134

Western doublespeak compilation (lemmygrad.ml)

submitted 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) by Trudge@lemmygrad.ml to c/comradeship@lemmygrad.ml

93 comments fedilink hide all child comments

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.

top 50 comments

sorted by: hot top controversial new old

[-] Sickos@hexbear.net 56 points 10 months ago

Bribery/corruption vs lobbying
Oligarch vs job creator
Warlord vs leader/general
Preventable deaths are social murder
Propaganda vs public relations
Terrorist/guerilla and freedom fighter just depends on which side of the violence you're on
Any use of the term "extremist"
And the worst is that they call their fascists "neoliberals"

Mandatory Viewing

Optional Reading

load more comments (2 replies)

[-] Soul_Greatsword@lemmygrad.ml 53 points 10 months ago

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

[-] LinkedinLenin@hexbear.net 30 points 10 months ago

damn that's true lmao, never even thought of that.

kind of reminds me how chinese titles and names will often get translated into their literal english counterparts, which have weird connotations in english that aren't there in mandarin. can't think of examples off the top of my head

[-] Magos_Galactose@lemmygrad.ml 32 points 10 months ago

Propaganda vs Public Relation Campaigns

From what I understand, Chinese use the same word for both.

load more comments (3 replies)

[-] Trudge@lemmygrad.ml 50 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago)

I'll start the thread.

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

[-] FishLake@lemmygrad.ml 37 points 10 months ago

Anime vs Cartoon

It appears you have chosen violence.

[-] ToxicDivinity@hexbear.net 12 points 10 months ago

cartoon sounds derogatory like "its just a cartoon" but anime sounds like a legitimate genre, although I guess it depends on how old you are

[-] LaGG_3@hexbear.net 15 points 10 months ago

All cartoons are called anime in Japan. Same goes for comics and manga. It's literally just the Japanese words for the media. People outside of Japan just use the words to refer to Japanese and Japanese-inspired animation and comics.

[-] Zuzak@hexbear.net 16 points 10 months ago

There's a lot of loanwords that work the same way too. Katana is just the Japanese word for sword, so in Japanese, it's correct to say that Excalibur is a katana.

17 people are typing

[-] LaGG_3@hexbear.net 12 points 10 months ago

Katana is just the Japanese word for sword, so in Japanese, it's correct to say that Excalibur is a katana.

very-smart Actually, Excalibur is double-sided, so it is a 剣/tsurugi.

load more comments (1 replies)

load more comments (3 replies)

load more comments (4 replies)

[-] big_spoon@lemmygrad.ml 46 points 10 months 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

[-] absentthereaper@lemmygrad.ml 40 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago)

our 'hard-hitting journalism', their 'state-funded propaganda'

[-] ProfessorAdonisCnut@hexbear.net 39 points 10 months ago

There's just a kajillion of them:

Their Stasi Vs our neighborhood watch

Their whataboutism Vs our providing important context

Their unaccountable regime security forces Vs our police officer who feared for his safety

Their re-education Vs our cult deprogramming

Their GULAG Vs our federal bureau of prisons

Their prison camps Vs our prisons

[-] iridaniotter@lemmygrad.ml 39 points 10 months ago

Their regime, our administration

[-] LinkedinLenin@hexbear.net 14 points 10 months ago

love calling it the obama regime when talking to libs

[-] CascadeOfLight@hexbear.net 38 points 10 months ago

Our prison, their prison camp

[-] LaGG_3@hexbear.net 25 points 10 months ago

"internment camp" might be good to plug here

[-] brain_in_a_box@hexbear.net 38 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago)

Their authoritarianism vs our law and order.

Their warcrime vs our collateral damage.

Their dictator vs our leader.

Their reeducation vs our rehabilitation.

Their state media vs our public media.

load more comments (5 replies)

[-] communal_programmer7@lemmygrad.ml 34 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago)

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

[-] ComradeSalad@lemmygrad.ml 16 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago)

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.

load more comments (7 replies)

[-] polskilumalo@lemmygrad.ml 12 points 10 months ago

Don't forget expat! They love that one.

load more comments (1 replies)

[-] Shinhoshi@lemmygrad.ml 33 points 10 months ago

Internship vs unpaid labor

[-] UlyssesT@hexbear.net 32 points 10 months ago

"The adults in the room" versus "the unaccountable ruling class and their puppets"

THEY ARE THE SAME FUCKING THING

[-] WoofWoof91@hexbear.net 31 points 10 months ago

security forces vs police
i like using that one about america, it makes liberals weirdly defensive lol

load more comments (1 replies)

[-] 201dberg@lemmygrad.ml 30 points 10 months ago

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

[-] Drug_Shareni@hexbear.net 23 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago)

On that note: "bribery" and "lobbying"

[-] facow@hexbear.net 19 points 10 months ago

"Western philanthropist" vs "Russian Oligarch"

load more comments (1 replies)

[-] UlyssesT@hexbear.net 29 points 10 months ago

Their police state versus our safety.

Authoritarian spying apparatus versus smart advertising.

[-] Trudge@lemmygrad.ml 28 points 10 months ago

Immigrant vs Expat

[-] HighOnCopium@hexbear.net 27 points 10 months ago

our riots vs their protests for freedom

[-] McCainRBGcreampie@hexbear.net 27 points 10 months ago

Assassination/targeted killing and mercenary/contractor legit make me furious. Up there with "enhanced interrogation".

[-] Sickos@hexbear.net 16 points 10 months ago

Oh yeah mercenary/private military corporation contractor is insanity

[-] Spanish_Commie@lemmygrad.ml 26 points 10 months ago

Expat / immigrant

load more comments (6 replies)

[-] Thordros@hexbear.net 26 points 10 months ago

The Dictator's hand-picked successor.

The President's endorsement.

[-] TrudeauCastroson@hexbear.net 24 points 10 months ago

Defence contractor vs weapons manufacturer

Used depending on who's buying weapons from whom

[-] bennieandthez@lemmygrad.ml 23 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago)

Paid volunteers vs mercenaries

White nationalism vs white supremacist

[-] ButtigiegMineralMap@lemmygrad.ml 21 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago)

In terms of Israel: Skirmishes vs terrorist attacks

[-] apemint@kbin.social 19 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago)

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

load more comments (1 replies)

[-] renownedballoonthief@lemmygrad.ml 17 points 10 months ago

Our routine missile test vs their provocative missile launch

[-] NormalC@hexbear.net 16 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago)

President of the United States of America (POTUS) vs. US head of state.
Self-determination vs. whoever the fuck in power determined it
Israeli nationality vs. Zionist
CIA/FBI agent vs. secret police/international terror network

[-] relay@lemmygrad.ml 16 points 10 months ago

https://citationsneeded.libsyn.com/episode-137-thought-terminating-enemy-epithets-part-i https://citationsneeded.libsyn.com/episode-138-thought-terminating-enemy-epithets-part-ii

[-] AlbigensianGhoul@lemmygrad.ml 13 points 10 months ago

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

[-] American_Communist22@lemmygrad.ml 13 points 10 months ago

Terrorists vs freedom fighters

dictator vs president

load more comments

this post was submitted on 22 Aug 2023

134 points (95.3% liked)

Comradeship // Freechat

2062 readers

34 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 2 years ago

MODERATORS

felipeforte@lemmygrad.ml