and political discussion that resorts to pulling shit out of your ass to fit your agenda. Notice how I said “shit”? That doesn’t actually mean feces. That means nonsense. This is a well understood definition of that word. What if I just decided that “shit”, in this context, meant paint? People are pulling paint out of their asses. You would be confused. Who is doing that? Why? Do I have evidence that this is happening?

How dare you question me? This is what shit means, and if you don’t agree, then you are a fool. You don’t understand the concept. You must be against paint. There are lots of painters in this world, and you are attacking them. You’re a paintist.

Ridiculous, right? Sadly, this is being used all the time. A few years ago, a friend (who stopped being my friend, possibly because of this) posted a meme about how you can’t be racist against white people and you can’t be sexist against men. Bullshit. I called her out on it. Racism is treating someone differently based solely on their race. Sexism is treating someone differently based solely on their sex. That’s what those words mean.

She was using the term “racist” or “sexist” to mean “institutional racism” or “institutional sexism”. Both of these concepts are bad. I agree that both of these issues need to be addressed. I agree that as a white man, I have had an easier life that I probably would have had if I were black or a woman. I’m not disagreeing with any of this. But the institutional forms of these concepts is only a subset of the greater concepts. In this context, I’m using “greater” as a measurement of size.

Institutional *ism isn’t the only form of that *ism. It certainly belongs in the category of that *ism, but to limit all of that *ism to just the institutional version demeans the meaning. Everyone, and I mean everyone, has had a negative thought about another group. Women makes jokes about how dumb or horny men are. Black people makes jokes about how white people walk. Sure, I’m not worried about dying because women or black people will kill me. I’m also not saying that society has been built in such a way that women and black people can kill me without repercussions. Because I’m not talking about institutional racism or sexism. I’m talking about treating someone differently, based solely on race or sex.

What about the gate keepers? These are the people who have anointed themselves as the guardians of what counts as a specific concept. “Feminism” is the concept that women should be treated equally to men. It’s a wonderful idea, and I fully support it. Women should be paid the same amount of money for the same work. Women have had a harder time in society. Women are treated differently because they are women. Women have a harder time balancing work and home, because society (mostly run by men) have dictated what is permitted for women.

Did you know that as a man, I can’t be a feminist? Well, according to some women, anyway. The logic is that only women can fight for women’s equality. Since I haven’t experienced what women have experienced, I must be the problem. But then when I want to help stop these travesties of justice, I’m not allowed in the club. What kind of idiocy is that? If the patriarchy is holding women down, don’t you want someone who can help tear it down from the inside?

True, I will never be a woman. I will never know what it’s like to have to work twice as hard to get ahead. I won’t have my opinions denigrated because I have tits. Though, I’m fat, so I’m a solid A cup. I also want to change those very real issues. That means I’m a feminist. It is possible for us BOTH to be feminists. You don’t want to be treated like an inanimate object? I don’t want you to be treated like that either. So why are we fighting about this? You want to do it alone. You want to be able to say that women were able to change the system without a man’s help. Just admit it. Don’t pretend that only a woman can think that women should have the same rights as men.

Likewise, many women claim that conservative women can’t call themselves “feminists” because they are conservative. It’s possible to want a smaller government, and still want women to be a part of that small government. It’s possible to delusionally think that trickle down will work, and also think that some of those rich people should be women. If you think women are equal to men, and should be treated as such, you are a feminist.

What about the word “freedom”? Oh you conservatives thought that just because my last few articles have been critical of liberals that I’m on your team? Since when did kneeling during a football game take away your freedom? When did the terrorists decide they hated our freedom? These were ideas made up. They were paint pulled out of people’s asses. Kneeling during a football game is DEMONSTRATION of freedom, not a protest against it. Terrorists hate that we have interfered in their governments for 50 years. They also hate that we aren’t believers in their magical sky wizard. But don’t tell me it was about freedom. You know who did take away our freedoms after September 11th? Bush. The Patriot Act, the TSA policies, mass surveillance. Those took away a bit of your freedom.

Which leads me to my final example. Patriot. At some point, a “patriot” became synonymous with conservatives. Now, I’ve already written quite a bit about this. But a “patriot” is someone who loves their country. That’s what the word means. You don’t get to decide who can call themselves a patriot, simply because then it doesn’t fit your invented belief that you alone deserve the title.

Oh. And by the way, part of the definition of “patriot” includes respect for it’s authority. Yet most of you conservatives openly attacked President Obama, and are constantly talking about how you need guns in case you need to overthrow the government. So you don’t get to call yourselves patriots at all.