like one of the only (bullshit) arguments the Zionists have is that opposition to Israel equates to antisemitism (not true), but from what i understand, the "Semitic family" includes both Jews and Arabs, but i am potentially very wrong about this.
also i guess even if it is true, it's not a very good "gotcha" since it misses the point and truth doesn't matter to genocidal swine
words mean what people use them as. antisemitic is used primarily to describe antijudaism
When have prescriptivists ever not been in shambles? Language is basically an exercise in bullying prescriptivists.
> people are using a word WRONG
> I tell them they need to stop using it wrong and start using it right
> they brush me off and continue to use the word the way they were using it
Technically true, but it’s not in any way a convincing argument
This is literally the type of argument I'd see in a boomer comic shared by a 60 year old deeply religious liberal gay Black man with bipolar disorder living in Tennessee. "Antisemitic" means "anti-Jewish". That is how the word is used by most people, so that is what the word means.
That aside, the Semitic languages also include several other languages, including a number of languages of Ethiopia and Eritrea.
What's the origin of the word "antisemitism" anyway? Did the word always mean "bigotry against Jews"?
I ask because this reminds me of the way that white people are sometimes called "Caucasian" even when they're not from the Caucasus mountains. Turns out that originated from a German eugenicist so I'm wondering if this word has a similarly sus history.
Yes but also no. Arabs are also Semitic peoples, but the word "antisemitic" was created specifically to refer to hatred of Jews (I think by a 19th century white nationalist). So racism against Arabs is anti-Semitic, but isn't antisemitism.
