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Discussion Groups / English Usage / August 2010-phobia not exactly right
Lots of phobic words are being bandied about now -- homophobia, islamophobia, francophobia, etc. What suffix can be used to indicate indifference or rejection rather than fear?  SignatureCheers, Bev xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx "Faster, faster, until the thrill of speed overcomes the fear of death." -- Hunter S. Thompson >Lots of phobic words are being bandied about now -- homophobia, >islamophobia, francophobia, etc. What suffix can be used to indicate >indifference or rejection rather than fear? Not to hijack your thread, but also I don't like the use of -phobia for groups that may be disliked, rather than feared. Words intended to describe dislike are for misanthrope and that word for not liking foreigners. If mis- doesn't work as a prefix, how about -misonia as a suffix? SignaturePosters should say where they live, and for which area they are asking questions. I was born and then lived in Western Pa. 10 years Indianapolis 7 years Chicago 6 years Brooklyn, NY 12 years Baltimore 26 years >> Lots of phobic words are being bandied about now -- homophobia, >> islamophobia, francophobia, etc. What suffix can be used to indicate [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > > If mis- doesn't work as a prefix, how about -misonia as a suffix? There is already a suffix -misia, albeit not very common. Iatromisia is an intense dislike of doctors. SignatureJames >>> Lots of phobic words are being bandied about now -- homophobia, >>> islamophobia, francophobia, etc. What suffix can be used to indicate [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] >There is already a suffix -misia, albeit not very common. Iatromisia is >an intense dislike of doctors. I would have thought it was an intense dislike of kidnappers. SignatureSteve Hayes from Tshwane, South Africa Web: http://hayesfam.bravehost.com/stevesig.htm Blog: http://methodius.blogspot.com E-mail - see web page, or parse: shayes at dunelm full stop org full stop uk >There is already a suffix -misia, albeit not very common. Iatromisia is >an intense dislike of doctors. No, not kidnappers, thieves. SignatureSteve Hayes from Tshwane, South Africa Web: http://hayesfam.bravehost.com/stevesig.htm Blog: http://methodius.blogspot.com E-mail - see web page, or parse: shayes at dunelm full stop org full stop uk >> There is already a suffix -misia, albeit not very common. Iatromisia is >> an intense dislike of doctors. > > No, not kidnappers, thieves. One reason for not using a sans-serif font. SignatureJames >>> There is already a suffix -misia, albeit not very common. >>> Iatromisia is an intense dislike of doctors. >> >> No, not kidnappers, thieves. > > One reason for not using a sans-serif font. And for not mingling Greek and Latin. SignatureMike. > >>> There is already a suffix -misia, albeit not very common. > >>> Iatromisia is an intense dislike of doctors. [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > > And for not mingling Greek and Latin. Right -- I drive my ipsomobile(*) to work every day. (*) I first heard that from Isaac Asimov in a lecture at my college in 1970 or 1971. SignatureStan Brown, Oak Road Systems, Tompkins County, New York, USA http://OakRoadSystems.com Shikata ga nai... >> >>> There is already a suffix -misia, albeit not very common. >> >>> Iatromisia is an intense dislike of doctors. [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > > Right -- I drive my ipsomobile(*) to work every day. It's much classier to drive an autokinetikon, dontcha know. SignatureRoland Hutchinson He calls himself "the Garden State's leading violist da gamba," ... comparable to being ruler of an exceptionally small duchy. --Newark (NJ) Star Ledger ( http://tinyurl.com/RolandIsNJ ) >> Right -- I drive my ipsomobile(*) to work every day. > >It's much classier to drive an autokinetikon, dontcha know. On a leoforio, until you hit one. SignatureSteve Hayes from Tshwane, South Africa Web: http://hayesfam.bravehost.com/stevesig.htm Blog: http://methodius.blogspot.com E-mail - see web page, or parse: shayes at dunelm full stop org full stop uk James Hogg <Jas.Hogg@gOUTmail.com>: >>> There is already a suffix -misia, albeit not very common. Iatromisia is >>> an intense dislike of doctors. >> >> No, not kidnappers, thieves. > >One reason for not using a sans-serif font. A good reason for not using Arial, yes. But there's no problem with many other sans fonts. SignatureMike Barnes