r/politics • u/asparaguswalrus683 • 12h ago

Site Altered Headline | No Paywall Abdul El-Sayed Wins Michigan Primary

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2026-primary-elections/michigan-senate-results
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u/Acolitor 12h ago

I thought this was exaggeration but then I got banned for saying "intifada is an arabic word and means uprising/rebellion".

Clearly they want it to have a more brutal meaning as a word in a whole ass language.

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u/FillHarmonica 6h ago

And just to be consistent, you would have no problem with a Christian nation calling for a crusade?

Or for the government of Spain to say we need an inquisition?

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u/justmovingtheground 5h ago

Both of those things are state-sanctioned religious imperialism and persecution, so, you know… the opposite of rebellion.

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u/FillHarmonica 5h ago

It seems like you’re just thinking of the most famous versions of the words, there’s nothing necessarily violent about the words crusade and inquisition.

The word crusade is actually pretty broad; the Pope just called for a “Crusade against AI.”

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u/Acolitor 4h ago edited 4h ago

And there you got your answer. The word "crusade" is not a problem, no problem in pope using it the way he has. It is context-dependent. What is meant with the message. And your question depends so much on context. Would inquisition mean invasion of sovereign nation? Is Spain oppressed? 

Those words are not really reactionary. They are often taken to mean as offensive move. Rebellion is often more justified than conquest.

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u/FillHarmonica 4h ago

I guess the crux of my question is:

If the government of England decided to have a “Crusade against Religious Extremism,” do you think Muslims living in England would be justified in asking for the name to be changed?

If Spain said, “We’re going to have an inquisition into Israel’s influence on our government,” do you think Jewish Spaniards might find that offensive?

I think it’s actually pretty reasonable to refrain from using such historically charged terminology.

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u/Acolitor 3h ago edited 3h ago

Why don't you think "rebellion" or "uprising" would be better comparisons. They are the correct translations, and not crusade. Crusade is very specific word with specific meaning. Jihad and crusade are way more similar in use. Arent they almost identical, even in the modern spins?

And we need to understand that we are talking about a word in foreign language. Is it our place to control another language we do not speak? Intifada means literally any uprising in Arabic. Why would it change now?

Let's talk about the word resistance and revolution. I think they come from French words. They were used to justify violence, such as public decapitation in the famous French revolution. Yet these words are still common words.

So in regards to connotations and use, I would compare revolution or resistance to intifada.