Nonlethal aid has been a phrase for a very long time
Thread gets into that; the government has used it before but now it’s getting parroted by media outlets instead of, you know, not using the mildly obfuscating euphemism meant to avoid saying “we’re sending weapons and munitions”
I actually like the lethal Aid versus non-lethal Aid distinction.
It lets you know that we shipped them a bunch of stuff that kills people and then we can also talk about the stuff we shipped that doesn't kill people.
I hope no bullshit less-than-lethal stuff gets shipped in there.
Nonlethal aid has been a phrase for a very long time
Thread gets into that; the government has used it before but now it’s getting parroted by media outlets instead of, you know, not using the mildly obfuscating euphemism meant to avoid saying “we’re sending weapons and munitions”
They have been for a long time. They go under the foreign aid section of the budget (one reason that section is both so high and it’s so hard to cut)
Edit: not sure if the media calling it lethal aid or arms is better for general understanding of/in domestic politics or not
I think calling them arms gets to the point of what they are.
True. But i don't think people are confused by "lethal aid" either. I mean, maybe? And I do think that there is not enough of a connection between our "foreign aid" budget and our "arms shipments".
I am just saying that the language is not necessarily a net negative and its not quite so easy to say which one i, at least, would prefer the media using.
Though i do acknowledge the whole "goddamn media stenographer" thing.
Joe Dunman is a Legal Studies Professor, host of the Heightened Scrutiny podcast and represented the Kentucky plaintiffs in Obergfell V Hodges
Yesterday, for the first time in my life, I noticed the US government use the phrase “lethal aid” as a euphemism for “arms” or “weapons.” By the very next day, national media adopted the phrase without even using quotes.
Weapons and ammo are officially “lethal aid” now I guess
Reminder as always: language shapes perception and thinking
You can almost always count on the US media to uncritically adopt the US government's terminology. The government of most of Yemen for the past seven years? "Houthi rebels." US-armed jihadists in Syria? "Moderate rebels" or, my favorite (from CNN lol) "Mainstream Moderates." The Syrian Army? "Assad forces." A Yemeni exile in Saudi Arabia with no influence in his own country? "The Yemeni government." I remember when Reuters took the minor step of putting "terrorist" in quotes when referring to the US's enemies, it was controversial. I swear, they all get daily emailed instructions on how to talk about things and they follow them to the letter.
That strange tangent was also false in at least one instance, as NPR did use quotes within articles, just not in the few column toppers he chose to put in the Twitter rant.
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Edit: not sure if the media calling it lethal aid or arms is better for general understanding of/in domestic politics or not
Thread gets into that; the government has used it before but now it’s getting parroted by media outlets instead of, you know, not using the mildly obfuscating euphemism meant to avoid saying “we’re sending weapons and munitions”
I think calling them arms gets to the point of what they are.
It lets you know that we shipped them a bunch of stuff that kills people and then we can also talk about the stuff we shipped that doesn't kill people.
I hope no bullshit less-than-lethal stuff gets shipped in there.
The media for the most part are little more than stenographer for whoever / whatever catches the editors eye.
Media is focused on generating content that will sell ad space, not producing quality content that holds those in power accountable to the public.
MWO: Adamski
True. But i don't think people are confused by "lethal aid" either. I mean, maybe? And I do think that there is not enough of a connection between our "foreign aid" budget and our "arms shipments".
I am just saying that the language is not necessarily a net negative and its not quite so easy to say which one i, at least, would prefer the media using.
Though i do acknowledge the whole "goddamn media stenographer" thing.
It appears to have been first used in 2011 and seems to be an exclusive US phrase