Cheshire, England >>> Lots of phobic words are being bandied about now -- homophobia, >>> islamophobia, francophobia, etc. What suffix can be used to indicate [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] >There is already a suffix -misia, albeit not very common. Iatromisia is >an intense dislike of doctors. Well that's very good to know. Thank you. BTW, I read the posts san-serif, but when I start to reply it grows serifs. It's serific. SignaturePosters should say where they live, and for which area they are asking questions. I was born and then lived in Western Pa. 10 years Indianapolis 7 years Chicago 6 years Brooklyn, NY 12 years Baltimore 26 years [...] >>> Words intended to describe dislike are for misanthrope and that word >>> for not liking foreigners. [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > BTW, I read the posts san-serif, but when I start to reply it grows > serifs. It's serific. These serifim are really bright. SignatureMike. On 25 Aug 2010, mm wrote >> Lots of phobic words are being bandied about now -- homophobia, >> islamophobia, francophobia, etc. What suffix can be used to indicate [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > Words intended to describe dislike are for misanthrope and that word > for not liking foreigners. But isn't that suffixed with "-phobe"? SignatureCheers, Harvey CanEng and BrEng, indiscriminately mixed > On 25 Aug 2010, mm wrote > [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > > But isn't that suffixed with "-phobe"? I see that Greek "phobos" meant "panic flight" or "panic fear", with no connotations of hatred. The root is Indo-European *bhegw-, which has also yielded the Slavic word for "run". SignatureJames >> On 25 Aug 2010, mm wrote >> [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] > connotations of hatred. The root is Indo-European *bhegw-, which has > also yielded the Slavic word for "run". Perhaps the thinking was that people hate things they fear - but they don't, not always. I don't hate bad drivers but I'm afraid of them. The idea does encourage a kind of pop psychology, though - the only reason you don't enthusiastically support Group A is because you have an underlying and unreasonable fear of them, carefully disguised as indifference! The meaning has drifted so that it now seems to refer to dislike, indifference, rejection and also even disagreement with political stands that members of the group are claimed to hold - as though any group entirely agreed on politics! Even political parties don't manage that, and they're organized on the assumption that they do agree politically, at least long enough to get and hold power. I don't think there's any way to entirely avoid this sort of shift in meaning. SignatureCheryl P. >>> On 25 Aug 2010, mm wrote >>> [quoted text clipped - 13 lines] > >Perhaps the thinking was that people hate things they fear - but they Maybe, but do they fear all the things they hate? >don't, not always. I don't hate bad drivers but I'm afraid of them. The >idea does encourage a kind of pop psychology, though - the only reason [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] >I don't think there's any way to entirely avoid this sort of shift in >meaning. Good post. SignaturePosters should say where they live, and for which area they are asking questions. I was born and then lived in Western Pa. 10 years Indianapolis 7 years Chicago 6 years Brooklyn, NY 12 years Baltimore 26 years >On 25 Aug 2010, mm wrote > [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > >But isn't that suffixed with "-phobe"? Oh, yeah. I couldn't remember the word until you gave me the clue. Xenophobe. That might actually be fear, so when it is, the word is accurate. Even applied generally it might not be so bad, because I'lll bet the fear of them taking jobs, or being disloyal, or during war, being a fifth column is pretty common. I think at least some xenophobes would agree it's fear. "Homophobe" is what caught my attention years ago regarding the suffix -phobe or -phobia. They don't talk about it much anymore, because the discussion is at a different stage, but used to be, there was a frequent claim that the reason straight people didn't like homosexuals is that deep down they *feared* such tendencies were in themselves. That that was the only reason. It was an example of "The best defense is a good offense." I'm sure those gays making the statements did so as part of their strategy, although they probably also believed what they said. (For those who did believe it, I suspect it was