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hardbodysub -> Words and made-up definitions (8/13/2007 8:25:11 PM)
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At what point do we need to insist that words have meanings, and changing the definition of a word as you please goes beyond the bounds of exercising your personal preference?
In an online community like this, we're supposed to accept everybody's preferences, and sometimes it's like walking on eggshells, virtually unable to disagree with anything for fear of being accused of criticizing. That's good, to a point, but sometimes I think it goes too far. One way I think it's gone too far is how accepting we've become of the bastardization of words. Over the long term, this chips away at the clarity of language, and makes it harder to achieve reason in communication.
I'm reminded of an esteemed public figure (in my opinion) responding to a false statement from an opponent. The response was something like "You're allowed to make up your own mind, but you're not allowed to make up your own facts." I think we have an analagous situation. You're entitled to make your own opinions, but you're not entitled to make up your own definitions.
I understand that a "special interest" community like BDSm develops its own vocabulary, and some words take on new meanings. However, sometimes a person simply hijacks a word, saying that they define it in a particular way, and that they are entitled to define a word any way they want to. Such presumption would be ridiculed in everyday life, but it happens here.
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