Stop saying Mandate. That is their word.

[Jakes Progress]

I love pissing off republicans as much as they love pissing me off. But it only makes them act even more stupid. It makes them feel brave and bad-ass to defy mandates.

Mask wearing is a requirement. We don't call having a drivers license a mandate. Or passing a certain regimen of courses for a degree a mandate. Or being old enough to vote. A fishing license isn't a mandate. Or a passport. Those are requirements.

[unblock]

1. True. Right-wing frames are rampant.

It's a responsibility. Or a patriotic duty. Or a civic duty.

Or just common f*cking sense.


Alternatively, going out in public without a mask and without vaccination isn't "anti-mask" or "anti-vaccine". Again, those are their words and they make it sound like those are reasonable positions. They're not.

It's terrorism, a biological attack, attempted murder-suicide, pro-virus, anti-American, reckless endangerment.

[iemanja]

2. It isn't their word

I'm sick of people deciding half the fucking words in the English language are off limits because they've decided--for some bizarre reason--that the word is suddenly Republican. Stop policing speech.

It's a mandate when it is MANDATED by a state, municipality, employer, etc..... Otherwise, it's just something people do to keep safe. Requirement is no better of a word than mandate.

[Jakes Progress]

8. Nobody is policing speech.

Last edited Fri Sep 10, 2021, 02:57 PM - Edit history (1)

That sounds like republicans arguments.

The OP simply said that it would be smarter not to play their games with their rules.

Of course we can stamp our little feet and pugnaciously demand our petty "rights". But if it helps get the country fixed, avoiding words that play into the republican hands is a small price to pay - even smaller than wearing a mask. We don't have to give the republicans any ammunition.

Look up the word requirement. The defitnition fits the concept better. And it has the benefit of turning the terms back on republicans.

But you go ahead. Yell whatever you feel you need to do to make you feel good.

[iemanja]

11. In my view

This notion that the word is Republican is in your mind, just like the other person who insisted we not use the word jab. If you want to use circuitous words to say mandate, have at it. I'm not going to violate the English language because of your imagination.

The President, the newspapers, and many posts on DU use this so-called Republican word. So now Biden and the Democratic administration use a Republican frame for their language according to GOP, according to you.

I reject the entire premise of your argument. It is not a Republican word. It's an English word. This whole thing exists in your head; it is not fact.

[Jakes Progress]

13. Tell me about all the mandates that you follow.

Show me where the word shows up everyday.

No. We call all of those things requirements. It means the same, but mandate is a loaded word. That is why they use it instead of requirement. The idea is that Democrats are making them do something that is radical and out of the ordinary. But vaccination and masking are required all the time. Therefore they use the word mandate. It helps them. I don't see why you want to help them unless it is the obvious pleasure derived from the idea that you are personally making them behave, making them do right.

If you reject the idea that words have loaded meanings and carry emotional and political overtones, you do not understand how language works. Suppose you use the words "fetus destruction" instead of "abortion". I mean the results are the same. Do you really think one is not more loaded than the other?

Yes. It is in my head. And in your head. And in everyone's head. That is the point of using or not using loaded language. I have some texts on language and usage that could help if you would like.

[iemanja]

16. Rejected

There is nothing wrong with the word. I plan to continue to use that and all other words as the dictionary defines it. You don't get to control my speech or my mind, and I resent your trying to do so.

You want to live your life according to Republicans, that's your business. I won't be doing so. Besides, I never even talk to Republicans, so your point is moot. I'm not going to go around erasing words from the English language because someone on DU thinks they have the right to control me.


End of story.

[Jakes Progress]

23. No I don't control your speech. You do.

Last edited Sun Sep 12, 2021, 01:30 AM - Edit history (1)

You chose to use the words that the republicans use to inflame their backward followers instead of the language our party is using.

Look at Biden's speech today. He chooses to use requirement instead of mandate. Hmmm. Think he knows something you don't?

