quickflick wrote:
But don't you see that it's incumbent upon you, from the outset, to say you think the definitions (as per dictionary and how they're commonly construed) are wrong?
Yeah in hindsight my initial post should have explained the motivation for using this definition which is standard in advocacy groups as well as academia and is implicitly standard in out groups when interviewed and studied about their understanding of these issues. Hopefully my follow up posts clarified things
quickflick wrote:
Instead you've suggested that those who've used the definitions correctly (at least as things stand) don't understand the definitions and are confusing concepts. We're not doing that. We're simply using language in the way it is currently understood and used.
yeah here I disagree - understood and used by who. It'd be weird for people who have not had any experience with war not only defining war but having a different definition to those who had experienced it and insisting their definition is the "standard one".
quickflick wrote:
I agree that different people have different experiences of racism, sexism, etc. Maybe the English language needs separate terms to describe more flagrant instances of racism, sexism, etc.
The English language already does have different words for the system (racism/sexism) verse individual events (prejudice discrimination) when the language is being used by the out group, academics and advocacy groups. At the very least you should understand this if you are ever in a situation where someone says you are sexist or racist when you think you haven't said or done something with any prejudice in your heart. Their anger might be momentarily directed at you but if you ask enough questions and listen long enough you eventually realize that their complaint is actually with the system/culture and your words just happened to remind them or you were defending/promoting the system
quickflick wrote:
But that doesn't invalidate the argument that the more minor instances can still amount to sexism, racism, etc. For those concerned, it's still fairly shitty. And nobody wants to be the victim of prejudice, discrimination, or whatever on any scale.
I think this shows the importance of at least understanding these definitions even if you don't come to use them yourself.
Its not degree of prejudice (minor or major) but system verse intention. The former being the ism the latter being prejudice. This does not minimize prejudice or say its ok its just different. In fact all of the sources I cited in the previous page (there were a few posts with different sources) explicitly talk about the difference between racism/sexism and prejudice. At the very least if you understand the definition you understand what advocates are saying
Edited by grazorblade: 15/5/2016 08:14:55 PM