because they were projecting from their own feelings, because deep down they did have homosexual tendencies, and probably on the surface too.) And while I think that's probably true that some straight people fear they might be gay deep down, I think it's less than half, and for the others, I don't think they think that. In fact the later position, their current position, that gayness is inborn and that gays know they have such feelings by the time puberty starts (or even earlier) probably to some extent contradicts the idea that many straight people are gay deep-down. Because they would have had earlier feelings. Of course, some of the strongest, most public enemies of pro-gay policies are indeed gay. Quite a few, like the Congressman who was messing with teenage boys, pages?, who were in DC under some Congressional program, and who also took the strongest most aggressive anti-gay stand in Congress. But people like that are no more than 5 percent of the population. Most people have no opportunity to take a position that anyone outside their family knows about. They don't go to rallies, they don't have jobs that allow them to influence the country's or even a few people's situation. There usually isn't even a referendum to vote on, but I wouldn't count that anyhow, because their votes are just one in many. Anyhow, I think the word homophobia and the argument that it symbolized distorted the discussion. Sort of the equivalent of two people discussing how to be stylishly dressed and one saying either, You're too concerned about every hair being in its place, OR You're a slop anyhow. Either one turns the topic on to the other person, and ignores real standards of style. Or real views on the propriety of homosexual behaviour. (Who are they to have views and votes on other people's behaviour is another topic, IMO.) I should never start these things because I can't quit in the middle. I hope I didn't offend anyone. SignaturePosters should say where they live, and for which area they are asking questions. I was born and then lived in Western Pa. 10 years Indianapolis 7 years Chicago 6 years Brooklyn, NY 12 years Baltimore 26 years On 26 Aug 2010, mm wrote >> On 25 Aug 2010, mm wrote >> [quoted text clipped - 22 lines] > frequent claim that the reason straight people didn't like homosexuals > is that deep down they *feared* such tendencies were in themselves. -snip purely for brevity- Although that argument has certainly been put often enought, I always assumed the "-phobe" in "homophobia" related to a fear of predatory, rather than suppressed, homosexuality. SignatureCheers, Harvey CanEng and BrEng, indiscriminately mixed > On 26 Aug 2010, mm wrote > [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] > always assumed the "-phobe" in "homophobia" related to a fear of > predatory, rather than suppressed, homosexuality. Strictly speaking, it was neither, at least in the mind of the guy who coined the word, George Weinberg (who is straight, BTW): After trying to introduce gay friends of mine to heterosexuals in those days I just almost couldn't make the bridge. They always found reasons not to invite them to their homes and I realized that this is a classical phobic revulsion. They exhibited the same traits as your claustrophobic, your agoraphobic except that they were traits toward gays. The notion is that there's an intense irrational discomfort caused by gays and that the hatred is an attempt to rationalize the discomfort and keep the object away from them where they don't have to deal with it. I doubt if most homophobes could accurately tell you whether their revulsion stems from worry due to their own occasional homosexual fantasies, worry that they might have been "deceived" by friends (of either sex), worry that they might be the object of sexual interest from someone they couldn't conceive reciprocating such feelings for, worry that they might someone might try to "make" them or those they know gay, or some combination of these and others. They just perceive a "wrongness" that they can't deal with, and it scares them. SignatureEvan Kirshenbaum +------------------------------------ HP Laboratories |He who will not reason, is a bigot; 1501 Page Mill Road, 1U, MS 1141 |he who cannot is a fool; and he who Palo Alto, CA 94304 |dares not is a slave. | Sir William Drummond kirshenbaum@hpl.hp.com (650)857-7572 http://www.kirshenbaum.net/ > I doubt if most homophobes could accurately tell you whether their > revulsion stems from worry due to their own occasional homosexual [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > know gay, or some combination of these and others. They just perceive > a "wrongness" that they can't deal with, and it scares them. I doubt *any* bigot can explain the etiology of their bigotry, because they don't perceive it as a flaw needing explanation. They look on their revulsion as natural and commendable and see a flaw only in the object of that revulsion -- much as a sane person feels about cockroaches. SignatureStan Brown, Oak Road Systems, Tompkins County, New York, USA http://OakRoadSystems.com Shikata ga nai... >> I doubt if most homophobes could accurately tell you whether their >> revulsion stems from worry due to their own occasional homosexual [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] > only in the object of that revulsion -- much as a sane person feels > about cockroaches. But 'phobia' terms aren't necessarily applied to bigots. They're very often applied to someone who disagrees with the speaker as a way to deflect any possible debate away from the speaker's claims and onto the mental state of the speaker's opponent. And it's such a powerful, if rather unfair and irrational, tool for that purpose that the terms are now almost useless as a description of them mental or moral state of the target. SignatureCheryl P. >"Homophobe" is what caught my attention years ago regarding the suffix >-phobe or -phobia. They don't talk about it much anymore, because the >discussion is at a different stage, but used to be, there was a >frequent claim that the reason straight people didn't like homosexuals >is that deep down they *feared* such tendencies were in themselves. >That that was the only reason. I still don't use "homophobe" (ie it's in my passve, not active vocabulary) because I think it should be the antonym of xenophobe, or heterophobe (fear of the foreign, or other). I still have a niggling feeling that "homophobe" should be reserved for "The idiot who praises, with enthusiastic tone, All centuries but this, and every country but his own." SignatureSteve Hayes from Tshwane, South Africa Web: http://hayesfam.bravehost.com/stevesig.htm Blog: http://methodius.blogspot.com E-mail - see web page, or parse: shayes at dunelm full stop org full stop uk >> "Homophobe" is what caught my attention years ago regarding the suffix >> -phobe or -phobia. They don't talk about it much anymore, because the [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] > idiot who praises, with enthusiastic tone, All centuries but this, and every > country but his own." That home-feeling idiocy sounds more like homophilia to me. SignatureJames [...] >> I still have a niggling feeling that "homophobe" should be reserved >> for "The idiot who praises, with enthusiastic tone, All centuries >> but this, and every country but his own." > > That home-feeling idiocy sounds more like homophilia to me. Being a haemophobic homophobic homoiophobe is going the whole hog, or, as we psychiatrists call it, hemiphobia. SignatureMike. On 26 Aug 2010, Mike Lyle wrote > [...] >>> [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > Being a haemophobic homophobic homoiophobe is going the whole hog, or, > as we psychiatrists call it, hemiphobia. Wouldn't "hemiphobia" refer to only the upper or lower half of the whole hog? SignatureCheers, Harvey CanEng and BrEng, indiscriminately mixed > On 26 Aug 2010, Mike Lyle wrote > [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > > Wouldn't "hemiphobia" refer to only the upper or lower half of the whole hog? Or just one flitch. SignatureJames On 26 Aug 2010, James Hogg wrote >> On 26 Aug 2010, Mike Lyle wrote >> [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] > > Or just one flitch. Which you done mowed off it this morning? SignatureCheers, Harvey CanEng and BrEng, indiscriminately mixed > On 26 Aug 2010, James Hogg wrote > [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] > > Which you done mowed off it this morning? Hands up who didn't get that! SignatureJames James Hogg <Jas.Hogg@gOUTmail.com>: >> On 26 Aug 2010, James Hogg wrote >> [quoted text clipped - 14 lines] > >Hands up who didn't get that! Dunmow what you're talking about. SignatureMike Barnes Cheshire, England >James Hogg <Jas.Hogg@gOUTmail.com>: >>> On 26 Aug 2010, James Hogg wrote [quoted text clipped - 17 lines] > >Dunmow what you're talking about. My son and I passed through there on the way from Stansted to Southend for the Ruby wedding jollifications of one of my sisters in July. We saw no flitch. SignaturePeter Duncanson, UK (in alt.usage.english) >> James