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Comradeship // Freechat @lemmygrad.ml Trudge [Comrade] @lemmygrad.ml 2y ago

Western doublespeak compilation

We all know that the west uses two different words for the same thing depending on where it is happening.

e.g. Secret Police vs Plainclothes Officer
Regime vs Government

Can we have a compilation thread of these words? I am probably using many of them unconsciously without critical examination.

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Bribery/corruption vs lobbying

Oligarch vs job creator

Warlord vs leader/general

Preventable deaths are social murder

Propaganda vs public relations

Terrorist/guerilla and freedom fighter just depends on which side of the violence you're on

Any use of the term "extremist"

And the worst is that they call their fascists "neoliberals"

Mandatory Viewing

Optional Reading
- Fascism and neoliberalism aren't mutually exclusive, though I see what you're getting at.
- The video playback doesn't really work
Prime minister and Supreme leader are literally synonyms yet have such wildly different implications.
- damn that's true lmao, never even thought of that.
  
  kind of reminds me how chinese titles and names will often get translated into their literal english counterparts, which have weird connotations in english that aren't there in mandarin. can't think of examples off the top of my head
  
  Propaganda vs Public Relation Campaigns
  
  From what I understand, Chinese use the same word for both.
I'll start the thread.

Billionaire vs Oligarch
Custom vs Ritual
Freedom fighter vs Terrorist
Anime vs Cartoon
- Anime vs Cartoon
  
  It appears you have chosen violence.
  
  cartoon sounds derogatory like "its just a cartoon" but anime sounds like a legitimate genre, although I guess it depends on how old you are
oligarchy - entrepreneurs

invasion - humanitarian intervention

indoctrination - common sense

surveillance - CCTV

attacking free press - defending national security

racial profiling/transphobia - stopping cultural marxism

freedom fighters - terrorists

united states - america

football - soccer
Their regime, our administration
- love calling it the obama regime when talking to libs
our 'hard-hitting journalism', their 'state-funded propaganda'
Their authoritarianism vs our law and order.

Their warcrime vs our collateral damage.

Their dictator vs our leader.

Their reeducation vs our rehabilitation.

Their state media vs our public media.
- The dictator vs our leader is huge. The way all westoid brained people talk about Putin, or Xi, or Kim like they have a personal relationship with them. They act like geopolitics is just based on these individuals personal whims
- Their state media vs our public media.
  
  you mean the free independent press (all 5 companies)
  
  Well I was more thinking of the way that enemy country state media are considered nothing but propaganda, while things like the BBC are considered upstanding journalism.
There's just a kajillion of them:

Their Stasi Vs our neighborhood watch

Their whataboutism Vs our providing important context

Their unaccountable regime security forces Vs our police officer who feared for his safety

Their re-education Vs our cult deprogramming

Their GULAG Vs our federal bureau of prisons

Their prison camps Vs our prisons
Our prison, their prison camp
- "internment camp" might be good to plug here
Internship vs unpaid labor
Defector/refugee - Illegal immigrant
Community service - Forced labor
Liberation - Occupation
Enhanced interrogation techniques - Torture
- Community service is not forced labour 💀
  
  You mean prison labour is forced labour. Community service is when they make dumbass teens arrested for something like vandalism or underage drinking, go and work at a soup kitchen, or pick up garbage off the side of the road as punishment.
  
  they make ... teens ... work
  
  So... Forced labour?
  
  I got hit with 24 hours of community service when I was a teen. Worked it off on a library, not bad. Actually wanted to get a full time job there.
- Don't forget expat! They love that one.
  
  Migrant vs refugee
  
  Migrant vs expat
"The adults in the room" versus "the unaccountable ruling class and their puppets"

THEY ARE THE SAME FUCKING THING
security forces vs police
i like using that one about america, it makes liberals weirdly defensive lol
- Aren’t security forces supposed to refer more to paramilitary units, such as military unites forced pushed into civilian policing services? Like occupation forces, civil protection units, or martial law units.
  
  Or the other definition is police and military units working in concert.
  
  Those feel a bit above the role of police alone.
Their police state versus our safety.

Authoritarian spying apparatus versus smart advertising.
The various ways they avoid using "oligarch" for westerns. Western Billionaire, entrepreneur, etc, whereas it's always "Russian Oligarchs."
- On that note: "bribery" and "lobbying"
- "Western philanthropist" vs "Russian Oligarch"
  
  Another good one. Couldn't think of all the BS words they have to come up with to describe themselves.
Immigrant vs Expat
Assassination/targeted killing and mercenary/contractor legit make me furious. Up there with "enhanced interrogation".
- Oh yeah mercenary/private military corporation contractor is insanity
Expat / immigrant
- I think this isn't always true because they do mean different things. You're not an "immigrant" unless you're trying to stay there permanently, whereas "expats" can be sort of transient
  
  In practice, people from the global south who are working for only a few years in rich countries are never called expats.
  
  Unless you are a white person in Asia. Then you call yourself an expat even if you've been there for decades.
- Expat is a useful word, but it has been co-opted by those who very obviously aren’t expats and just don’t want to call themselves immigrants.
  
  I do the reverse thing of calling myself an immigrant and you can see people having an error in their heads. Because I am an immigrant, I came here unemployed with nowhere to stay, looking for a better life. But I'm white, so expat it is for them 🤷
our riots vs their protests for freedom
The Dictator's hand-picked successor.

The President's endorsement.
Defence contractor vs weapons manufacturer

Used depending on who's buying weapons from whom
Paid volunteers vs mercenaries

White nationalism vs white supremacist
In terms of Israel: Skirmishes vs terrorist attacks
freedom fighters vs terrorists
Media really had a field day with these over the last 20 years.
- "If crime fighters fight crime, and firefighters fight fires, then what do freedom fighters fight?"
Our routine missile test vs their provocative missile launch
https://citationsneeded.libsyn.com/episode-137-thought-terminating-enemy-epithets-part-i https://citationsneeded.libsyn.com/episode-138-thought-terminating-enemy-epithets-part-ii
President of the United States of America (POTUS) vs. US head of state.

Self-determination vs. whoever the fuck in power determined it

Israeli nationality vs. Zionist

CIA/FBI agent vs. secret police/international terror network
First thing that comes to mind is "prison camps" vs just "prison." Will edit some more in when I remember them.
Terrorists vs freedom fighters

dictator vs president
Army vs Horde
gulag vs prison oligarch vs entrepreneur
Savages committing human sacrifices vs Carrying out God's divine justice
Humans vs terrans
- I don’t think anyone’s seriously using that one except in movies
Coup vs popular uprising.
Cringe

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