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.
Prime minister and Supreme leader are literally synonyms yet have such wildly different implications.
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
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Literally Lebensraum
Our Manifest Destiny, their Lebensraum
Hitler quotes the bath riots and the gas chambers on the american-mexican border as inspo for his own gas chambers.
I’ll start the thread.
Billionaire vs Oligarch
Custom vs Ritual
Freedom fighter vs Terrorist
Anime vs CartoonAnime vs Cartoon
It appears you have chosen violence.
our ‘hard-hitting journalism’, their ‘state-funded propaganda’
Their regime, our administration
Defector/refugee - Illegal immigrant
Community service - Forced labor
Liberation - Occupation
Enhanced interrogation techniques - TortureCommunity 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.
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.
That’s really nice, libraries are vital parts of the community, and volunteering or doing service at one is a very good thing.
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.
Don’t forget expat! They love that one.
Migrant vs refugee
Migrant vs expat
freedom fighters vs terrorists
Media really had a field day with these over the last 20 years.“If crime fighters fight crime, and firefighters fight fires, then what do freedom fighters fight?”
Internship vs unpaid labor
The various ways they avoid using “oligarch” for westerns. Western Billionaire, entrepreneur, etc, whereas it’s always “Russian Oligarchs.”
Immigrant vs Expat
Expat / immigrant
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.
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 🤷
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
In practice, people from the global south who are working for only a few years in rich countries are never called expats.
Paid volunteers vs mercenaries
White nationalism vs white supremacist
In terms of Israel: Skirmishes vs terrorist attacks
Our routine missile test vs their provocative missile launch