What is Vocabulary Hijacking?
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Choosing a word because it evokes a specific emotion rather than because it is accurate.
After 9/11 the word "terrorism" became a much more emotional term for Americans than before, when it was equally deplorable yet much more theoretical in most people's minds (i.e. something that happens elsewhere). Consequently, politically active people engaged in vocabulary hijacking by applying the term "terrorist" to their opponent's activities (e.g. environmental "terrorists", government-sponsored "terrorists", anti-choice "terrorists").
See
Random Words:
1.
1. a term for people that don't identify others by race, creed or any kind of ethnic background. 2. non-racist person or skinhead.
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