This reminds me a lot of when (some) feminists say all X is bad because all pornography is degrading, and then much later s that they've defined pornography as degrading, non-degrading material designed to arouse is erotica. They're not technically lying, but they're not contributing to the conversation. Or for a less charged example, Americans who hear the word "Asian" think "Chinese, Japanese, Korean." Britains who hear "Asian" think "India, Pakistan". Both would cop to the existence of southeast Asia on the map, but it's not what they think of.
So I accept your distinction but worry that it's impossible to implement with demographic data as currently collected. I suggest that we use poor as the broad sense including both "lazy broke-ass" and some term yet to be decided. I'm leaning towards something like "caught in the gravity well", but that's just brainstorming.
And I'm glad you liked this. This post was by far the one whose reception I most worried about.
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timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2011-01-11 06:26 am (UTC)So I accept your distinction but worry that it's impossible to implement with demographic data as currently collected. I suggest that we use poor as the broad sense including both "lazy broke-ass" and some term yet to be decided. I'm leaning towards something like "caught in the gravity well", but that's just brainstorming.
And I'm glad you liked this. This post was by far the one whose reception I most worried about.