Shown: posts 1 to 4 of 4. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by citiboy on February 1, 2000, at 0:18:57
> The thing to do is to throw out the concept of
> "cleaning" and replace it with the concept
> of "dirt reduction".
// additional material snipped//
> -Kev
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^Good grief!
This sort of statement reminds me of the euphemisms
the U.S. military spewed out to reporters during
the Vietnam war (remember that?).During one particular press conference, this one
Air Force big-wig got testy with the press and
said the following (paraphrased):"You reporters always say we're BOMBING, BOMBING,
BOMBING! Well, it's not BOMBING! It's air
support!"I let the gentle readers of this group be the
judge of the analogy.
Posted by Noa on February 1, 2000, at 8:04:23
In reply to Re: DP's Lair--The Tedious Play By Play, posted by citiboy on February 1, 2000, at 0:18:57
Sometimes propaganda can be used for good purposes, as well as bad.
The words we use are powerful influences on how we think. That is the basic underlying reason for propaganda. When the general calls bombing "air support", it helps him and other military types focus on the goal from their perspective--the bombing supports the efforts of the ground troupes. Obviously, from the perspective of the civilians on the ground, it looks completely different. And to outside observers, who can see the effects of the bombing on both the ground troupes and civilians, it seems devious, even ludicrous,to call it "air support".
The euphemism Kev offered manipulates thought in a similar way. By calling it "cleaning", I am focusing on the goal of having it clean. That goal tends to overwhelm me because I get anxious about not getting it clean enough. By calling it "dirt reduction", as silly as it sounds, I am focusing my attention on the goal of reducing the amount of dirt present, not eliminating it alltogether. This is just a simple cognitive "trick" we can use to fool ourselves. And it can be done for good or evil. But just because it is used for hostile purposes sometimes, doesn't mean it can't be used for a benign or good purpose.
Posted by Kev on February 1, 2000, at 11:52:55
In reply to Re: DP's Lair--The Tedious Play By Play, posted by citiboy on February 1, 2000, at 0:18:57
> > The thing to do is to throw out the concept of
> > "cleaning" and replace it with the concept
> > of "dirt reduction".
> // additional material snipped//
> > -Kev
> ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>
> Good grief!
>
> This sort of statement reminds me of the euphemisms
> the U.S. military spewed out to reporters during
> the Vietnam war (remember that?).
>
> During one particular press conference, this one
> Air Force big-wig got testy with the press and
> said the following (paraphrased):
>
> "You reporters always say we're BOMBING, BOMBING,
> BOMBING! Well, it's not BOMBING! It's air
> support!"
>
> I let the gentle readers of this group be the
> judge of the analogy.****"Dirt reduction", like "air support", is no propagandistic euphemism. Both are ways of respecifying concepts such as "cleaning" or "bombing" in such a way as to precisely define objectives and to consequently enable the objectives to regulate the allocation of resources (bombs, floor polish, etc.) in an efficient and effective manner.
-Kev
Posted by Scott L. Schofield on February 3, 2000, at 10:00:44
In reply to Re: DP's Lair--The Tedious Play By Play, posted by citiboy on February 1, 2000, at 0:18:57
> ****"Dirt reduction", like "air support", is no propagandistic euphemism. Both are ways of respecifying concepts such as "cleaning" or "bombing" in such a way as to precisely define objectives and to consequently enable the objectives to regulate the allocation of resources (bombs, floor polish, etc.) in an efficient and effective manner.
It seems to me that the definitions of “propaganda” and “euphemism” include the feature of intent to influence. I strongly agree with Noa when she wrote, “The words we use are powerful influences on how we think.” Many times, if not most times, the subtle differences in semantics between alternate words and phrases act on our cognition beneath our awareness. The use of the term “dirt-reduction” strikes me as being semantically different enough from “cleaning” to justify its use. It is an attempt to refine a term so as to help define the details of a concept.
- Scott
This is the end of the thread.
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