Yeah. He's a piece of shit. But still human.
Example of exactly what I'm talking about. You are not saying he's a literal piece of shit. It's a pejorative in the same fashion, just a more commonly accepted one. But the intended meanings here are basically the same.
I disagree. One is a perjorative with no real specific meaning. "Not human" has a very specific meaning with tons of historical examples that means it's not a label you should try to apply to anyone. Being a piece of shit means you're not likeable, have poor morality, make bad decisions. But it doesn't mean you don't have fundamental rights of the species.
"Non-human" means exactly that. You surprise me SG, of all people I'd think you'd understand the difference, especially in the context it's been used recently.
You've described why using "piece of shit" instead of "subhuman" as a pejorative is more tactful in a public forum where people are likely to misread you.
Both terms have literal meanings, which means the nature of their uses as a pejorative is exactly the same. The only differences are contextual.
First, with "piece of shit" the literal would be too absurd, so nobody is going to interpret you as meaning it literally. But if you did mean it literally, it would be even worse than "subhuman", since at least a literal subhuman would have some aspect of humanity and a literal piece of shit does not.
Second, "subhuman" is actually used literally by certain ideological groups. But considering the word subhuman is not being slung at Biden based on intrinsic characteristics, and he is not otherwise a person who would be the target of any of those ideological groups, it is almost as absurd to suggest that its usage in this context is in any way nazi-like as it is to believe that you mean it literally when you say "piece of shit".
So I repeat
And I'm the type (growing increasingly rare, it seems) who believes that the actual meaning of what's being expressed is more important than the specific arrangement of letters used to express it. And that actions or serious statements of intent to action are very much more important than both.
In fact Biden, in terms of the actual meaning behind his words, was much closer to Nazi territory when he said that he wouldn't sign M4A. Because that would literally, in the physical world, result in perpetuation of ongoing systemic violence that disproportionately targets based on racial minority and lineage. If using the word "subhuman" in a non-literal way puts someone closer to Nazi territory in your book than ideological dedication to policies that mass cleanse the poor, then I think I don't have anything more to say to you.
This civility policing where people get told they're just like a fascist when they express anger at actual fascists is frustrating as fuck. You know I recognize the importance of language. I've argued many times in the politics threads against those who used the "defend free speech" arguments when it comes to nazi-punching, de-platforming, etc. But that's because I care about the substance and consequence of what is being expressed, not the specific configuration of letters being used to express it.
Sometimes the same old milquetoast acceptable terms like "piece of shit" when you're feeling a real overwhelming anger just don't cut it, and you reach for something offensive. Shutting someone down who's in that position is blunting, dismissive, invalidating, disempowering. And doing so because the fascists we're angry at happen to use the same configuration of letters **with completely different substantive meaning and intention** just enables those fascists to colonize linguistic space and rob others of expression.
And to be honest, the only reason I don't do the same sorts of things very much is because for one I've been arguing politics on the internet for 24 years, so I think I have a pretty well developed ability to navigate the balance of adequate expression against how things will be received. But more importantly, the type of anger dragdeler is feeling is what I've been feeling for 20 years. The political conversations that are finally FINALLY at the front and center of public consciousness are ones I've been trying to have for that long. The state of things as they are today is pretty well where I have known we would eventually end up since 9/11. So I feel that anger. I've spent my whole adult life learning to live with it. So while it burns within me like the molten core of the planet, I can understand it being more like a volcano bursting out of those less familiar with it. And they don't deserve to be told that they're more nazi-like because of that then someone with a verifiable life history of ideological dedication to killing and enslaving racial minorities and the poor.
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