Difference between revisions 1574530 and 1574599 on enwiki

This article is a list of pejorative political slogans. 

==Common features of pejorative political slogans==

Many pejorative political slogans are obtained by joining an otherwise neutral description of a political movement or group with a pejorative term questioning the groups's sanity or motives, or associating the group with hated political movements of the past such as [[Nazi]]s or [[Communism|Communists]].  Arguments about the use of these slogans often follow a pattern in which proponents of the slogans insist that the term is intended to be construed so narrowly as to be inoffensive while opponents insist that the term as heard by a typical listener will be construed more broadly.  Examples of such arguments are visible in the sections below, but a general pattern may include, for proponents:
*The claim that a term (e.g., ''feminazi'') is not intended to apply to all members of the group ("feminists"), but only those who exhibit some of the attributes suggested by the pejorative part of the term ("Nazis").
*The claim that the pejorative part of the term is intended to be construed narrowly (e.g., ''Nazi'' as short-hand for anybody who shows contempt for individual rights or the democratic process) rather than with its full horrifying connotations (e.g., ''Nazi'' as short-hand for somebody who would like to shove children into ovens).
For opponents, the countervailing claim is that whatever the stated intent of the users of the term, combining a term identifying a group with a pejorative necessarily creates an association between the group and the pejorative, leading many listeners to assume that all members of the group have all of the attributes suggested by the pejorative.  This claim is arguably based on a naïve [[associationism|associationistic]] view of human cognition that underestimates a typical listener's reasoning abilities.  However, opponents of many pejorative slogans will argue that such naïve associationism is the basis of many standard techniques in [[public relations]], and that the use of a pejorative slogan by persons trained in public relations techniques is reasonbly interpreted as an attempt to create such an association while maintaining deniability: a subtle example of the [[fallacy]] of [[equivocation]].

Regardless of the intent of the author, the possibility that pejorative political slogans will be construed broadly than expected creates the danger of alienating a large part of ones one's audience.  Thus, except in cases where the slogan is being used a [[shibboleth]] to closely identify the author with a particular political movement, a wise writer or speaker will generally adopt more neutral terminology.
Conversely, in classical [[rhetoric]], the [[principle of charity]] demands that when making an argument one assumes the most generous interpretation of one's opponent's statements, so that one's own argument is not derailed by simply claiming that the opponent's statements were misconstrued.  This principle suggests that the most principled response to another's use of pejorative slogans is to ignore them, accepting at face value the user's claim to a narrow interpretation while again adopting more neutral terminology in one's own arguments.
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==Environmentalist wacko==
"''Environmentalist wacko''" is a phrase that right-wing talk show host [[Rush Limbaugh]] uses to describe what he considers to be extremely [[radical environmentalism|radical environmentalists]]; he does not use it to describe people who ''merely'' care about the environment.

(contracted; show full)

== Islamofascism ==

Some people think that the term "Islamofascism" is used as a one-word slogan implying that Islam or Islamic culture has much in common with Fascism. But this is not correct. The term ''Islamofascists'' refers solely to those who claim to be Muslims but are considered by their opponents as [[fascism|fascists]] with Islamic background. Nevertheless 
severalmany Muslims find the term insulting, as it suggests a link between Islam and Fascism.

The term is especially applied to Muslim groups (like [[GIA]], [[Hamas]], [[Abu Sayaf]], [[Al Qaida]], [[Palestinian Islamic Jihad|Islamic Jihad]], [[Hezbollah]]) that promote [[theocracy]] and oppose [[democracy]], in distinction to Muslims who see no contradiction between Islam and Western-style modernism.

(contracted; show full)==Wowser==

A New Zealand term, almost obsolete.  Originally it meant an Abolitionist, alcohol not slavery.  It also came to mean a killjoy, someone whose opposition to alcohol extended to all social jollity.


== External links ==

* [http://www.dki.antifa.net/inipa/islamofascism.html An Antifascist dissident in Berlin discusses: Is there such a thing as Islamofascism?]