4 ms·
>Citizen sounds like a pretty awful word choice in a country with so many non-citizen immigrants though (and non-immigrants for that matter). It's sound like th
by checktheorder 7y ago
>Citizen sounds like a pretty awful word choice in a country with so many non-citizen immigrants though (and non-immigrants for that matter). It's sound like they're deliberately being excluded.
I was referring to its use in the context of an election, which is often limited to the citizenry (in any democracy).
Also, where I live, public figures who use the word "citizen" to refer to ordinary people often don't use it in the literal sense of the word when discussing public-interest matters. They're often using it to emphasize the responsibilities and rights that all people have in relation to the broader society. In other words, where I live it's not often used in an exclusionary xenophobic way, but instead in an inclusive common-purpose way that emphasizes our shared humanity. The xenophobes here tend to prefer "taxpayer".
- InitialLastName 7y ago> The xenophobes here tend to prefer "taxpayer" The irony, I guess, being that the xenophobes probably intend to raise a distinction better delineated by the word "citizen".
- checktheorder 7y agoI think it's because those with political influence who espouse xenophobic views also tend to dislike the poor. "Taxpayer" as an identity has connotations of "only the landed gentry should have a voice in society's management", whereas "citizen" connotes equal rights and a voice in society regardless of income.
- Taniwha 7y agoSome countries allow legal non-citizen residents to vote (NZ for example) - you know, that whole no taxation without representation thing. In the US some states or cities allow non-citizen legal residents to vote in some state and local elections (SF for examples allows non-citizen residents to vote for school boards)