09-20-2005, 02:00 PM
Pete,Sep 19 2005, 10:49 PM Wrote:Hi,
See my reply below to Nystul.
If you wish to use 'liberal' to mean 'my basset puppy when I have to spank it for making a mess on the floor', then you, along with Humpty Dumpty, are indeed entitled to let a word mean exactly what you wish it to mean, nothing more nothing less. That I would prefer to use a more 'established' definition of the word and not dilute its meaning with a crapload of neologisms reflects more on my desire to communicate than to argue.
--Pete
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Even if everyone used the same definition for "liberal", very few will follow that definition to the letter, because other things get in the way. What words get used to describe combinations? There don't seem to be many, and its hard to say "70% liberal, 30% other", as that doesn't say what parts of liberal the person is. You can try and use a more "established" definition, but that ignores how words change over time and get used in different ways. If it makes sense, and it has so far, that's fine.
Doing the same thing in politics is pointless also in a way. Taking a definition of, say, "liberals" as "supporting a pearticular group of laws , tax policies, etc.", the only people who are "true liberals", are ones who follow that to the letter. Some of the laws are probably bad ideas overall, but anyone who doesn't support them gets put down as not being a "true liberal", and if they aren't a "true (something)", it sounds as if there is something wrong with them. That's probably why these words aren't used with such small definitions.
Of course, these are just definitions, this sub thread isn't actually arguing over what they effect.
I may be dead, but I'm not old (source: see lavcat)
The gloves come off, I'm playing hardball. It's fourth and 15 and you're looking at a full-court press. (Frank Drebin in The Naked Gun)
Some people in forums do the next best thing to listening to themselves talk, writing and reading what they write (source, my brother)
The gloves come off, I'm playing hardball. It's fourth and 15 and you're looking at a full-court press. (Frank Drebin in The Naked Gun)
Some people in forums do the next best thing to listening to themselves talk, writing and reading what they write (source, my brother)