Hogg <Jas.Hogg@gOUTmail.com>: >>>> On 26 Aug 2010, James Hogg wrote [quoted text clipped - 18 lines] > for the Ruby wedding jollifications of one of my sisters in July. We saw > no flitch. Though cowards flitch and traitors beer, We'll keep the wedding jolly here. SignatureRob Bannister >[...] >>> [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] >Being a haemophobic homophobic homoiophobe is going the whole hog, or, >as we psychiatrists call it, hemiphobia. Wot, no haemophiliac? SignatureSteve Hayes from Tshwane, South Africa Web: http://hayesfam.bravehost.com/stevesig.htm Blog: http://methodius.blogspot.com E-mail - see web page, or parse: shayes at dunelm full stop org full stop uk >Being a haemophobic homophobic homoiophobe is going the whole hog, or, >as we psychiatrists call it, hemiphobia. Going a small fraction of the hog is hemidemisemiphobia. SignaturePeter Duncanson, UK (in alt.usage.english) >>Being a haemophobic homophobic homoiophobe is going the whole hog, or, >>as we psychiatrists call it, hemiphobia. > > Going a small fraction of the hog is hemidemisemiphobia. I thought that was being afraid of a 4.5-wheeler. SignatureRoland Hutchinson He calls himself "the Garden State's leading violist da gamba," ... comparable to being ruler of an exceptionally small duchy. --Newark (NJ) Star Ledger ( http://tinyurl.com/RolandIsNJ ) >> Being a haemophobic homophobic homoiophobe is going the whole hog, >> or, as we psychiatrists call it, hemiphobia. > > Going a small fraction of the hog is hemidemisemiphobia. No, that's hemisemidemiphilia. SignatureMike. >>> "Homophobe" is what caught my attention years ago regarding the suffix >>> -phobe or -phobia. They don't talk about it much anymore, because the [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] > >That home-feeling idiocy sounds more like homophilia to me. The other odd thing is that people who murder children are called "paedophiles". SignatureSteve Hayes from Tshwane, South Africa Web: http://hayesfam.bravehost.com/stevesig.htm Blog: http://methodius.blogspot.com E-mail - see web page, or parse: shayes at dunelm full stop org full stop uk >>>> "Homophobe" is what caught my attention years ago regarding the suffix >>>> -phobe or -phobia. They don't talk about it much anymore, because the [quoted text clipped - 15 lines] >The other odd thing is that people who murder children are called >"paedophiles". Er, paedophiles rarely murder children. >>>>> "Homophobe" is what caught my attention years ago regarding the >>>>> suffix -phobe or -phobia. They don't talk about it much [quoted text clipped - 18 lines] > > Er, paedophiles rarely murder children. Presumably the impression comes from all the fuss made when they do. But "paedophile" is IMO a misnomer intended to soften the impact of "paederast". >>> The other odd thing is that people who murder children are called >>> "paedophiles". [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > But "paedophile" is IMO a misnomer intended to soften the impact of > "paederast". The problem with "paederast" is that it led to the vilification of podiatrists. SignaturePeter Moylan, Newcastle, NSW, Australia. http://www.pmoylan.org For an e-mail address, see my web page. Thank you, gentlemen, especially Mr. Hogg who introduced "-misia". Infortunately it's so little-used (I've never even heard of it) that it would lead to confusion much like the podiatrist/pederast dichotomy, and people could get killed :-( Before 9/11 I doubt that there was much islamophobia or islamomisia in the US, but things are very different now. Is 'religiomisia' a real word? SignatureCheers, Bev Subscribe today to "Fire in the Hole - the Quarterly Journal for Incinerator Toilet Enthusiasts" -- Andrew > >On 25 Aug 2010, mm wrote > >> Words intended to describe dislike are for misanthrope and that word [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > Xenophobe. That might actually be fear, so when it is, the word is > accurate. The line between fear and hate is generally a pretty thin one. While -phobia meant fear in its origin, I don't think it's much of a stretch to use it for fear and hatred. > "Homophobe" is what caught my attention years ago regarding the > suffix -phobe or -phobia. They don't talk about it much anymore, > because the discussion is at a different stage, but used to be, > there was a frequent claim that the reason straight people didn't > like homosexuals is that deep down they *feared* such tendencies > were in themselves. That that was the only reason. I was with you until your