# You know what I hate? How the word empowerment lost its original use and context **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [January 28, 2018, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-what-i-hate-how-the-word-empowerment-lost-its-original-use-and-context/807678 "2018-01-28T21:44:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Luciano700](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Luciano700](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Luciano700)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2018, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-what-i-hate-how-the-word-empowerment-lost-its-original-use-and-context/807678/81 "2018-01-29T05:08:12Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > I am impressed beyond measure. In fact, the sheer power of that revelation made me feel faint when I read it, realizing that we are in the presence of world-class expertise, and I had to lie down for a few moments with a wet dishcloth on my forehead to recover. Imagine that! One of our very own posters, right here on the SDMB, is a kid who took a course in something! Specifically, he “been studying” it. Grammar aside, this is truly a **SamuelA** level of expertise, and I encourage everyone to accord it all the respect it deserves. > He done be learnin’ from teh Internets, too! Lord a’mighty, bring the smelling salts, ‘cause I’s feelin’ faint agin. > Didn’t you read the preceding posts? The kid took courses an’ stuff. Back off and don’t be dissin’ one of our MVPs! I never said I took a course, I just been researching it on the web and through books. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2018, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-what-i-hate-how-the-word-empowerment-lost-its-original-use-and-context/807678/82 "2018-01-29T05:11:23Z")
How could people call that group of filth ISIS. Sullying the name of the [goddess](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003E29Q60/ref=asc_df_B003E29Q605352103/?tag=hyprod-20&creative=395033&creativeASIN=B003E29Q60&linkCode=df0&hvadid=194026055947&hvpos=1o1&hvnetw=g&hvrand=12251741193033172167&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9019556&hvtargid=pla-312034022585). ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2018, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-what-i-hate-how-the-word-empowerment-lost-its-original-use-and-context/807678/83 "2018-01-29T05:14:57Z")
> [@Luciano700](#): > > I never said I took a course, I just been researching it on the web and through books. I’m not going to tell you what to do. You’re fully capable, I’m sure. But this thread isn’t going that well for you. You might want to back away from it, lurk for a little while, and take the time to develop your arguments. It still probably won’t be well received, but at least you’ll be better able to defend yourself from the stuff people throw at you. Unless you want to talk more about Hamilton, of course. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2018, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-what-i-hate-how-the-word-empowerment-lost-its-original-use-and-context/807678/84 "2018-01-29T05:14:58Z")
> [@Luciano700](#): > > I never said I took a course, I just been researching it on the web and through books. Have you heard of Cecil Adams? ---
**Author:** ![Luciano700](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Luciano700](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Luciano700)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2018, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-what-i-hate-how-the-word-empowerment-lost-its-original-use-and-context/807678/85 "2018-01-29T05:33:38Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > Have you heard of Cecil Adams? I vaguely recognize the name, but don’t know him clearly. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2018, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-what-i-hate-how-the-word-empowerment-lost-its-original-use-and-context/807678/86 "2018-01-29T05:35:02Z")
> [@Luciano700](#): > > Everything’s being politicized, even our video games… I hate to tell you, kiddo, but everything has _always_ been politicized. The main difference is that with mass and social media, we simply hear about it more and any moron with a computer and an internet connection can give their 2 cents. So-called SJWs are not the equivalent of the KKK. Most of them are just a bunch of spoiled college kids who were raised by helicopter parents, and now they’re getting their first exposure to the real world. And it scares them, so they want to crawl back under the covers. They simply merit an eye roll and a laugh, not fear. Likewise, most Muslims aren’t terrorists who hate America, they’re just normal people who want to go about their lives like the rest of us. Most feminists aren’t man-hating bra burners, either. Quit judging everyone by the extremists. ---
