Will Saletan's response to Cori Bush calling Joe Manchin "anti-woman" for opposing the social spending bill: "You're not helping anybody when you abuse these words. You're just killing the power of the words." is crystalized several paragraphs down by Laurie Snell's testimony: "The estranged wife of Republican Senate candidate Sean Parnell testified under oath Monday that he choked her until she bit him to escape, that he hit their young children, and that he lashed out at her with obscenities and insults." Sean Parnell is currently the front runner for the GOP senate seat in PA. Anti-woman used to describe both Manchin and Parnell proves the word has lost meaning and gravity in the public sphere. And once the words are meaningless, the actions become excusable (see also: Parnell is currently the front runner)
Many people don't really understand language--about the value of using words in particular ways to mean particular things--and using words sparingly to preserve their power.
When used too much or incorrectly (meaning to represent something they do not represent) words lose their power. Profanity is an excellent example of this--the more you use it and encounter it, the less power it has... until it simply becomes a noise.
Will Saletan's response to Cori Bush calling Joe Manchin "anti-woman" for opposing the social spending bill: "You're not helping anybody when you abuse these words. You're just killing the power of the words." is crystalized several paragraphs down by Laurie Snell's testimony: "The estranged wife of Republican Senate candidate Sean Parnell testified under oath Monday that he choked her until she bit him to escape, that he hit their young children, and that he lashed out at her with obscenities and insults." Sean Parnell is currently the front runner for the GOP senate seat in PA. Anti-woman used to describe both Manchin and Parnell proves the word has lost meaning and gravity in the public sphere. And once the words are meaningless, the actions become excusable (see also: Parnell is currently the front runner)
Many people don't really understand language--about the value of using words in particular ways to mean particular things--and using words sparingly to preserve their power.
When used too much or incorrectly (meaning to represent something they do not represent) words lose their power. Profanity is an excellent example of this--the more you use it and encounter it, the less power it has... until it simply becomes a noise.