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Is political name calling unwarranted or legitimate expression?

Is political name calling unwarranted or legitimate expression?

  • It shows how much more clever and intelligent I am over everybody else.

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Yes, it's a legitimate form of expression to convey how I feel.

    Votes: 3 13.0%
  • Don't really care either way.

    Votes: 2 8.7%
  • No, no matter how you spin it, it's still childish and immature.

    Votes: 7 30.4%
  • Says more about the person doing it, and NOT in a positive way.

    Votes: 11 47.8%

  • Total voters
    23

radcen

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Is political name calling unwarranted or legitimate expression?

I'm not talking between two individuals having a discussion/argument and one calls the other a name. I mean directed towards political people on the other side in general. For example...

- A liberal might call Fox News "Faux News". Or Republicans "Repukes". Or calling Rick Santorum "Frothy" (look in the Urban Dictionary under "santorum", it's not complimentary, but I've seen it a lot on Facebook), or Bush "Shrub".

- A conservative might call OWS people "Occutards" or Democrats "Democrites". Or even more subtle as making a big deal over President Obama's middle name.

I will admit that I called Tea Party people "Tea Baggers" for awhile. While it did express in a way my feeling of the movement, I stopped because I didn't feel right doing it. Is name calling a legitimate form of expression to properly convey how one feels, or does it really do nothing more than to cheapen the whole process and drain what little respectability there is from our system?
 
ARGH! You didn't make the votes public!
 
Is political name calling unwarranted or legitimate expression?

I'm not talking between two individuals having a discussion/argument and one calls the other a name. I mean directed towards political people on the other side in general. For example...

- A liberal might call Fox News "Faux News". Or Republicans "Repukes". Or calling Rick Santorum "Frothy" (look in the Urban Dictionary under "santorum", it's not complimentary, but I've seen it a lot on Facebook), or Bush "Shrub".

- A conservative might call OWS people "Occutards" or Democrats "Democrites". Or even more subtle as making a big deal over President Obama's middle name.

I will admit that I called Tea Party people "Tea Baggers" for awhile. While it did express in a way my feeling of the movement, I stopped because I didn't feel right doing it. Is name calling a legitimate form of expression to properly convey how one feels, or does it really do nothing more than to cheapen the whole process and drain what little respectability there is from our system?

Truthfully, I think it undercuts the name caller's argument, no matter how legitimate their complaint or point may be. I can't take them seriously and move on.

*I will admit, in full disclosure, I may have used a name or two in the past. I rethought it and think I've consistently avoided the using them for some time now.
 
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Truthfully, I think it undercuts the name caller's argument, no matter how legitimate their complaint or point may be. I can't take them seriously and move on.
I tend to agree with this. In fact, the more extreme and constant the name calling, the more I view them as a close-minded person that has not an ounce of objectivity, so I can't even trust them to have honestly considered anything beyond their previously determined bias.
 
I said "don't care either way" because it depends on the situation. As instigation or a distraction from argument, it's weak and childish. As a response to an insult, no big deal. Among friends, no big deal. I tend not to engage people who use "libtard" and similar things.

In general, I think the words just illustrate what kind of communication a person is looking for. A person who uses them when debating isn't interested in fruitful discussion.
 
Is political name calling unwarranted or legitimate expression?

I'm not talking between two individuals having a discussion/argument and one calls the other a name. I mean directed towards political people on the other side in general. For example...

- A liberal might call Fox News "Faux News". Or Republicans "Repukes". Or calling Rick Santorum "Frothy" (look in the Urban Dictionary under "santorum", it's not complimentary, but I've seen it a lot on Facebook), or Bush "Shrub".

- A conservative might call OWS people "Occutards" or Democrats "Democrites". Or even more subtle as making a big deal over President Obama's middle name.

I will admit that I called Tea Party people "Tea Baggers" for awhile. While it did express in a way my feeling of the movement, I stopped because I didn't feel right doing it. Is name calling a legitimate form of expression to properly convey how one feels, or does it really do nothing more than to cheapen the whole process and drain what little respectability there is from our system?
There are much easier ways to create a compelling stand on an argument than to undermine the opponent. It is one of my pet peeves. That being said I could not help but to Pronounce Boehner's last name as "Boner" a time or two.
 
Is political name calling unwarranted or legitimate expression?

I'm not talking between two individuals having a discussion/argument and one calls the other a name. I mean directed towards political people on the other side in general. For example...

