• TheObviousSolution@lemmy.ca
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    17 hours ago

    I know some people like to actually use the term, but the fact still seems to be that the majority of people using the term are those looking to slap an “anti-” to it while searching for a boogieman to hide their bigotry under. It also isn’t really an effective term, given how ambiguous it is and how easy it is to say what you mean.

    It’s definitely effective for them. For a small minority of possible legitimate use, they get to keep their whitewashing of a boogieman and people who rarely even use the term themselves will downvote any suggestion to go after banning popular labels used by bigots. Regardless of what some people want it to be, it is an excellent and effective exercise at gaslighting to the benefit of the bigots themselves.

    The irony of claiming to be aware of social injustice by acting to support such an effective boogieman for it, to the point where you are actually defending them against hate speech laws. Gaslighting supreme.