Wayne D's Blog

I have noticed that a number of words have entered common usage recently that I had never heard before.  These words obscure the grittier reality of what people are talking about and I am intensely displeased that the media has fallen into using these words instead of calling a spade a spade. Most of these words have come into usage when governments have used them to refer to particularly unsavory practices.


Redact means to edit or prepare for publication. When someone on TV or radio talks about a redacted document what they really mean is censored. Someone has went through the document and blacked out the bits that they don't want us to see. I don't mean to suggest that this is a nefarious practice, some things need to be kept secret but lets say censored so everyone really understands what we are talking about.


Renditon means to hand over. When someone on TV or radio uses the term extraordinary rendition what they mean is kidnapped and turned over to a foreign power for interrogation.


When does a "stress position" become a "torture technique"?  Doesn't the American government realize that it's usage of these techniques only reinforce the perception that they are an evil empire? Slate calls a spade a spade in their article The Torture Feature which details approved U.S. government interrogation techniques.


Why say ethnic cleansing when what you really mean is forced population transfer? Ethnic cleansing is not nice, lets not make it sound that way.


The reason an undocumented worker is undocumented is because they are in the country illegally and can't get documents. Why does the media not call them illegal immigrants when that's what they really are?  In Canada we treat illegal immigrants terribly. When they are apprehended the judical process is so slow that there cases may drag on for up to 8 years leaving them with a sense of false hope. Spending 8 years in judicial limbo is unconscionable, either the status determination process needs to be streamlined or they should be allowed to stay.


There is nothing happy about "Happy Slapping".   Filming someone getting assaulted with your cell phone camera is stupid and pathetic.  This is another case of where the behavior of a few makes everyone feel less secure.  Is that group of kids in hooded swearshirts hanging around outside the mall going to attack you as your walk in?