- A liberal might call Fox News "Faux News". Or Republicans "Repukes". Or calling Rick Santorum "Frothy" (look in the Urban Dictionary under "santorum", it's not complimentary, but I've seen it a lot on Facebook), or Bush "Shrub".

- A conservative might call OWS people "Occutards" or Democrats "Democrites". Or even more subtle as making a big deal over President Obama's middle name.

I will admit that I called Tea Party people "Tea Baggers" for awhile. While it did express in a way my feeling of the movement, I stopped because I didn't feel right doing it. Is name calling a legitimate form of expression to properly convey how one feels, or does it really do nothing more than to cheapen the whole process and drain what little respectability there is from our system?

well typically name calling just makes you look silly and puts your huge bias on display for everyone to see and you probably wont be taken serious nor should you be

BUT

I think your questions/examples are very different.

Calling republicans retardpublicans or democrates demohypocrates or liberals libnuts or conservatives conservatards etc etc etc to me is very different than calling Fox News : Faux News or Bush : Shrub etc

the first group gets you wrote off as a bias nonobjective troll or extremist

the second group to me are just people displaying their dislike for ONE person or Organization(company not group of public people)

The people that do what I described in the first group are dishonest, bias, extremest and never to be taken seriously and are intellectually void/shallow.

Now on occasion in a rant you may use a derogatory term but if its clear you are talking about only the extremists or a select few then so be it, but most of the time (not all) when you write off whole groups you are an idiot and part of the problem.
 
Partisian namecalling is constitutionally protected, but legitimate? Not to me. It's just a way for clueless individuals to talk smack to their "enemies" without having to go through the bother of understanding and *gasp!* actually discussing issues.
 
to OP:

I voted "I don't care either way." Because I believe in freedom of speech in all forms. Even though it is done to be mean spirited, it really shows the person's "true self" by the words they use, and how they use them.
 
Makes the person who uses it look pretty stupid and usually signifies that they have no argument... or that their argument is weak. BIG pet peeve of mine. When I see it, I automatically lose respect for the individual using it.
 
Ridiculing one's opponent is considered by some to be an effective means of discrediting them in the public arena. The examples you gave in your OP are good ones. It can be effective initially, but overuse causes it all to reach a point of meaninglessness.
 
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Ridiculing one's opponent is considered by some to be an effective means of discrediting them in the public arena. The examples you gave in your OP are good ones. It can be effective initially, but overuse causes it all to reach a point of meaninglessness.

One colorful metaphor can carry the weight of an entire paragraph. FauxNews is a perfect example. If Fox did not make their "fair and balanced" statement so boldly and as if to suggest it was unarguable, it would not make such perfect sense. Fox is a partisan Network making intimations that it is non-partisan and up pops FauxNews and encapsulates the hypocrisy of FoxNews. Fitting, appropos, deserved and in just one metaphor. What more can you ask of language skills.
 
I'm thinking about the political commercials I see. I see one side putting up smutt on the other, then the other side sorta has to comeback with something on that guy. There may have intentions of sticking to nice clean commercials, but then some PAC from the other side tips the teeter-toter. Could be worse, I understand in Brittain the political commercials are really something.
 
Is political name calling unwarranted or legitimate expression?

I'm not talking between two individuals having a discussion/argument and one calls the other a name. I mean directed towards political people on the other side in general. For example...

- A liberal might call Fox News "Faux News". Or Republicans "Repukes". Or calling Rick Santorum "Frothy" (look in the Urban Dictionary under "santorum", it's not complimentary, but I've seen it a lot on Facebook), or Bush "Shrub".

- A conservative might call OWS people "Occutards" or Democrats "Democrites". Or even more subtle as making a big deal over President Obama's middle name.

I will admit that I called Tea Party people "Tea Baggers" for awhile. While it did express in a way my feeling of the movement, I stopped because I didn't feel right doing it. Is name calling a legitimate form of expression to properly convey how one feels, or does it really do nothing more than to cheapen the whole process and drain what little respectability there is from our system?

If I ever heard those terms on Fox or anywhere else in a respected public domain, I would be floored. When I read them here, I think the users look like complete idiots. I don't know why our posters user them. They think it makes them look intelligent? No, it makes them look like fools.

These fools think they're saying:

I think the Occutards have finally over-stepped their bounds and are losing public support.

But what they've really said is:

I am a complete bumbling idiot with an opinion.
 
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