Language and Obfuscation

[Mister M]

I was prompted to start this thread when another forummer used the term 'Freegan' (in response to the case of a couple that had been caught taking food from a Tesco skip. Link to reportage of case: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3078150/Bin-diving-parents-caught-CCTV-stealing-date-food-Tesco-thrown-feed-two-young-children.html).

I'd never heard the term Freegan before, apparently it is "the practice of reclaiming and eating food that has been discarded. Freeganism is often seen as part of a wider anti-consumerist ideology, and freegans often employ a range of alternative living strategies based on limited participation in the conventional economy and minimal consumption of resources".

 

Personally speaking, I would've labelled this couple as poor.

 

But it did make me think about how language can be distorted. We all know about 'political correctness' - the idea that we modify language so as to avoid offensiveness. The motivations of those who advocate PC are lampooned as 'do gooders' and it's come in for a fair bit of stick.

 

However terms like Freegans to describe the poor; 'sofa surfers' or 'rough sleepers' to describe the homeless; or 'friendly fire' to describe allies killing those on the same side; or the replacement in the UK from 'social security' to 'welfare' are four examples of what I think, George Orwell would have described as 'official newspeak'. Very different to PC, I think

 

This is only my impression and I could be reading too much into it....But I thought I would throw it open to others for their opinions.

[discodown]

But there are such things as freegans. They aren't necessarily poor though they may choose to get some of their food that way. The key word there being choice, freegans choose, the poor don't.

 

Sofa surfing is one of those terms used to obscure the fact that someone is hidden homeless. As in they aren't on the streets because they can rely on friends to use their floors or settees to sleep safely but they don't have a permanent address.

 

We use language to obscure truth all the time - date night between couples or spouses is an interesting one. You can't date someone you're married to, you married someone so you don't have to date. In fact we're british we don't date at all. The term date night is just used to try to inject a dose of pathetic excitement into a tedious relationship and so you can get some imaginary internet point when you tell people about in on facebook, theres literally no other reason to call it that.

[Obelix]

I always assumed that Freegans did so through choice (like vegans do) rather than through necessity.

 

IF it's through necessity, they are not freegans, they are destitute.

[Chris_Sleeps]

It's an aside, sorry - but as a linguistic trick; how does one steal from a bin? It's discarded by the very nature of being in the bin. It's the height of small minded petty thinking.

 

"You stole it!"

"Sorry, it was in the bin. Did you want to keep it?"

"Well, no. But ... I didn't want you to have it either."

[truman]

It's an aside, sorry - but as a linguistic trick; how does one steal from a bin? It's discarded by the very nature of being in the bin. It's the height of small minded petty thinking.

 

"You stole it!"

"Sorry, it was in the bin. Did you want to keep it?"

"Well, no. But ... I didn't want you to have it either."

 

I suppose legally it still belongs to someone

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-13037808

 

I'm not saying it's right or wrong.....

[tinfoilhat]

It's an aside, sorry - but as a linguistic trick; how does one steal from a bin? It's discarded by the very nature of being in the bin. It's the height of small minded petty thinking.

 

"You stole it!"

"Sorry, it was in the bin. Did you want to keep it?"

"Well, no. But ... I didn't want you to have it either."

 

Indeed, anyone who stops someone from taking discarded food from a bin needs to be hit with large stick until they realise they are idiots and shouldn't do it.

[Chris_Sleeps]

I suppose legally it still belongs to someone

Perhaps. Too short. Blah blah blah.

[onewheeldave]

 

Personally speaking, I would've labelled this couple as poor.

 

......................

 

However terms like Freegans to describe the poor;

 

'Freegan' and 'poor' are not equivalent. Lots of poor people don't go through bins, and, some freegans aren't going through bins cos they're poor- some are not at all poor but go through bins cos they can get free food that way, and, their personal philosophies place stock in acquiring free produce that, otherwise, they would have to engage with a financial system they disapprove of, to obtain.

[poppet2]

'Skipping' is another nice word for it as this couple who were found stealing from 'Iceland's bin, were arrested for.

 

http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/skipping-why-we-need-address-food-poverty-1434336

[Mister M]

'Extraordinary rendition' is another contemporary term that sounds quite bland, and is used on the BBC. It involves kidnapping, and sometimes torture (or 'waterboarding'). Charming!