**Author:** ![Luciano700](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Luciano700](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Luciano700)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2018, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-what-i-hate-how-the-word-empowerment-lost-its-original-use-and-context/807678/87 "2018-01-29T05:39:11Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > I hate to tell you, kiddo, but everything has _always_ been politicized. The main difference is that with mass and social media, we simply hear about it more and any moron with a computer and an internet connection can give their 2 cents. > > So-called SJWs are not the equivalent of the KKK. Most of them are just a bunch of spoiled college kids who were raised by helicopter parents, and now they’re getting their first exposure to the real world. And it scares them, so they want to crawl back under the covers. They simply merit an eye roll and a laugh, not fear. > > Likewise, most Muslims aren’t terrorists who hate America, they’re just normal people who want to go about their lives like the rest of us. > > Most feminists aren’t man-hating bra burners, either. > > Quit judging everyone by the extremists. I said that the most neutral way I possibly could lol. Yes, but the rise of SJW culture in everything is insane. Not all men are rapists Not all whites are racists Not all heterosexuals are homophobic Not all cis people think being transgender is a mental illness ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2018, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-what-i-hate-how-the-word-empowerment-lost-its-original-use-and-context/807678/88 "2018-01-29T05:50:53Z")
> [@Luciano700](#): > > I said that the most neutral way I possibly could lol. > > Yes, but the rise of SJW culture in everything is insane. > Not all men are rapists > > Not all whites are racists > > Not all heterosexuals are homophobic > > Not all cis people think being transgender is a mental illness And the only people who actually think liberals think these things are right-wing critics of so-called "SJW"s. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2018, 6:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-what-i-hate-how-the-word-empowerment-lost-its-original-use-and-context/807678/89 "2018-01-29T06:00:16Z")
> [@Luciano700](#): > > I said that the most neutral way I possibly could lol. > > Yes, but the rise of SJW culture in everything is insane. > Not all men are rapists > > Not all whites are racists > > Not all heterosexuals are homophobic > > Not all cis people think being transgender is a mental illness Well no shit. Do you honestly think that there were no idiots who believed this shit in the past? Of course. All X are Y!!! It’s just that people have a wider platform to spew their nonsense than they did when I was your age. You sound like some old guy talking about “kids today!” ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2018, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-what-i-hate-how-the-word-empowerment-lost-its-original-use-and-context/807678/90 "2018-01-29T06:01:36Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > Such fantasy people are indeed terrible, but thankfully they don’t really exist except for a very, very few fringe figures, and prominently in the delusions of right wing infotainers. Really? Then why did Whoopi Goldberg feel the need to use the term “rape-rape” when talking about whether a sexual offense was actually, you know, rape? I’ll tell you exactly why. It’s because the term has been adopted by the SJW crowd to include any number of offenses that are not rape-rape in an effort to make them equally bad and equally punishable. As Sharon Stone was recently moved to remark, you don’t charge someone for murder when they get a parking ticket. (Naturally she came in for abuse from the SJW crowd, as did Matt Damon when he dared to remark that there is a spectrum when it comes to sexual offenses. Surely Stone and Damon and Goldberg got these ideas somewhere outside the right-wing infotainment sphere, would’t you think? The reality is that the behavior I described is everywhere in the country’s national dialog these days, and everyone except those intentionally wearing blinders knows it. > [@iiandyiiii](#): > > I know dozens or hundreds of liberals, but I’m not sure if I’ve ever met anyone who believes any of these things that you constantly claim liberals believe. Well, you wouldn’t know unless they voiced them. I know dozens or hundreds of conservatives and none of them have ever expressed the beliefs or attitudes that get attributed to them dozens or hundreds of times a day just on this board. So what has either of us proven with our observations? “Not much”, would be my answer. ---
**Author:** ![Luciano700](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Luciano700](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Luciano700)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2018, 6:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-what-i-hate-how-the-word-empowerment-lost-its-original-use-and-context/807678/91 "2018-01-29T06:08:41Z")
> [@Starving\_Artist](#): > > Really? Then why did Whoopi Goldberg feel the need to use the term “rape-rape” when talking about whether a sexual offense was actually, you know, rape? I’ll tell you exactly why. It’s because the term has been adopted by the SJW crowd to include any number of offenses that are not rape-rape in an effort to make them equally bad and equally punishable. As Sharon Stone was recently moved to remark, you don’t charge someone for murder when they get a parking ticket. (Naturally she came in for abuse from the SJW crowd, as did Matt Damon when he dared to remark that there is a spectrum when it comes to sexual offenses. Surely Stone and Damon and Goldberg got these ideas somewhere outside the right-wing infotainment sphere, would’t you think? The reality is that the behavior I described is everywhere in the country’s national dialog these days, and everyone except those intentionally wearing blinders knows it. > > Well, you wouldn’t know unless they voiced them. I know dozens or hundreds of conservatives and none of them have ever expressed the beliefs or attitudes that get attributed to them dozens or hundreds of times a day just on this board. So what has either of us proven with our observations? “Not much”, would be my answer. Doesn’t that also create less attention from actual rape? ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2018, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-what-i-hate-how-the-word-empowerment-lost-its-original-use-and-context/807678/92 "2018-01-29T06:15:58Z")
