George Orwell famously warned us of those who would control our thoughts by controlling the words we use. I thought it might be interesting to track efforts to do this in modern politics.
I'll start with the shenanigans around the word "access". It's a popular euphemism for describing poverty, often combined with the equally dubious usage of "denied". Rather than saying that a family can't afford decent housing, they might say that they are "denied access" to adequate housing. Being "denied access" seems to simply mean that they can't afford something, but it has connotations that prompt people to think about the issue differently. Which is the point.
They prefer "access" to "buy" or "afford" because they want to promote the idea that the goods and services in question aren't things you buy, but rather things you are granted "access" to. The usage of "denied" reinforces this stealth assumption by further suggesting that the goods and services in question are, by right, owed to the person in question. They want to equate not being able to afford something with being "denied" a right.
What other orwellian word games have you noticed lately?
I'll start with the shenanigans around the word "access". It's a popular euphemism for describing poverty, often combined with the equally dubious usage of "denied". Rather than saying that a family can't afford decent housing, they might say that they are "denied access" to adequate housing. Being "denied access" seems to simply mean that they can't afford something, but it has connotations that prompt people to think about the issue differently. Which is the point.
They prefer "access" to "buy" or "afford" because they want to promote the idea that the goods and services in question aren't things you buy, but rather things you are granted "access" to. The usage of "denied" reinforces this stealth assumption by further suggesting that the goods and services in question are, by right, owed to the person in question. They want to equate not being able to afford something with being "denied" a right.
What other orwellian word games have you noticed lately?