[cinematicdiversions]

25. I agree wholeheartedly with you. Mandate is a fine description.

There is nothing wrong with eh government mandating something. It is what government does unless my taxes and the speed limits are now voluntary.

[RockRaven]

3. More than that. It is a moral imperative. It is a duty. It is a responsibility.

Antimaskers, antivaxers, covidiots, etc are immoral. They are sociopathic. They are noxious, dangerous deviants.

[Jakes Progress]

9. I like the idea of it being a moral duty.

[Skittles]

4. remember when repukes used to LOVE the word mandate?

you know, like when they claimed Dubya had a MANDATE even though he lost the popular vote?

[Jakes Progress]

14. Now that is the better definition of mandate.

As in: "We won the election. The people have given us a mandate to protect the public by requiring vaccinations."

[madinmaryland]

18. Who did Dubya have a mandate with? Jeff Guckert/Gannon??

[iemanja]

5. Mandate

an official order or commission to do something.
"a mandate to seek the release of political prisoners"
synonyms:
instruction · directive · direction · decree · command · order · injunction · edict · [more]

The problem is that Republicans pretend there is a mandate where none exists. That doesn't mean the word is Republican. It means they are idiots and liars.

[Jakes Progress]

10. Definitions in the dictionary don't mean that's the way the word is used.

This is politics we are talking about.

[Hoyt]

6. Good point. It's just a desirable norm for living in a society.

[Jon King]

7. Its a freakin mandate.

The wording is irrelevant. No matter what it is called, they will act stupid. Its a damn mandate, end of story.

Get the vaccine or do not come to work, do not send a contractor to my house, do not teach in schools. If you get an exemption to the mandate, you have to pay for daily testing. If the labs are full, you have to wait until the results come back.

Get the shot, its mandated by your employer, your sporting event venue, your school system in LA.

[Jakes Progress]

12. It's a freaking requirement.

The wording is irrelevant. No matter what it is called, they will act stupid. Its a damn requirement, end of story.

Get the vaccine or do not come to work, do not send a contractor to my house, do not teach in schools. If you get an exemption to the requirement, you have to pay for daily testing. If the labs are full, you have to wait until the results come back.

Get the shot, it's required by your employer, your sporting event venue, your school system in LA.

Of if the wording is irrelevant, why is it such a problem to use a word that doesn't let them weaponize. We don't use the word for any of the other requirements that we deal with every day. We don't talk about a mandate for a driver's license, or a fishing license. We don't tell parents that the district mandates the vaccinations that we have had in effect for years. We tell them it is required.

Sure the mean almost the same thing. But one is culturally loaded. That's why the republicans picked it. Other than giving us a perverse (and quite selfish pleasure) using the word only benefits the assholes.

[iemanja]

17. That you have to work so hard to convince people

that the word is supposedly Republican means it is not. You are simply wrong.

[Jakes Progress]

19. You don't have to be aware of linguistics.

It is not a requirement.

Stay unaware. You aren't the only one to be unaware of being gulled by republicans. They are experts at it. A lot of well meaning souls aid their word games all the time. It's what they do.

[Jakes Progress]

22. Look at Biden's speech. Then look at republican response.

In his speech about his new "mandates", he doesn't use the word once. He uses the words require or requirement 16 times.

In the republican replies, we see the all of it referred to as mandates. Both the Democrats and the Republicans understand something you refuse to see or acknowledge.

The MSM loves the word though. Even though Biden doesn't use the word, their headlines about the speech - where he doesn't say the word at all - refers to the "Mandate Speech". They know that the word is loaded and gets more traction and attention. They love a dust up. It boosts ratings.

So use the republican terms and help boost Fox ratings. They will be appreciative.

[David__77]

15. I think "mandate" is loaded only in wonkland.

“Mandatory” is a commonly understood term. I don’t think there’s a need to be defensive about “mandate.”

