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Probably because self-ascribed 'rationalism' can potentially come across a bit self-aggrandizing. Like calling oneself part of the 'patriot' party (which implic

Probably because self-ascribed 'rationalism' can potentially come across a bit self-aggrandizing. Like calling oneself part of the 'patriot' party (which implicitly implies members of other political groups aren't patriotic). Not that I have a problem with SSC, I think it's a cool blog.

kortilla 6y ago
Do you have a problem with the “democrat” party implying that other parties aren’t democratic?
- traverseda 6y ago
  At this point it's pretty common for self-identifying lesswrong-style rationalists to use quote marks, or add a bunch of qualifiers. Weird nerdy people get a lot of hate, there are whole subreddits devoted to hating on "rationalists" for a variety of reasons. Adding quotes tends to calm those people down, and make them a bit less hateful. Really it's not derisive, it's self defense.
- dragonwriter 6y ago
  > Do you have a problem with the “democrat” party Its called the “Democratic Party”, and it is a proper noun, which distinguishes it visiually form the common use of “democratic”.
  - wmil 6y ago
    While some people get upset about it, "Democrat" is useful to differentiate the two verbally. Obviously capitalization isn't possible. Obama's team launched https://democrats.org/ https://democrats.org/ in 2009 or so. I really think people shouldn't get upset over "Democrat".
    - dragonwriter 6y ago
      “Democrat” is the singular noun form, “Democrats” is the plural noun form, “Democratic” is the adjective form, and “Democrat”-as-adjective is the “signal that the speaker is a hostile partisan" form. They are all useful distinctions.
    - ardy42 6y ago
      > While some people get upset about it, "Democrat" is useful to differentiate the two verbally. Obviously capitalization isn't possible. Not really. "Democrat Party" is literally just a shibboleth used by opposing partisans who are upset that "democratic" is an adjective with positive associations. Everything else is just a post-hoc rationalization.
    - Bud 6y ago
      You think that because a) you don't know the origin of the intentionally incorrect usage of "Democrat" as an adjective, and b) you're confused about the difference between an adjective and a noun. The usage in that domain name is as a noun. "Joe is a Democrat" is fine. That's a noun. "Democrat politicians" is not fine. That's an adjective.
      - saalweachter 6y ago
        I would note the pattern is not unique to "Democrat/Democratic"; it is used to turn other descriptors into slurs. Cf. "Jewish" vs. "Jew" as adjectives.
- lmm 6y ago
  Yes, and I'd certainly try to distinguish whether I meant the specific party or the general concept (either by putting it in quotes or using a capital letter).

kortilla 6y ago

Do you have a problem with the “democrat” party implying that other parties aren’t democratic?

traverseda 6y ago
At this point it's pretty common for self-identifying lesswrong-style rationalists to use quote marks, or add a bunch of qualifiers. Weird nerdy people get a lot of hate, there are whole subreddits devoted to hating on "rationalists" for a variety of reasons. Adding quotes tends to calm those people down, and make them a bit less hateful. Really it's not derisive, it's self defense.
dragonwriter 6y ago
> Do you have a problem with the “democrat” party Its called the “Democratic Party”, and it is a proper noun, which distinguishes it visiually form the common use of “democratic”.
- wmil 6y ago
  While some people get upset about it, "Democrat" is useful to differentiate the two verbally. Obviously capitalization isn't possible. Obama's team launched https://democrats.org/ https://democrats.org/ in 2009 or so. I really think people shouldn't get upset over "Democrat".
  - dragonwriter 6y ago
    “Democrat” is the singular noun form, “Democrats” is the plural noun form, “Democratic” is the adjective form, and “Democrat”-as-adjective is the “signal that the speaker is a hostile partisan" form. They are all useful distinctions.
  - ardy42 6y ago
    > While some people get upset about it, "Democrat" is useful to differentiate the two verbally. Obviously capitalization isn't possible. Not really. "Democrat Party" is literally just a shibboleth used by opposing partisans who are upset that "democratic" is an adjective with positive associations. Everything else is just a post-hoc rationalization.
  - Bud 6y ago
    You think that because a) you don't know the origin of the intentionally incorrect usage of "Democrat" as an adjective, and b) you're confused about the difference between an adjective and a noun. The usage in that domain name is as a noun. "Joe is a Democrat" is fine. That's a noun. "Democrat politicians" is not fine. That's an adjective.
    - saalweachter 6y ago
      I would note the pattern is not unique to "Democrat/Democratic"; it is used to turn other descriptors into slurs. Cf. "Jewish" vs. "Jew" as adjectives.
lmm 6y ago
Yes, and I'd certainly try to distinguish whether I meant the specific party or the general concept (either by putting it in quotes or using a capital letter).