Well… kind of. But once any signficant number of people start using it a new way, it ceases to be useful because you have to start clarifying which meaning you intend each time you use it, and at that point it becomes more trouble than it’s worth. You have to come up with a new specific term, which will last a while before its meaning also erodes. And so it goes.
We’re going to have to agree to disagree. I knew exactly what was meant by the term in this context.
“The kids” call things ‘fire’ these days as a form of approbative slang. I can readily distinguish between the colloquialism and an actual conflagration, and I’m sure I’m not the only one.
Not anymore, they don’t. You’re a few years out of date about what “the kids” are doing.
And you failed to get the discussion you wanted, for reasons that have been explained in excessive detail. If you want to have that discussion, i suggest you start over without poisoning the well by doing exactly what you urge others not to do. Try not to insult people who agree with you that Trump is a problem, and instead, respectfully attempt to persuade them of your point.
As you note there’s two different issues being discussed here. One is whether the word hysteria is inherently offensive, regardless of how it’s used. The other is whether the meaning of the word hysteria is negative.
I don’t think anybody uses the word hysteria in a positive sense. I don’t think anyone says something like “I woke up this morning all hysterical” and means it as a good thing. Hysteria is generally bad and being hysterical is generally bad.
But now consider another word; racism. If I posted that anybody who’s planning on voting for Republicans in 2026 is supporting racism, this opinion would probably upset people who are planning on voting Republican. They wouldn’t like being accused of racism. They would say that being called racist is insulting and offensive to them. And they’d be right.
But does that mean we shouldn’t use the word racism because some people are upset when their behavior is described using that term? I would say no.
That’s how I view the use of the word hysteria. It’s a valid word to use to describe negative behavior.
To give a counter-example, there’s the word nigger. I don’t think there’s any context (other that an etymological one) where you can use that without the word itself being offensive. If I wrote “Trump’s MAGA supporters are just a bunch of white niggers” people would be justifiably offended by what I wrote even if they were strongly opposed to Trump and MAGA.
I don’t feel hysteria is an example of this, even though I am aware of the word’s history.
Let me get this straight. In this thread, people have said I am an asshole, a troll, a nitwit, an idiot, a Nazi, and fucking ignorant.
And you feel I’m the one who should be trying not to insult people.
If you are the one who wants to persuade people to do something different, then yes.
I should know better than to come back into this trainwreck. But.
For one, are you really incapable of seeing that you started a thread purporting to be about why we shouldn’t tick off people who stand a reasonable chance of opposing Trump by using language pretty much guaranteed to piss off people who you know oppose Trump? or do you realize that you did that, and you somehow think it’ll convince posters to agree with you, even though you’re saying that such tactics don’t cause people to agree with you? You’re really not making a hell of a lot of sense here.
And for two — yeah, I know about choosing your words. I figured out many years ago that there were people who, if you said “we need to write the zoning code to protect endangered species” would shut right down and never hear anything else you said; but if what you said was “we need to write the zoning code to protect water quality” they would jump right on board with you. Even though the protections you were trying to get in the code were the same protections, because protecting water quality protects habitat.
If you’d started a thread saying ‘if you’re talking to potential Trump supporters who are considering opposing him, don’t say he’s going to commit genocide or start a nuclear war. They’ll shut right down, Talk about how he’s screwing up their pocketbooks. That’s the language they can hear’ — you’d have gotten an entirely different reaction. But instead you started by attacking the people you claim to be trying to convince.
Just like the friendly person who wants to give me helpful advice…while seated opposite me at the poker table.
Okay, I guess I was too subtle.
I have been arguing throughout this thread that you shouldn’t insult people. In support of this argument, I have gone far out of my way to avoid insulting people. Some people have chosen to invent imaginary insults by saying my disagreement with their opinions are insults. Or they have claimed that I am insulting people by using words like genocide, slavery, and hysteria in ways they don’t like.
While I have avoided making any insults, that has been a unilateral path. Other people have repeatedly directed insults against me. It doesn’t bother me much. In fact, I tend to see being attacked personally as an unspoken admission that you can’t argue against my position.
So when you give me “advice” to do something I’ve already been doing all along, while ignoring all of the people on your side who are breaking the rule you claim to support, I take it about as seriously as I take Donald Trump claiming he wants to defend elections from the Democrats stealing them.
You put an insult in the thread title.
And have been doubling down on it ever since.
Even ignoring the history of the word, yes, it’s insulting.
And – when used to describe you – not a single one of us finds any of those words to be insulting, derogatory, and offensive.
How does your own “logic” feel when turned on you?
As you note there’s two different issues being discussed here. One is whether the word hysteria is inherently offensive, regardless of how it’s used. The other is whether the meaning of the word hysteria is negative.
I don’t think anybody uses the word hysteria in a positive sense. I don’t think anyone says something like “I woke up this morning all hysterical” and means it as a good thing. Hysteria is generally bad and being hysterical is generally bad.
But now consider another word; racism. If I posted that anybody who’s planning on voting for Republicans in 2026 is supporting racism, this opinion would probably upset people who are planning on voting Republican. They wouldn’t like being accused of racism. They would say that being called racist is insulting and offensive to them. And they’d be right.
But does that mean we shouldn’t use the word racism because some people are upset when their behavior is described using that term? I would say no.
That’s how I view the use of the word hysteria. It’s a valid word to use to describe negative behavior.
To give a counter-example, there’s the word nigger. I don’t think there’s any context (other that an etymological one) where you can use that without the word itself being offensive. If I wrote “Trump’s MAGA supporters are just a bunch of white niggers” people would be justifiably offended by what I wrote even if they were strongly opposed to Trump and MAGA.
I don’t feel hysteria is an example of this, even though I am aware of the word’s history.
You have made broad and nasty insults, as many have pointed out. Your very thread title is an insult. If you don’t see that, you should probably just give up on trying to persuade people. Not your strong point.
It doesn’t bother me much. In fact, I tend to see being attacked personally as an unspoken admission that you can’t argue against my position.
Okay, but if you want to convince those people of anything, starting a thread that is titled
is not going to make any converts. And again, if you don’t understand why that’s a problem, you should probably just give up on trying to persuade anyone of anything.
I feel if I had titled this thread “You guys are perfect and everything you’re doing is perfect.” it would have been difficult to follow it up with a post telling them why they need to change.
The first step in getting people to stop making a mistake is explaining to them that what they’re doing is a mistake.
The problem is for some people, this is also the last step. Tell them they’re making a mistake and they will reject everything you say after that.
As i said:
I know I’m not going to persuade everybody. But I feel this thread will persuade some of the people who are reading this thread rather than posting in it.