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Words can mean whatever the speaker and the listener agree upon. I'm not arguing with the dictionary definition. I'm arguing that here in the US, which is a v
by crusso 9y ago
Words can mean whatever the speaker and the listener agree upon. I'm not arguing with the dictionary definition.
I'm arguing that here in the US, which is a very relevant context for a HN discussion on US/CA prisons, the term slavery has special meaning and we shouldn't water it down by using it to describe every perceived slight.
- hajile 9y agoSection 1. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction. Section 2. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation. The 13th amendment specifically calls it slavery and specifically allows that kind of slavery. The abolitionists who pushed through the 13th knew the meaning of slavery when it was more than a distant memory and still decided that it was the correct term.
- kristopolous 9y agoThis is a narrow, proper, and specific application of the term. Must they have to work on a cotton plantation for you to make it count? Oh wait, we call these prison farms and there are dozens of them...