3 ms·
I think that the dilution of "terrorism" will not be very significant in the long term. I think of "terrorism" as describing certain actions that are almost "un
by hn_acker 9mo ago
I think that the dilution of "terrorism" will not be very significant in the long term. I think of "terrorism" as describing certain actions that are almost "universally" bad, as with the more-easily-defined "murder". To whatever extent "terrorism" becomes diluted, people will want a less-diluted word (such as a new word) to describe most of the same actions or will continue using "terrorism" as they currently do toward a restricted target audience. If I strongly trust a certain speaker on issues that have been brought widespread attention by or have been highlighted by protests, violence, or terrorism, that particular speaker's usage of the word "terrorism" might not become very diluted if at all for me.