The other day a neighbor and I were discussing the various trees that grow in the forest behind our houses. We pointed out several alders, a large cedar and a variety of firs. At no time in the conversation did either of us become animated and accuse the other of using puerile invectives or disrespecting one type of tree over another. We both realized that some labels serve a purpose; in this case, to distinguish one type of tree from another.
In my previous post, The Two Greatest Commandments, one commenter accused me of using the "invective" right-winger. While I fully admit I used the word "right" as in the Religious Right or the Christian Right, I didn't use the specific term I was accused of! Further, few people would view the word "right" as an invective or slander at all. Like utilizing labels to differentiate between two types of trees, left and right are used to differentiate between different sides of the political spectrum.
This leads me to believe one of two things. First, it could be that the commenter does know the definition of the word invective, though I provided a link to just that. According to The Free Dictionary, invective means - 1. Denunciatory or abusive language; vituperation. 2. Denunciatory or abusive expression or discourse. Since many conservatives and fundamentalists involved in the political process define their movement as being on the right, my use of it is not abusive.
The second possibility is that the commenter merely was attempting to sidetrack the issue by redefining the terminology employed. This is something the Right is famous for.
Besides, trying to identify where a person or group resides on the political spectrum is child's play compared to characterizing a democratically-elected leader as Adolf Hitler, the Anti-Christ or a minion of Satan. Those latter three meet the definition of invective straight on!
As anyone who has read my blog for a good period of time knows, I loathed the Bush presidency. I criticized it up one side and down the other. For all my dislike of Bush, Cheney and their cabal, I never once suggested that Bush was the Anti-Christ or a minion of Satan...though it would have been easy to do so.
In my previous post, The Two Greatest Commandments, one commenter accused me of using the "invective" right-winger. While I fully admit I used the word "right" as in the Religious Right or the Christian Right, I didn't use the specific term I was accused of! Further, few people would view the word "right" as an invective or slander at all. Like utilizing labels to differentiate between two types of trees, left and right are used to differentiate between different sides of the political spectrum.
This leads me to believe one of two things. First, it could be that the commenter does know the definition of the word invective, though I provided a link to just that. According to The Free Dictionary, invective means - 1. Denunciatory or abusive language; vituperation. 2. Denunciatory or abusive expression or discourse. Since many conservatives and fundamentalists involved in the political process define their movement as being on the right, my use of it is not abusive.
The second possibility is that the commenter merely was attempting to sidetrack the issue by redefining the terminology employed. This is something the Right is famous for.
Besides, trying to identify where a person or group resides on the political spectrum is child's play compared to characterizing a democratically-elected leader as Adolf Hitler, the Anti-Christ or a minion of Satan. Those latter three meet the definition of invective straight on!
As anyone who has read my blog for a good period of time knows, I loathed the Bush presidency. I criticized it up one side and down the other. For all my dislike of Bush, Cheney and their cabal, I never once suggested that Bush was the Anti-Christ or a minion of Satan...though it would have been easy to do so.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Comments are unmoderated, so you can write whatever you want.