A Conspiracy Theory of Connotations

Started by BridgeTroll, February 25, 2023, 06:23:18 PM

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BridgeTroll

February 25, 2023, 06:23:18 PM
https://quillette.com/2023/02/24/a-conspiracy-theory-of-connotations/

QuoteA Conspiracy Theory of Connotations
The obsessive policing of language in the name of progress relies on magical thinking.

Oliver Traldi
24 Feb 2023 ยท 7 min read

Discussions of censorship often operate from the assumption that the main motivation of censors is the suppression of dissent. For that reason, critiques of censorship often attack the idea of suppression: Censorship is often counterproductive and only makes samizdat material more popular. And if an idea is systematically censored, we can never really be sure that it's wrong, since we'll never see a full and honest accounting of the evidence for and against it. These are good arguments against suppression, and there are plenty more where they come from...
In a boat at sea one of the men began to bore a hole in the bottom of the boat. On being remonstrating with, he answered, "I am only boring under my own seat." "Yes," said his companions, "but when the sea rushes in we shall all be drowned with you."
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