A Short Glossary of Newspeak

 

Some mainline journalist has done an article accusing Matt Walsh of “transphobia.”

By its nature, that is a charge one cannot counter. Because “transphobia” is bad by definition, and is otherwise undefinable.

A phobia is an “excessive, extreme, irrational, fear or panic reaction about a situation, living creature, place or object.” (phobia definition - Search (bing.com)

Yet that is obviously not what we are talking about. There is really no such thing as “transphobia.” Nobody has a panic reaction to seeing a man wearing a dress. Similarly, there is no such thing as “Islamophobia,” or “homophobia.” Anyone using these terms is simply dishonest, and speaking in bad faith. It is a way to avoid addressing an argument by simply declaring it irrational.

There is also, I warrant, no such thing in the modern world as a “white supremacist.” Even the Nazis were not “white supremacists.” The insult is effective precisely because everyone considers it a bad thing (like “phobia”). Accordingly, nobody is it. Anybody using it against an opponent is almost necessarily arguing in bad faith.

There are other such dishonest terms. They are proliferating. “Pro-choice,” for example; for wanting unrestricted abortion.  Unrestricted abortion assigns one more choice to the mother, by removing it from everyone else. An abortion denies all choice to the foetus, the father, the grandparents, the siblings, or the community.

“Gender-affirming surgery” is another deliberate lie. Said surgery destroys or obscures one’s gender (or sex) while incapable of giving you a new one. 

“Reproductive health,” as the term is now used, is about preventing reproduction, and so is, by normal standards, induced reproductive illness.

“Planned Parenthood” actually means planning not to be a parent.

Politicians these day use the term “invest” when they mean “spend money.” As if the government necessarily gets a return on spending. I believe this verbal trick was invented by Bill Clinton, but now everyone who wants to raise government spending uses it.

When people use terms that are deliberate lies, it proves one thing: they know they are doing something wrong.

It is interesting that all the examples I can think of are from the left. I cannot think of examples on the right.