Joined
·
75,122 Posts
I am coming to the conclusion that adding "ist" to a word is just a lame attempt to cut off dialog by branding the opponent with a smear.
It is, when one comes right down to it, an attempt to avoid an argument's force by resorting to a fallacy.
Think about it. How many times have you heard somebody shut down another person merely by using the term "racist" for any argument that touches upon race (and sometimes does not even touch upon race)?
More recently, you see "fascist" thrown around a lot, mainly by people who do not really know what that word means, but nonetheless throw it out there.
On this forum we do not have the kind of people who throw around words like racist and fascist, for the most part. I see it most frequently here adding ist after state, statist.
It is, when one comes right down to it, an attempt to avoid an argument's force by resorting to a fallacy.
Think about it. How many times have you heard somebody shut down another person merely by using the term "racist" for any argument that touches upon race (and sometimes does not even touch upon race)?
More recently, you see "fascist" thrown around a lot, mainly by people who do not really know what that word means, but nonetheless throw it out there.
On this forum we do not have the kind of people who throw around words like racist and fascist, for the most part. I see it most frequently here adding ist after state, statist.