• Crabhands@lemmy.ml
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    1 year ago

    The definition of asshole is a variable that can be abused based on who is in power.

    • pinkdrunkenelephants@sopuli.xyzOP
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      1 year ago

      As I pointed out to another guy in the thread, we can arbitrarily dispute the meaning of any word, but at the end of the day, those meanings don’t change. We all know what an asshole is, and the context in which he is saying. Humans are hardwired to know that. If we weren’t, no society would be possible.

      Like I get that you want to prevent abuse but preventing people from using terms based on context isn’t going to stop it. Evil people will abuse anything to have power over others. We can’t let that stop us from using our own language.

      👇Exhibit A right down there. Do you see what I mean? People will dispute absolutely anything to get what they want, and sometimes, they’ll even treat the act of dispute as self-reinforcing. That’s why we don’t listen to them and go on about our business as usual. We have new nations to build; we can’t let ourselves be hampered by meaningless disputes the other side will never allow to be resolved. So don’t worry about it.