I spend a few hours a week volunteering at a local air museum. Part of my job is giving tours to any visitor who wants one. A few months ago an older gentleman came in and accepted the tour offer. Things went well until we got to one particular exhibit, a series of World War II propaganda posters. They're your typical inspirational posters from the time, containing such memorable quotes as "Keep 'em Flying!" and "Buy War Bonds."
The guy became very indignant when I used the word "propaganda" to describe them. He thought I was using the word as a derogatory term, implying that the content the posters displayed were meant to misinform the public. He probably noticed how relatively young I am (I was 24 at the time) and thought I was just another jaded, cynical youth who was taught nothing but revisionist history. I stopped him mid-rant and gave him the following clarification:
"Just because it's propaganda doesn't mean it's bad or false."
That was sufficient to silence his objections. After the incident however, I started thinking about how the word "propaganda" is often used in today's vernacular. To be honest, I couldn't think of many situations where it's not used in some derogatory term, even though the basic definition of the word indicates that it's not necessarily a bad thing. There is such a thing as good propaganda, but the bad variety is used too often to mislead and misinform instead. Hence the word's negative connotation.
Anyone else have a similar incident, where the use of a certain word or phrase is misinterpreted because of negative connotations attributed to it?
The guy became very indignant when I used the word "propaganda" to describe them. He thought I was using the word as a derogatory term, implying that the content the posters displayed were meant to misinform the public. He probably noticed how relatively young I am (I was 24 at the time) and thought I was just another jaded, cynical youth who was taught nothing but revisionist history. I stopped him mid-rant and gave him the following clarification:
"Just because it's propaganda doesn't mean it's bad or false."
That was sufficient to silence his objections. After the incident however, I started thinking about how the word "propaganda" is often used in today's vernacular. To be honest, I couldn't think of many situations where it's not used in some derogatory term, even though the basic definition of the word indicates that it's not necessarily a bad thing. There is such a thing as good propaganda, but the bad variety is used too often to mislead and misinform instead. Hence the word's negative connotation.
Anyone else have a similar incident, where the use of a certain word or phrase is misinterpreted because of negative connotations attributed to it?
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