this post was submitted on 31 Oct 2023
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Ah, nice to see wiktionary hasn't been edited.
Articles on Wikipedia are heavily edited so that anti-semitism can only mean anti-Jew in Wikipedia. Terms such as Semitic people are called obsolete.
Wikipedia really gets politicized.
When was the last time that term meant anything but anti-Jew in English? Yeah I'm aware what the word Semite means. Sometimes word meanings change. Pretty sure anti-semite has referred to people who hate Jews since many decades ago.
Is there a reason you're so salty about this particular fairly old shift in language? Do tell why.
In a pre-WWII European context (where the only relevant Semites were Jews), letting the meaning shift was one thing.
In this Middle Eastern context (with two relevant groups of Semites), it's entirely different: it's an attempt to "other" and dehumanize Arabs by denying their shared Semitic heritage and instead claiming it exclusively for Jews. It's a fundamentally dishonest definition that facilitates DARVO tactics.
So using a term the way it's been used for decades is suddenly malicious if we change contexts.
No, I'm not buying that at all.
I mean, if you generalize it THAT far, I'm sure there are many terms that become malicious. The current bad words weren't always bad words in some cases (thinking more like the odd slurs like "idiot" than the tried and true cuss words).
In fact, wasn't f*ggot ONLY a term for bundles of sticks used for tinder until it became fashionable to burn gay people like witches?
Redefining words has been a political tool since forever. But they do have meanings, and a history, so if someone uses an archaic term... you can use the term right back at them.