Whenever I see the word "militant" I think of "Church Militant", which describes living Catholics according to the Baltimore Catechism. (The rest are the "Church Suffering" -- those in Purgatory -- and those that have made it to Heaven, the "Church Triumphant".) Militant means active, determined and organized in support of a cause. Hardly "military", but I think that's what writers are trying to get at when they use "militant" in their meaning-impaired way. They look the same, don't they? ;)
People need vocabulary lessons if they are going to communicate for a living.
Still, I can see the need for variety. When one word is repeated incessantly, it begins to lose its meaning altogether and becomes mental wallpaper. Better to describe the acts through use of nouns to define the actors sometimes, so we don't think only of an abstraction -- terror -- but of behaviors, such as child murder, torture, and arson.
Current Events » in reply to they're still described as 'militants' by the press
Words do matter.
The whole thread (45 posts)
- Russia ready to strike against terror
- I re-state my prediction of a blood bath in Chechnya. Russia is not famous for mercy or moderation. (n/t)
- 50-60 thousand troops to Iraq would be a good start. (n/t)
- Agreed.
- It's called "anarchy".
- Hope they don't look too closely at northern Idaho... (n/t)
- they're still described as 'militants' by the press
- Words do matter.
- The Euphemism Collection
- re: You don't need to refer to them as Muslims. Its a given. Almost every terrorist is Muslim. Its a modern day fact. (n/t)
- Sort-of like calling all participants in organized crime "Italians".
- Nor males, nor deeply pigmented humans, nor Arabic-speakers...
- re: Good.