Friday, February 27, 2004
Vocabulary question
I'm hearing the word "zealot" a lot.
This is the third time today. AP here:
So, two suggestions and one question.
1. I think that, instead of using "Christian," we should start using "zealot." After all, all the self-identified, so-called Christians (especially the ones who go on TV a lot) aren't necessarily Christian in their beliefs, or their behavior. But zealots, they certainly are.
And the two Republican Senators from Maine, Susan Collins and Olympia Snow, both are against the Hate Amendment, so
I can't use "Republican" as a generalized term of abuse any more. Yeah, yeah, I know what happened to "liberal", but heck, we liberals are big-hearted... And besides, maybe we can peel off some of their supporters if we don't sound like, well, zealots.
2. I like "winger" for movement conservative.
3. But what's a good word for the Republican leadership? The guys who are fluffing the base? The elephants we keep having to clear up after? We need a way to allow us to separate even 5% of Republican voters from their leadership.
Readers?
This is the third time today. AP here:
Billiam van Roestenberg, 38, and Jeffrey McGowan, 39, of nearby Plattekill, were the first to wed. Wearing suits, they held hands and carried flowers as the crowd cheered.
"I feel happy and joyful and peaceful," van Roestenberg said. "A little bit of peace has finally come in. I feel proud to be an American."
"Now I'm normal and equal like every one else," he said.
The midday ceremonies ended a little more than an hour after they started.
More than 100 people, mostly supporters of gay marriage, turned out on the green across from village hall, outnumbering family and friends of the couples there to marry. A few scattered protesters carried signs opposing gay marriage.
Jay Blotcher of High Falls, N.Y., said that while West could only give him a certificate and not a marriage license, it was still important to go through the ceremony.
"We have to show people who we are," he said. "We've been badmouthed by religious zealots. We've been deprived by President Bush, and we have to show people that we're your friends, neighbors and family."
So, two suggestions and one question.
1. I think that, instead of using "Christian," we should start using "zealot." After all, all the self-identified, so-called Christians (especially the ones who go on TV a lot) aren't necessarily Christian in their beliefs, or their behavior. But zealots, they certainly are.
And the two Republican Senators from Maine, Susan Collins and Olympia Snow, both are against the Hate Amendment, so
I can't use "Republican" as a generalized term of abuse any more. Yeah, yeah, I know what happened to "liberal", but heck, we liberals are big-hearted... And besides, maybe we can peel off some of their supporters if we don't sound like, well, zealots.
2. I like "winger" for movement conservative.
3. But what's a good word for the Republican leadership? The guys who are fluffing the base? The elephants we keep having to clear up after? We need a way to allow us to separate even 5% of Republican voters from their leadership.
Readers?