[Jakes Progress]

20. That is where they live.

No one is defensive about the word. But notice that Biden's latest "mandate" text. He doesn't say "mandate" one time. He says require or requirement 16 times. Do you think that is by accident?

[Bucky]

24. Meh

not a big deal either way

[Violet_Crumble]

26. Actually, it is...

Language is a powerful tool. No-one's forcing those morons to get jabbed. It's all about choice, something they so desperately want to take away from women. They have the choice to get vaccinated if they want to work in certain fields. If they don't want to, they can go find a job where they don't need to be vaccinated.

[Bucky]

27. Okay, that makes sense

[mahatmakanejeeves]

28. It's possible you're overthinking this. From Jen Psaki, closet Republican:

Biden to announce sweeping vaccine mandates as he unveils new Covid strategy

The article's title was chosen by editors at NBC News. I wonder what inspired them.

{snip}

"He's going to build on our mandates requirements, making it so that workers in the federal government or others have to get vaccinated, we've seen that work," White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Thursday on MSNBC.

Even worse:

BRIEFING ROOM

Press Briefing by Press Secretary Jen Psaki, September 9, 2021

SEPTEMBER 09, 2021 • PRESS BRIEFINGS
Brady Press Briefing Room

1:39 P.M. EDT

{snip}

Q And any other previews you can give of what the President will announce this afternoon?

MS. PSAKI: Well, you’ll have a preview call in just about 30 minutes. But let me — let me just give you kind of some top lines here. I know we put out to all of you kind of the six prongs of what he will be announcing this afternoon.

The overarching objective here is for the President to lay out the next steps to build on the steps we’ve taken since he took office and a number of steps we announced over the summer. And the federal mandate for workers is an example of that.

We obviously had done that with a series of agencies — the VA, DOD, NIH. We had announced steps on attestation. This is the next step in that process. But our overarching objective here is to reduce the number of unvaccinated Americans. There are, of course, 80 million unvaccinated Americans at this point in time. We want to reduce that number, decrease hospitalizations and deaths, and allow our children to go to school safely, and of course, keep our economy strong.

So what you’ll hear him lay out is a series of additional requirements — some of them have been out there — additional ways he’s going to expand access to testing, which is a key way that we can ensure we reduce the spread of COVID; and ways that we’re going to work with states and communities to implement these proposals.

Go ahead.

Q Thanks, Jen. The original mandate for federal workers that included an option for testing — regular testing — just went into effect a little over a month ago. So why are you making this change so soon after that? What changed between then and now?

{snip}

MS. PSAKI: Well, I think what we’ve said from the beginning here — and you all have covered — is that this is an evolving virus, a smart virus that has produced additional variants — variants that have been incredibly — that can spread very quickly, like the Delta variant. But there are other variants, of course.

When we announced the mask mandate, for example, in May, only 1 percent of cases were the Delta variant. So, obviously, information, data evolves, and the steps we need to take to address — to get the virus under control, to help people return to normal has to evolve as well.

{snip}

"Mandate" is in the transcript 14 times. Sometimes the person asking the question uses it. Sometimes Jen Psaki uses it.

"Well that was just that one time."

No, it wasn't:

BRIEFING ROOM

Press Briefing by Press Secretary Jen Psaki, September 10, 2021

SEPTEMBER 10, 2021 • PRESS BRIEFINGS
James S. Brady Press Briefing Room

3:02 P.M. EDT

{snip}

Q The follow-up would be: If these mandates are necessary — given the risk of the Delta variant, given hospitalizations, and ultimately to save lives, as you were saying — why not do this earlier? Why not do it a month ago when hospitalizations were on the rise? You know, this has been a concern for a while.

MS. PSAKI: Well, this has actually been building on the steps that we have been taking. So, we mandated — mandated or testing in the federal government. We took, obviously, an additional step yesterday. There were a number of private sector companies, many we encouraged, who came out and put in place mandates and requirements.

