Our Ever-Changing Language
By Mitch Berg
The came via email yesterday:
In Greece, rioters are throwing Molotov cocktails at police. The cops who are not on fire are responding with tear gas.
CNN calls setting cops on fire “minor scuffles,” and the rioters/attempted murderers “protesters” and “demonstrators.”
A “student” throwing a molotov cocktail at a cop halfway around the world is a “protester”.
Someone throwing one at, say, CNN headquarters is, I suspect, a “terrorist”.
September 27th, 2012 at 2:12 pm
Now come on, Mitch. They way you say things, you’d think that half a cup of gasoline has the explosive power of a stick of dynamite or something.
Oh, wait, it does. Never mind.
September 27th, 2012 at 5:55 pm
Meh. From a protester’s point of view in any civilized western country, this is simply sport, with stakes comparable to rugby or xtreme skateboarding (i.e. you might get a fracture or road rash). Pull it off, and you’ve gained major cred with your boys, and a chance to hit on hot babes. A napoleonic “whiff of grapeshot” or two would put an end to this bullshit in a heartbeat.