9 Comments

Yikes!

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1/ “Semantic shift” is a thing… words change meaning, better get used to it… or look for a new line of business.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semantic_change

2/ both sides (hamas & the israeli govt) are talking in terms of extreme annihilation which by extension people are referring to as “genocide” maybe not the legal definition but close enough.

3/ the word “Palestine” meaning a name for a country like say the USA has experienced semantic shift because in the way you used the word Palestine - it hasn’t existed since around 1948 when the UN annexed what was Palestine and formed Israel and the Palestinian Territories specifically The West Bank & The Gaza Strip both of which are occupied by Israel.

4/ Just because a group of people has grown in size doesn’t mean that they aren’t the target of extreme violence. Your commentary diminishes both sides and is an exceptionally thin hook to try to hang your argument on.

5/ What pisses me off is very badly drawn arguments couched (there’s a word that also experienced semantic shift) in humour about very serious issues.

Why does it piss me off so much you ask? Because as a journalist words are my actual profession, they matter and they pay very well.

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Fair enough Whitney. As you know I’m not a journalist but when you say “close enough” when it comes to the word genocide, I can’t get behind that. Maybe that’s just me but “close enough” doesn’t cut it. It’s a big word for big actions. And clearly I’m not trying to argue any points except one - don’t use the word if it doesn’t fit the crime. All love though!

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Welp - you’re right big words for big actions as mentioned they’re both talking in terms of annihilation. And as of 29 February, the Gaza Health Ministry reports that at least 30,000 Palestinians (including over 10,000 minors) have been killed, over 70,000 injured, and 10,000 are missing under rubble, totalling over 110,000 casualties since the war began, which is about 5% of Gaza's 2.3 million population.

That’s not insignificant and people there probably feel like they’re under a genocidal threat - which actually means - relating to or involving the deliberate killing of a large number of people from a particular nation or ethnic group with the aim of destroying that nation or group.

But hey potato / potato - agree to disagree!

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The numbers look awful if they can be believed ( https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/news/articles/how-gaza-health-ministry-fakes-casualty-numbers ) but you are ignoring the fact that Hamas - the real enemy - uses civilians as a part of their strategy. It’s been proven over and over. At the end of the day Israel’s military could easily complete the task you say they are trying to complete - genocide. If they wanted to wipe out Gaza and the West Bank tomorrow, they could. But they don’t. Which is why I don’t think the term genocide fits this particular instance. But yes, agree to disagree. And I appreciate the discussion with you. Nice to have someone to go back and forth with!

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Again agree to disagree!

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Thank you, Alex. What a brilliant social commentary on the current state of linguistics. I’m so glad my parents didn’t let me choose my gender when I was still shitting diapers and eating boogers. Loved this post.

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Hahaha couldn’t agree more! Appreciate the read!

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😂😂😂 well done

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