On 3/5/07, David Gerard dgerard@gmail.com wrote:
It's hit DRV, where the lynch mob are now asserting that anyone who doesn't agree with them is too biased to comment:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Deletion_review/Log/2007_March_5#User...
Can we please ditch the emotionally charged metaphors? Yes, saying "lynch mob" is quick and snappy, but it diminishes the efficacy of what you're saying (if you actually make an attempt to describe the behavior and emotions of the group you're talking about instead of just spouting a cliche, you've conveyed much more information) and devalues the term used. Lynch law is a brutal and calculating system of social control under which any member of a subordinated group who challenges the economic, social, or political status quo is punished with death. Taking the term and applying it to a situation in which, well, a bunch of people got angry at some guy for claiming to possess credentials he didn't possess, and then signed their names under statements asking him to resign his official positions on a website (or whatever)--that's silly, and it in no way illuminates the actual social psychology of what's going on here. Sure, it wasn't the specific example Godwin picked, but doing it still makes you look immature.