5 ms·

The "Patriot Act" is so maliciously named its more funny than sad. Reminds me of George Carlin's show about changing words to make them softer.[1] An good exa

The "Patriot Act" is so maliciously named its more funny than sad. Reminds me of George Carlin's show about changing words to make them softer.[1] An good example he used to show this is the condition the fighters get from shock in combat. In WW1, it was called Shell Shock, a terrifying name. The same condition in WW1 was called Battle Fatigue, a nicer name. In the Korean War, the name changed to Operational Exhaustion, removing any humanity from it. After the Vietnam War, the name because Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. When you compare the terms "Shell Shock" and "PTSD", it's obvious what the intent is. [1]: https://youtu.be/vuEQixrBKCc https://youtu.be/vuEQixrBKCc

tingol 6y ago
Well "fatigue", "exhaustion" and "shock" imply you could just get over those, as medicine advanced we got a better picture of what it is, hence the more precise term now. As for the "Patriot Act", it's funny how ironic of a name it is.
- Nasrudith 6y ago
  There was a predecessor name to Shellshock of "Soldier's Heart" back in the American Civil war. In such a brother against brother civil war it wouldn't have been judged shameful but with later militarism could have implied "weakness" against the propaganda dehumanized foreign menance. Assuring memory held to WWI and it wasn't an independent rediscovery/reinvention "shell shock" dodged the character image driven denial of having it or its existance by implying more physical damage as even valiant brave men are not immune to bullets and explosions. Men were facing charges of cowardice after fleeing vast trauma and it eased accepting "the man who fled after a many months long bloody stalemate isn't a craven but bearing invisible injuries sustained for his country so executing him would be a terrible wrong". Thus ironically shell shock could be called an ego saving euphemism itself. And well authoritarians have no sense of irony - what they think is "ironic" is presenting their true self when it unacceptable and passing it off as a joke. Thus they destroy freedom to protect freedom the same as they destroy the village to save it.
  - dumpsterdiver 6y ago
    > And well authoritarians have no sense of irony - what they think is "ironic" is presenting their true self when it unacceptable and passing it off as a joke. (squints) I think you've actually uncovered a true case of irony here. How would you know that the dictator considers their propoganda ironic? The fact that people read it and still laugh it off is the true irony.
scoutt 6y ago
It comes to my mind the names of the ministries in 1984 (Ministry of Plenty, Ministry of Love).
- bigbubba 6y ago
  The Department of War became the Department of Defense.
- funcDropShadow 6y ago
  Don't forget the Ministry of Truth.
Romanulus 6y ago
... Battle Fatigue!
mtgx 6y ago
As is "Homeland Security" Also, it seems Biden bragged about writing the bill for the Patriot Act.
jogjayr 6y ago
The intent isn't to make it softer though. "PTSD" is more accurate than "shell shock". In WWI they thought that the accumulated shockwave exposure from constant shelling caused mental issues in soldiers. Today we know that all sorts of stressful situations can cause PTSD; it doesn't require being in the trenches taking howitzer fire day and night.
- antris 6y ago
  The point Carlin was trying to make is that the human experience is removed from a term such as "post-traumatic stress disorder". Yes, it might be more medically accurate, but fighting for the rights of people who experienced "shell shock" might have been more impactful. When your experienced is buried underneath medical terms, you bury the humanity of it.
  - bumby 6y ago
    A plausible counterpoint is that renaming can also remove a lot of the social stigma, leading to more people getting treatment. As an example, I believe many prefer using the term "post-traumatic stress/PTS" now because it removes the "disorder" stigma. I.e., it better communicates that it's a natural reaction to such stress and nothing to be ashamed of [1]https://www.therecoveryvillage.com/mental-health/ptsd/related/pts-vs-ptsd/ https://www.therecoveryvillage.com/mental-health/ptsd/relate...
    - bigbubba 6y ago
      You might be right that this motivates the 'euphemism treadmill', but if so I think that's misguided. It's my personal belief that the stigma follows the condition itself (particularly when untreated), not the name given to the condition. When I was a kid my friends and I all knew that you had to step light around some people's fathers because they were Vietnam vets with hair triggers that would go ballistic for seemingly little reason. In retrospect these men obviously had PTSD, though as kids we knew it as 'He's an asshole because Nam fucked him up.'
      - 6y ago
anjel 6y ago
Government obfuscation by nomenclature is a useful and reliable tell.
- seg_lol 6y ago
  Could one use NLP/ML to score a metric on the distance between the phrase and the concept? I think it needs some historical context as well. Like when "School of the Americas" got renamed to, "Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation" which are both names for sniping civilians and throwing people out of helicopters. I could see _eating a copper banana_ as a euphemism for assassinating a south american labor leader. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_Hemisphere_Institute_for_Security_Cooperation https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_Hemisphere_Institute_f...
  - funcDropShadow 6y ago
    Perhaps we should first try to teach the difference to more people, before we try to teach it to an AI.
mekboy 6y ago
prism was rebranded as semantic web
tobr 6y ago
> The "Patriot Act" is so maliciously named its more funny than sad. > Reminds me of George Carlin's show about changing words to make them softer.[1] “Patriot” isn’t exactly a soft word, though? I never understood why this brand of nationalism is so completely embraced and unquestioned in every fraction of the American political spectrum. It’s not like nationalism is unproblematic.

tingol 6y ago

Well "fatigue", "exhaustion" and "shock" imply you could just get over those, as medicine advanced we got a better picture of what it is, hence the more precise term now. As for the "Patriot Act", it's funny how ironic of a name it is.

