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Is there a name for this type of thing where you label yourself as something that everybody already understands, but then try to bait and switch the definition

by blhack 6y ago

Is there a name for this type of thing where you label yourself as something that everybody already understands, but then try to bait and switch the definition on them? Anarchists: we don’t believe in anarchy! We believe in the human spirit and peace and harmony! Satanist: we don’t believe in evil, we believe in love and treating each other with respect and kindness! I see this pop up all the time in politics and it’s always kindof funny to me. (I won’t go into specifics of places this is happening in politics right now for obvious reasons)

TeaB 6y ago
Anarchy = non-hierachy. Anarchists definitely do believe this
wavefunction 6y ago
>everybody already understands Seems like a problematic assumption to make.
- blhack 6y ago
  Do you mean for non-native speakers? It seems like this bizarre “anarchy doesn’t really mean anarchy it actually means the opposite!” Sort of stuff would just further confuse somebody. Funnily enough: this is why I think AI is so hard. How could you train an AI to be able to decode everything necessary to know if somebody means “anarchy lack of order” or “anarch: lots of order”. It take SO much context to get that right. Like you have to make lots of assumptions about what the other person is thinking, what their background and political affiliation is. Very complex problem.
thomastjeffery 6y ago
Well, satanism has always been about the irony, so I wouldn't call it a bait and switch. It's meant to be an obvious satire, showing off the obvious flaws present in judeo-christianity. People often take satanism literally so they don't have to confront their own problematic belief system. I imagine many anarchist movements follow a similar pattern.
- blhack 6y ago
  Yes that’s exactly what I mean! Just curious if there is a name for this sort of thing. Irony, I guess? “We say satanism, but really what we mean is the opposite of satanism ;-)”

by blhack 6y ago

TeaB 6y ago

Anarchy = non-hierachy. Anarchists definitely do believe this

wavefunction 6y ago

>everybody already understands Seems like a problematic assumption to make.

blhack 6y ago
Do you mean for non-native speakers? It seems like this bizarre “anarchy doesn’t really mean anarchy it actually means the opposite!” Sort of stuff would just further confuse somebody. Funnily enough: this is why I think AI is so hard. How could you train an AI to be able to decode everything necessary to know if somebody means “anarchy lack of order” or “anarch: lots of order”. It take SO much context to get that right. Like you have to make lots of assumptions about what the other person is thinking, what their background and political affiliation is. Very complex problem.

thomastjeffery 6y ago

Well, satanism has always been about the irony, so I wouldn't call it a bait and switch. It's meant to be an obvious satire, showing off the obvious flaws present in judeo-christianity. People often take satanism literally so they don't have to confront their own problematic belief system. I imagine many anarchist movements follow a similar pattern.

blhack 6y ago
Yes that’s exactly what I mean! Just curious if there is a name for this sort of thing. Irony, I guess? “We say satanism, but really what we mean is the opposite of satanism ;-)”