> [@DrFidelius](#): > > What the actual fuck? > > Okay, let’s start slow. > > Rape is bad whether it is on a college campus or a back alley. > > Can you agree to that? Sabines seemed just fine with it. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2018, 6:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-what-i-hate-how-the-word-empowerment-lost-its-original-use-and-context/807678/93 "2018-01-29T06:36:32Z")
> [@Starving\_Artist](#): > > Really? Then why did Whoopi Goldberg feel the need to use the term “rape-rape” when talking about whether a sexual offense was actually, you know, rape? I’ll tell you exactly why. It’s because the term has been adopted by the SJW crowd to include any number of offenses that are not rape-rape in an effort to make them equally bad and equally punishable. As Sharon Stone was recently moved to remark, you don’t charge someone for murder when they get a parking ticket. (Naturally she came in for abuse from the SJW crowd, as did Matt Damon when he dared to remark that there is a spectrum when it comes to sexual offenses. Surely Stone and Damon and Goldberg got these ideas somewhere outside the right-wing infotainment sphere, would’t you think? The reality is that the behavior I described is everywhere in the country’s national dialog these days, and everyone except those intentionally wearing blinders knows it. > > Well, you wouldn’t know unless they voiced them. I know dozens or hundreds of conservatives and none of them have ever expressed the beliefs or attitudes that get attributed to them dozens or hundreds of times a day just on this board. So what has either of us proven with our observations? “Not much”, would be my answer. Oh stuff it up your cardboard tube. ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2018, 6:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-what-i-hate-how-the-word-empowerment-lost-its-original-use-and-context/807678/94 "2018-01-29T06:43:59Z")
> [@Luciano700](#): > > Doesn’t that also create less attention from actual rape? Absolutely. > [@Airhead](#): > > Oh stuff it up your cardboard tube. No u. ---
**Author:** ![Crazyhorse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crazyhorse/32/31_2.png) [@Crazyhorse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crazyhorse)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2018, 6:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-what-i-hate-how-the-word-empowerment-lost-its-original-use-and-context/807678/95 "2018-01-29T06:46:26Z")
Just because he fucks paper towel tubes is no reason he can’t see eye to eye with a degenerate troll from time to time too. ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2018, 7:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-what-i-hate-how-the-word-empowerment-lost-its-original-use-and-context/807678/96 "2018-01-29T07:00:18Z")
No, no, no, you moron…the tubes were for you idiots, remember? I mean, sure, it’s been six years or so and you’re obviously still smarting, but you could at least get your facts straight. Besides, you guys better knock off the tube talk with a 16-year-old in the thread. There are laws, you know, and these days who knows what constitutes an actual offense. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2018, 7:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-what-i-hate-how-the-word-empowerment-lost-its-original-use-and-context/807678/97 "2018-01-29T07:09:33Z")
Children, Children, settle down. Don’t make me come over there and separate you! Surely the kid’s gone to bed, it is a school night, after all. ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2018, 7:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-what-i-hate-how-the-word-empowerment-lost-its-original-use-and-context/807678/98 "2018-01-29T07:10:57Z")
Do the words disappear at sun up? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2018, 7:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-what-i-hate-how-the-word-empowerment-lost-its-original-use-and-context/807678/99 "2018-01-29T07:16:07Z")
Some mod should go through the thread and black out all the curse words. Even though it would look bad-ass, I guess it’s too much to ask. Nah, he will just have to read 'em. ---
**Author:** ![Crazyhorse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crazyhorse/32/31_2.png) [@Crazyhorse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crazyhorse)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2018, 7:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-what-i-hate-how-the-word-empowerment-lost-its-original-use-and-context/807678/100 "2018-01-29T07:26:02Z")
> [@Starving\_Artist](#): > > I mean, sure, it’s been six years or so and you’re obviously still smarting, but you could at least get your facts straight. The only thing it ever meant to me is that you branded yourself a paper towel tube fucker forever on these boards. But still, here you finally made a new friend and found someone who makes you feel understood for the first time in ages and Guin didn’t need to go and ruin it for you by telling him that you fuck paper towel tubes. He would have found out about it eventually though so I guess it was as good a time as any. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-what-i-hate-how-the-word-empowerment-lost-its-original-use-and-context/807678.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-what-i-hate-how-the-word-empowerment-lost-its-original-use-and-context/807678.md?page=6)