"I don't know what you mean by 'glory,' " Alice said.
Humpty Dumpty smiled contemptuously. "Of course you don't—till I tell you. I meant 'there's a nice knock-down argument for you!' "
"But 'glory' doesn't mean 'a nice knock-down argument'," Alice objected.
"When I use a word," Humpty Dumpty said, in rather a scornful tone, "it means just what I choose it to mean—neither more nor less."
-Lewis Carroll.
What does the word "Fascist" mean? what does the word "Dictator" mean? what does the words "Democracy" and "Socialism" mean?
In Venezuela these words are ever so emotionally charged. they are used regularly to inspire the masses and justify action. but how can a president say the he will suppress freedom of speech to uphold democracy? the statement is a contradiction, and yet there it is, in the ears of the public; and so many of them nod in agreement.
I'll be honest, it wasn't so long ago I bothered to learn how the word "Fascist" is defined. here's some of what Wikipedia has to say on the subject:
"Fascists sought to unify their nation through a totalitarian state that promoted the mass mobilization of the national community[5][6] and were characterized by having a vanguard party that initiated a revolutionary political movement aiming to reorganize the nation along principles according to fascist ideology.[7] Fascist movements shared certain common features, including the veneration of the state, a devotion to a strong leader, and an emphasis on ultranationalism and militarism."
But in Venezuela this is not what "Fascist" means. over there it really just means "bad guy" with the optional meaning of "rich bag guy only interested in his own wealth and in screwing over the little guy". I can think of a few words I think might describe that better. If I wanted to insult a rich business man I might call him a "Fat Cat", or a "leech". so why bother calling him a fascist when that simply isn't what he is? because I don't want the right word, I want the most emotionally charged word.
The word fascist brings with it connotations of Nazis, it instills fear. and I want people to fear my enemy. if they fear him, then they will come to me for protection, and they wont realize the price until its too late.
When people are afraid, they might believe anything. they might believe me that freedom of speech is a fair price to pay for their protection. If they fear the enemy enough, if they hate him enough, they wont mind me violating his human rights so that i can better protect them. and if they're uneducated enough, then I wont have to convince them that fascist means what I say it does, because most of them wont know any better to begin with.
the people of Venezuela are afraid. not just the opposition, everyone. the only difference is what they're afraid of.
The "chavistas" (the supporters of the goverment), they are not the enemy. they are afraid of a system that ignores them, belittles them and exploits them. they suffered it for a long time and they have good reason to be afraid. they must be shown they have nothing to fear.
They need to know that the opposition understands what the words democracy and socialism mean and that they don't fear them, either of them. that all Venezuelans can use those words together with and share a common meaning.
And we must teach them what the word fascist means, so they can work out for themselves who it truly applies to.
don't let words get in the way.
just a thought.
http://cpj.org/2014/02/venezuelan-authorities-take-foreign-cable-station.php
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