This is building on the steps we had taken. But again, there are a range of factors that have happened over the last several months, and it’s only natural that we continue to look for more ways to save lives given we’re at the point where, clearly, we’re in the most vaccine-resistant population.

And we’ve also seen — let me just say, we’ve also seen it works. We’ve seen companies put in place vaccine requirements. We’ve seen the impact of those and the number of people at United Airlines, at other companies get vaccinated within the timeline that is required. And, you know, that’s something that made sense.

Q And is the administration considering offering federal funding to states who mandate this at the state level as well?

MS. PSAKI: I don’t have anything else to preview or predict for you in terms of additional next steps. Obviously, we made a big, bold announcement yesterday, so I don’t have anything new to preview for you.

Go ahead.

{snip}

You can find links to all her press conferences at my "What's Biden up to today?" posts in GD. I post them every last morning.

I guess she'll be walking the DU plank for her incorrect thoughts.

Calm down. Have some breakfast.

[Jakes Progress]

29. You think she would have gotten the memo.

Just check the news for the next few weeks. Check the president's speech. Not one mention of mandate. Require used 16 times.

I just had a nice breakfast. Quite calm, but I'm surprised at the fervent rage of those here who demand their rights to say a word. By God. No one is going to make them wear a mask, er I mean not say mandate.

I just saying there is no requirement that you give up the pleasure of digging it to the repubs like they love owning the libs. Go ahead. I get the idea of how cool it is to tell them how we are making them do something they don't want to do. I just don't think my petty pleasure is more important than winning elections and beating republicans.

The very calm message is that words have meaning and impact. If someone thinks there is no contextual difference between "requirement" and "mandate", they are just uninformed or being willfully ignorant.

[Treefrog]

30. What is it with these pronouncements on what words we can use lol?

Not long ago, it was “jab.”

[Jakes Progress]

31. Please read the OP and threads.

Don't just knee-jerk reply to headline. No one is "pronouncing" anything.

Words have consequence. Why help republican with their efforts?

[ProfessorGAC]

32. Help Republicans?

By surrendering?
How about taking the word back?
Use it with force, with glee, with intent.
I didn't stop wearing Hawaiian shirts because Proud Boys started to.
F those guys. I'm not altering my wardrobe because of those tools.
Same thing here.
I'm no surrendering the use of a perfectly apt word because they think they own it. They don't.

[Jakes Progress]

33. Come on.

That sounds like the assholes who won't wear masks even if it helps save lives because "the libs are taking our freedoms".

When the vaccine came around and the republicans needed an issue to rile up their knuckle dragging voters, they needed to make taking the vaccine a horrible thing. The couldn't just say that it was a moral good, or a duty to the country, or that it was required to stop the virus spreading. No. They needed a word that would make it seem like the "libs" were forcing something on them. They used mandate because that word does just what you indicate in your post. It connotes force and intent and makes liberals happy.

Their dim voters reacted just as you have here. "By God. No one is going to tell me what to do. I don't care what damage it does or who it hurts, I'm gonna use my rights. By God. I'm not taking no vaccine or wearin' some cloth over my face."

No one said you were required to stop using the word. It was stated that the word carries connotations that help rile up the witless and stupid. It's one of the shiny things that keep them mad and will get them to vote.

I didn't come up with this on my own. The Times had an opinion piece on how the Democrats let republicans frame the argument in the public eye. Mandate vs Requirement was an example. Check Biden's speech announcing the new rules for government employees regarding vaccinations. He used the word requirement 16 times and never said the word mandate. You will see this more and more over the next few weeks.

Your petty need to shout the word and fling it in their faces only plays into exactly what they want you to do. They love the game. They love that they can rile up their idiot voters and that they can use Democrats to help them. Your viewing this as surrender or taking back your language is exactly like the republicans who see wearing a mask as surrendering andtaking away their freedom.

You can puff and puff and yell about it. No one is coming to make you stop using the work. But Biden and crew have decided that using it only hurts our cause. I think they probably know more about this than you.