Careful What You Say
What determines the implications of being “woke”
Like it or not, words have power. Language is not static. As meanings of words change, directly affects everyone. Some are for it, others not so much. Being “woke” is very much on the forefront in our society. And it affects the nature of communication and the formations of words.
Semantics
“Minor-attracted persons” may seem outrageous to those who understand the implications. Why would anyone decide to paint pedophiles in a softer light?
For now, the word refers to people attracted to minors but do not act. It is a way to make it easier for this demographic to seek help before becoming a criminal.
But as the years move pass, the possibility of a “minor-attracted person” could easily transcend into a category of people who are guilty of being axpedophile. It all falls behind the baseline of semantics.
Of course, semantics fascinates me as I recognize that the process of linguistics and language development is fluid.
For example, long ago, the children’s poem “Eenie Meenie Miney Mo” preceded “Catch an ‘N-word’ by its Toe…” Luckily, the role of semantics shifted with the times, and the N-word was replaced with tiger (The Process of Semantics, 2020).