Nasrudith 6y ago
There was a predecessor name to Shellshock of "Soldier's Heart" back in the American Civil war. In such a brother against brother civil war it wouldn't have been judged shameful but with later militarism could have implied "weakness" against the propaganda dehumanized foreign menance. Assuring memory held to WWI and it wasn't an independent rediscovery/reinvention "shell shock" dodged the character image driven denial of having it or its existance by implying more physical damage as even valiant brave men are not immune to bullets and explosions. Men were facing charges of cowardice after fleeing vast trauma and it eased accepting "the man who fled after a many months long bloody stalemate isn't a craven but bearing invisible injuries sustained for his country so executing him would be a terrible wrong". Thus ironically shell shock could be called an ego saving euphemism itself. And well authoritarians have no sense of irony - what they think is "ironic" is presenting their true self when it unacceptable and passing it off as a joke. Thus they destroy freedom to protect freedom the same as they destroy the village to save it.
- dumpsterdiver 6y ago
  > And well authoritarians have no sense of irony - what they think is "ironic" is presenting their true self when it unacceptable and passing it off as a joke. (squints) I think you've actually uncovered a true case of irony here. How would you know that the dictator considers their propoganda ironic? The fact that people read it and still laugh it off is the true irony.

scoutt 6y ago

It comes to my mind the names of the ministries in 1984 (Ministry of Plenty, Ministry of Love).

bigbubba 6y ago
The Department of War became the Department of Defense.
funcDropShadow 6y ago
Don't forget the Ministry of Truth.

Romanulus 6y ago

... Battle Fatigue!

mtgx 6y ago

As is "Homeland Security" Also, it seems Biden bragged about writing the bill for the Patriot Act.

jogjayr 6y ago

The intent isn't to make it softer though. "PTSD" is more accurate than "shell shock". In WWI they thought that the accumulated shockwave exposure from constant shelling caused mental issues in soldiers. Today we know that all sorts of stressful situations can cause PTSD; it doesn't require being in the trenches taking howitzer fire day and night.

antris 6y ago
The point Carlin was trying to make is that the human experience is removed from a term such as "post-traumatic stress disorder". Yes, it might be more medically accurate, but fighting for the rights of people who experienced "shell shock" might have been more impactful. When your experienced is buried underneath medical terms, you bury the humanity of it.
- bumby 6y ago
  A plausible counterpoint is that renaming can also remove a lot of the social stigma, leading to more people getting treatment. As an example, I believe many prefer using the term "post-traumatic stress/PTS" now because it removes the "disorder" stigma. I.e., it better communicates that it's a natural reaction to such stress and nothing to be ashamed of [1]https://www.therecoveryvillage.com/mental-health/ptsd/related/pts-vs-ptsd/ https://www.therecoveryvillage.com/mental-health/ptsd/relate...
  - bigbubba 6y ago
    You might be right that this motivates the 'euphemism treadmill', but if so I think that's misguided. It's my personal belief that the stigma follows the condition itself (particularly when untreated), not the name given to the condition. When I was a kid my friends and I all knew that you had to step light around some people's fathers because they were Vietnam vets with hair triggers that would go ballistic for seemingly little reason. In retrospect these men obviously had PTSD, though as kids we knew it as 'He's an asshole because Nam fucked him up.'
    - 6y ago

anjel 6y ago

Government obfuscation by nomenclature is a useful and reliable tell.

seg_lol 6y ago
Could one use NLP/ML to score a metric on the distance between the phrase and the concept? I think it needs some historical context as well. Like when "School of the Americas" got renamed to, "Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation" which are both names for sniping civilians and throwing people out of helicopters. I could see _eating a copper banana_ as a euphemism for assassinating a south american labor leader. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_Hemisphere_Institute_for_Security_Cooperation https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_Hemisphere_Institute_f...
- funcDropShadow 6y ago
  Perhaps we should first try to teach the difference to more people, before we try to teach it to an AI.

mekboy 6y ago

prism was rebranded as semantic web

tobr 6y ago

> The "Patriot Act" is so maliciously named its more funny than sad. > Reminds me of George Carlin's show about changing words to make them softer.[1] “Patriot” isn’t exactly a soft word, though? I never understood why this brand of nationalism is so completely embraced and unquestioned in every fraction of the American political spectrum. It’s not like nationalism is unproblematic.