3 ms·

Adopting a disparaging name for a group of people that you don't like is a means of dehumanizing them.

• lliamander 6y ago
  True, I just find it odd that this is seen as (or was ever intended to be) disparaging, rather than a mere grammatical variation.
  • dragonwriter 6y ago
    Heck, before it was adopted as the name of the party, Democratic was also a disparaging epithet conjured by the faction’s opponents (though not one involving torturing grammar, because that's not how Federalists rolled.)
    • lliamander 6y ago
      To be fair, Democracy had (up until that point) a rather tumultuous history. And even in the modern day, it is often the case that self-styled "Democratic" institutions are measurably worse than their counterparts. For example, compare the "People's Democratic Republic of Korea" to South Korea, or the "Democratic Republic of Congo" to the mere "Republic of Congo".