# Who Is Really Being Disappeared? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Tags:** trump\ **Created:** [November 3, 2025, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-really-being-disappeared/1024515 "2025-11-03T02:08:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2025, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-really-being-disappeared/1024515/21 "2025-11-03T23:24:07Z")
> [@Babale](#): > > Someone who was “Disappeared” did not “disappear” Note that I did not capitalise ‘disappear’. In any case, I am not going to argue whether it’s OK for the government to make people disappear just because the government isn’t killing them. ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2025, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-really-being-disappeared/1024515/22 "2025-11-03T23:26:49Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > Note that I did not capitalise ‘disappear’. Right, which makes it very hard to tell when you mean someone’s location is unknown to you and when you mean that someone underwent Enforced Disappearance, hence why I made the distinction. > [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > In any case, I am not going to argue whether it’s OK for the government to make people disappear just because the government isn’t killing them I see we are moving on to this part: > [@Babale](#): > > All Person A hears is “I don’t disapprove of Politician Z’s actions”, even though Person B never said that and may very well take _extreme_ issue with Politician Z’s actions. Maybe you can quote where I argued that “it’s OK for the government to make people disappear just because the government isn’t killing them”? Or alternatively, you can admit that this was the world’s weakest strawman and withdraw it. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2025, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-really-being-disappeared/1024515/23 "2025-11-03T23:28:51Z")
I’m not going to argue. Either accept the word the way I have explained it is being used, or don’t. ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2025, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-really-being-disappeared/1024515/24 "2025-11-03T23:31:49Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > I’m not going to argue Great - so we are both agreed, it is NOT OK for Trump to make people “disappear” or “Disappear” whether or not he is killing those people, right? ---
**Author:** ![Zoobi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/13edae/32.png) [@Zoobi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoobi)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2025, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-really-being-disappeared/1024515/25 "2025-11-03T23:32:16Z")
We don’t even know if they’ve been deported or still sitting in a detention center somewhere. That’s the point. Their location is unknown. But God forbid we say they government made them disappear… ---
**Author:** ![ParallelLines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/parallellines/32/3575_2.png) [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2025, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-really-being-disappeared/1024515/26 "2025-11-04T00:12:29Z")
**Moderating:** @Babale - you did a partial quote of @Johnny_L.A in a way that may well change their intended meaning, without a [snip] or other indication. I grant your reply is directly following, but it is far too close to misrepresenting another posters words, even if your intent was otherwise. As such, do not do this again. You may continue to disagree on definitions used, and either/both of you are free to not respond to the other of course. ---
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2025, 9:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-really-being-disappeared/1024515/27 "2025-11-04T09:16:31Z")
Count me among those that interpret “disappeared” as _potentially_ killed, but that the term is far more broad than that. We don’t need a fiftieth simile for murder death kill. It’s valuable to have a term for when the state has taken someone to places unknown for weeks, months or even years, with no human rights. “Unlawful detainment” doesn’t cover it because it doesn’t entail that they have no contact with a lawyer or family. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2025, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-really-being-disappeared/1024515/28 "2025-11-05T19:19:55Z")
Besides, as an attempt to obfuscate an event, it has the same ring “energetic disassembly,” does. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-really-being-disappeared/1024515.md?page=1)