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:
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The suckiest town in NH with drug busts, gun and bomb threats at the local middle and high school.
Just last month at the Somersworth H..
