Out, out, out!

They say one should clean out the hard disk of one's computer every now and again to get the best of out it.

You know...all those viruses, worms, trojans, boogeys, what have you, they take their toll on your computer, don't they?

But then I took it one step further :-)

I thought to clear out junk from the computer in my head.

Might be a pointless exercise though - I may successfully get rid of viruses, bacteria, indeed all forms of fauna one can find in the zoology disctionary.

But alas, my hamsters remain :-)

Anyhow, the following words and phrases should not be part of my vocabulary from henceforth.
These words are too closely alligned with feminism. It's a case of 'too close for comfort'.

But even more annoying is that they are concocted words, meaning, they were words with good meaning before they were hijacked and repackaged into the 'loaded guns' they are today.

Do you have words like this you want to purge from your life?

Feel free to add to this list!


1. Empowerment

*Sigh*.

If I hear this word one more time....!

I think I have alluded to the effect this word has on me, before.

It is the singular most destructive word to escape from Planet Feminism, and I think it is poisoning so many young lives.

To 'empower' someone is to 'invest with power', or to 'enable' or to 'endow with ability'.
I get that.

I think it's a great thing to do for someone who would otherwise be taken advantage of, or crumbled by someone who doesn't understand the meaning of 'magnanimous'. (Again, we touched on this in an earlier post where we discussed the difference between 'mercy' and 'pity').

But why has this word been hijacked for an ignoble cause?

Any Tonia, Delia or Harriet is 'empowered' when she does something wrong and unsavoury.
This is the wrong use of such a noble word.

And for this reason, the word has to go.

Delete...


2. AMALT/AWALT


I don't like this one either.

Having never believed AMALT, I am not inclined to think AWALT either.

What's more, I see this as  the perfect endgame to feminism.

Here is the internal dialogue:

"We are women who have failed in our womanhood, our feminity. We have failed miserably against men. Only a few of us are still what we should be. Why not muddy the waters for everyone, men in particular? Why don't we present all womanhood as tainted, so that it would be hard for these men to distinguish between us?"

These same women, somewhere along the way, bought into the 'all men are pigs' lullaby. Now they want the AWALT tune to be played on every jukebox in the world.

This scenario was brought home to me in a stark way when last weekend I was 'waitressing' for a group of women who were meeting up for an official 'women's group' meeting. Totally accidental that I ended up serving up refreshments (long story), but I became a silent observer in what turned out to be a slow decline into a whinging session about men.

It turned out most of those women were divorced. I knew some of them. Some of them had had serious transgression against them by their ex-husbands. Some of the others were the transgressors themselves in their dealings with their ex-husbands.
Like I say, I knew some of them.
What was interesting is that both groups homogenised so effortlessly that it was hard to see who was the 'good guy' and who was the 'bad guy', so to speak.
It was absolutely stupefying to watch the 'bad guys' play the victim so shamelessly, and the 'good guys' were none the wiser - or perhaps they were aware of what was happening but were powerless to challenge it.

It certainly suited the 'bad guys' to shield themselves under the halo of the 'good guys'.
And yet, *I* knew there was a world of difference between these groups.

I am sure the same can be said for different varieties of men too.

So AMALT/AWALT - deleted.



3. I am worth it/ I deserve...

Like 'empowerment', this phrase is not at all helpful.
Whilst in theory, everyone deserves X or Y, in reality, no-one deserves X or Y.
X or Y is best earned.

It is a disservice to persistently give a child (male or female) the impression that they deserve something.

It leads to shooting sprees.
It leads to a painful life.
It leads to misery which sadly, turns out to be self-induced.

If a good reason cannot be given for why X or Y is deserved, then it is not deserved.


Delete...


4. I am concerned/I am uncomfortable...


I have learned to run - very fast - whenever I hear these words. It usually implies that something very bad is about to happen.

I can't fully explain this one, except to say it is a loaded gun that is often used to instantly silence one.
It comes from the 'politically correct' brigade, and with the law behind it, can be used against anyone at anytime. I have seen it in action (from afar, mind) and it is not too pretty to watch.

You guys ( and some ladies) know what I am talking about.
I feel your pain.

Delete...



5. My feeling is...

This one is the cousin of 'I am concerned...'

I am ambivalent about this because this one is just a precursor to 'I am concerned...'

I am not sure if it should be deleted.
Feelings are great - I swim in them.

But they should never be a substitute for reality.
The problem is, some of us (aherm!) rely too heavily on this.

Maybe this one should go in the 'draft' folder, for further analysis :-)




6. Creepy/pervy


As I said to Metak in the last post, this is just a 'below the belt' insult directed at undesirable men. It has no real meaning, other than 'whatever you want it to mean'.

For this reason, it too goes into the 'delete' box.



7. Embrace...

Funny how before 1997, this word only meant 'to hug' to me :-)

Now we have to 'embrace our fears', 'embrace our sexuality', 'embrace our failings'...

What is it really a code word for?
What do these words mean?
Why are they in use?
Who is 'releasing' them one at a time?
Why are we accepting them?


Delete...


Any grievences against words that should not be in common usgae in the public domain?

Let's bring 'em out and crush 'em in the village square!





Um, does that sound a bit too militant?
Disempower me...

:-)