last sentence. There are plenty of women who hate and fear gay men yet obviously have no fear that they themselves are inwardly gay men. Fear of one's own inner nature is obviously one possible origin of homophobia, but it's far from the only one and I've never heard anyone claim that it *is* the only one. Look at anti-Semitism: people who hate Jews do so because they perceive them as different, not because they secretly fear that they might have "Jewish tendencies" themselves. Primates generally, including humans, are pretty intensely tribal and hostile toward outsiders, however defined. It's no accident that Hitler's three main targets were Jews, homosexuals, and gypsies -- all three could be identified as "other" to the Germans. Falwell, Buchanan, and their ilk learned the lesson well, but their targets shifted to homosexuals and intellectuals. SignatureStan Brown, Oak Road Systems, Tompkins County, New York, USA http://OakRoadSystems.com Shikata ga nai... >> >On 25 Aug 2010, mm wrote >> >> Words intended to describe dislike are for misanthrope and that word [quoted text clipped - 18 lines] > >I was with you until your last sentence. There are plenty of women YOu're right. I didn't go into women's reactions towards gay men. I think those whose words I was trying to repeat didn't either. I think they only considered men's reactions. It's too late for me to ask them about this and I din't know them even at the time. I just red or heard what they said. >who hate and fear gay men yet obviously have no fear that they >themselves are inwardly gay men. Fear of one's own inner nature is >obviously one possible origin of homophobia, but it's far from the >only one and I've never heard anyone claim that it *is* the only one. While not saying there were no others, I think on more than one occasion, I heard that reason pushed a lot. >Look at anti-Semitism: people who hate Jews do so because they >perceive them as different, not because they secretly fear that they >might have "Jewish tendencies" themselves. Well, I agree with you, but the ones I heard talk about this might not. For a fuller picture of my (fwiw) views, I should reply to a couple other posts in this thread, but it's strange how interesting this topic was late last night, and how interested I was in shopping for a part for the computer then, and other things late last night, and how my interest in all of them has waned. Maybe late tonight they will seem very important again. >Primates generally, including humans, are pretty intensely tribal and >hostile toward outsiders, however defined. It's no accident that >Hitler's three main targets were Jews, homosexuals, and gypsies -- >all three could be identified as "other" to the Germans. Falwell, >Buchanan, and their ilk learned the lesson well, but their targets >shifted to homosexuals and intellectuals. SignaturePosters should say where they live, and for which area they are asking questions. I was born and then lived in Western Pa. 10 years Indianapolis 7 years Chicago 6 years Brooklyn, NY 12 years Baltimore 26 years > Look at anti-Semitism: people who hate Jews do so because they perceive > them as different, not because they secretly fear that they might have > "Jewish tendencies" themselves. Yeah, like monotheism, congregational polity, the Ten Commandments, the Psalms... SignatureRoland Hutchinson He calls himself "the Garden State's leading violist da gamba," ... comparable to being ruler of an exceptionally small duchy. --Newark (NJ) Star Ledger ( http://tinyurl.com/RolandIsNJ ) >>Lots of phobic words are being bandied about now -- homophobia, >>islamophobia, francophobia, etc. What suffix can be used to indicate [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] >Words intended to describe dislike are for misanthrope and that word >for not liking foreigners. xenophobia? misxegenation? >If mis- doesn't work as a prefix, how about -misonia as a suffix? SignatureSteve Hayes from Tshwane, South Africa Web: http://hayesfam.bravehost.com/stevesig.htm Blog: http://methodius.blogspot.com E-mail - see web page, or parse: shayes at dunelm full stop org full stop uk > Lots of phobic words are being bandied about now -- homophobia, > islamophobia, francophobia, etc. What suffix can be used to indicate > indifference or rejection rather than fear? Perhaps you could use the word "agnostic" as an example to build on... Jim Deutch (JimboCat) -- Aibohphobia: The fear of palindromes >> Lots of phobic words are being bandied about now -- homophobia, >> islamophobia, francophobia, etc. What