this post was submitted on 22 Aug 2023
76 points (90.4% liked)

Comradeship // Freechat

263 readers
1 users here now

Talk about whatever, respecting the rules established by Lemmygrad. Failing to comply with the rules will grant you a few warnings, insisting on breaking them will grant you a beautiful shiny banwall.

A community for comrades to chat and talk about whatever doesn't fit other communities

founded 3 years ago
MODERATORS
 

We all know that the west uses two different words for the same thing depending on where it is happening.

e.g. Secret Police vs Plainclothes Officer
Regime vs Government

Can we have a compilation thread of these words? I am probably using many of them unconsciously without critical examination.

all 37 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] [email protected] 33 points 1 year ago

Prime minister and Supreme leader are literally synonyms yet have such wildly different implications.

[–] [email protected] 33 points 1 year ago

oligarchy - entrepreneurs

invasion - humanitarian intervention

indoctrination - common sense

surveillance - CCTV

attacking free press - defending national security

racial profiling/transphobia - stopping cultural marxism

freedom fighters - terrorists

united states - america

football - soccer

[–] [email protected] 28 points 1 year ago (1 children)

manifest destiny vs. the holocaust

[–] [email protected] 22 points 1 year ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 26 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

I'll start the thread.

Billionaire vs Oligarch
Custom vs Ritual
Freedom fighter vs Terrorist
Anime vs Cartoon

[–] [email protected] 21 points 1 year ago

Anime vs Cartoon

It appears you have chosen violence.

[–] [email protected] 25 points 1 year ago

Their regime, our administration

[–] [email protected] 18 points 1 year ago

Internship vs unpaid labor

[–] [email protected] 18 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

freedom fighters vs terrorists
Media really had a field day with these over the last 20 years.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago

"If crime fighters fight crime, and firefighters fight fires, then what do freedom fighters fight?"

[–] [email protected] 18 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (2 children)

Defector/refugee - Illegal immigrant
Community service - Forced labor
Liberation - Occupation
Enhanced interrogation techniques - Torture

[–] [email protected] 9 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

Community service is not forced labour 💀

You mean prison labour is forced labour. Community service is when they make dumbass teens arrested for something like vandalism or underage drinking, go and work at a soup kitchen, or pick up garbage off the side of the road as punishment.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I got hit with 24 hours of community service when I was a teen. Worked it off on a library, not bad. Actually wanted to get a full time job there.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

That’s really nice, libraries are vital parts of the community, and volunteering or doing service at one is a very good thing.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

It was around Halloween time. I spent my time putting loaned books back on the shelves in their proper place for the most part, but also got to spray-paint some branches and hang spooky decorations! I remember it rather fondly.

Got to take as many smoke breaks as I liked, too, lol. Was not a fan of digging the weeds out of the flowerbed, however.

If and when I am ever offered the opportunity to retire, I believe I would very much like to be a librarian in a rural area.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Don't forget expat! They love that one.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Migrant vs refugee

Migrant vs expat

[–] [email protected] 17 points 1 year ago

Immigrant vs Expat

[–] [email protected] 15 points 1 year ago

The various ways they avoid using "oligarch" for westerns. Western Billionaire, entrepreneur, etc, whereas it's always "Russian Oligarchs."

[–] [email protected] 14 points 1 year ago (2 children)
[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

Expat is a useful word, but it has been co-opted by those who very obviously aren’t expats and just don’t want to call themselves immigrants.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

I do the reverse thing of calling myself an immigrant and you can see people having an error in their heads. Because I am an immigrant, I came here unemployed with nowhere to stay, looking for a better life. But I'm white, so expat it is for them 🤷

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I think this isn't always true because they do mean different things. You're not an "immigrant" unless you're trying to stay there permanently, whereas "expats" can be sort of transient

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 year ago

In practice, people from the global south who are working for only a few years in rich countries are never called expats.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Paid volunteers vs mercenaries

White nationalism vs white supremacist

[–] [email protected] 9 points 1 year ago

First thing that comes to mind is "prison camps" vs just "prison." Will edit some more in when I remember them.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 1 year ago

Our routine missile test vs their provocative missile launch

[–] [email protected] 9 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

In terms of Israel: Skirmishes vs terrorist attacks

[–] [email protected] 8 points 1 year ago
[–] [email protected] 8 points 1 year ago

Army vs Horde

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 year ago

Savages committing human sacrifices vs Carrying out God's divine justice

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 year ago

Terrorists vs freedom fighters

dictator vs president

[–] shastaxc 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago

I don’t think anyone’s seriously using that one except in movies

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

Coup vs popular uprising.