suffix can be used to indicate >> indifference or rejection rather than fear? > >Perhaps you could use the word "agnostic" as an example to build on... as in atheist apolitical amoral ? SignatureSteve Hayes from Tshwane, South Africa Web: http://hayesfam.bravehost.com/stevesig.htm Blog: http://methodius.blogspot.com E-mail - see web page, or parse: shayes at dunelm full stop org full stop uk >> Lots of phobic words are being bandied about now -- homophobia, >> islamophobia, francophobia, etc. What suffix can be used to indicate >> indifference or rejection rather than fear? > >Perhaps you could use the word "agnostic" as an example to build on... Well, there's the phrase I hear occasionally, "I'm agnostic on that issue" meaning they haven't made their mind up, I guess. I don't know if that implies idifference, or not. >Jim Deutch (JimboCat) SignaturePosters should say where they live, and for which area they are asking questions. I was born and then lived in Western Pa. 10 years Indianapolis 7 years Chicago 6 years Brooklyn, NY 12 years Baltimore 26 years >>> Lots of phobic words are being bandied about now -- homophobia, >>> islamophobia, francophobia, etc. What suffix can be used to [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > issue" meaning they haven't made their mind up, I guess. I don't > know if that implies idifference, or not. No. You have to be an apathetic agnostic to both not know and not care. ("What's the difference between 'agnostic' and 'apathetic'?") In both cases "a-" just means "not". SignatureEvan Kirshenbaum +------------------------------------ HP Laboratories |If all else fails, embarrass the 1501 Page Mill Road, 1U, MS 1141 |industry into doing the right Palo Alto, CA 94304 |thing. | Dean Thompson kirshenbaum@hpl.hp.com (650)857-7572 http://www.kirshenbaum.net/ > >>> Lots of phobic words are being bandied about now -- homophobia, > >>> islamophobia, francophobia, etc. What suffix can be used to [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] > > In both cases "a-" just means "not". The Wikipedia article "Apatheism" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apatheism includes "Apathetic agnosticism (also called pragmatic agnosticism)". I don't like the sound of "apahomoism" much, though... Jim Deutch (JimboCat) -- "APATHY ERROR: Don't bother striking any key." >> >>> Lots of phobic words are being bandied about now -- homophobia, >> >>> islamophobia, francophobia, etc. What suffix can be used to [quoted text clipped - 17 lines] > >includes "Apathetic agnosticism (also called pragmatic agnosticism)". Interesting then that apatheia is the goal of zealous Christian mystics. SignatureSteve Hayes from Tshwane, South Africa Web: http://hayesfam.bravehost.com/stevesig.htm Blog: http://methodius.blogspot.com E-mail - see web page, or parse: shayes at dunelm full stop org full stop uk >>>>> Lots of phobic words are being bandied about now -- homophobia, >>>>> islamophobia, francophobia, etc. What suffix can be used to [quoted text clipped - 18 lines] > includes "Apathetic agnosticism (also called pragmatic > agnosticism)". But there is a confusion of prefixes here. As the article says, "apatheism" is a portmanteau and not a seriously-constructed word, but it looks, considering the meaning, like "ap-" (away from) plus "atheism", with a dismal sort of pun on the alpha-privative of "a-pathetic". In fact, I think "ap-" would be a better choice, for a word replacing "homophobia" with something nicer-sounding, than "a-". > I don't like the sound of "apahomoism" much, though... Indeed. Aphomophilists unite! Off 'em awfully! > But there is a confusion of prefixes here. As the article says, > "apatheism" is a portmanteau and not a seriously-constructed word, but > it looks, considering the meaning, like "ap-" (away from) plus > "atheism", with a dismal sort of pun on the alpha-privative of > "a-pathetic". In fact, I think "ap-" would be a better choice, for a > word replacing "homophobia" with something nicer-sounding, than "a-". So you're going for Welsh "son of". SignatureRob Bannister From: "Robert Bannister" <robban1@bigpond.com> CDB wrote: > But there is a confusion of prefixes here. As the article says, > "apatheism" is a portmanteau and not a seriously-constructed word, [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > word replacing "homophobia" with something nicer-sounding, than > "a-". So you're going for Welsh "son of". ****************************** Different maps for different chaps. |
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