good to know that "PC" isn't dead

[waider]

Lieutenant Governor Mike Landrieu: "We need to stop calling them refugees, they are American citizens. I've made that mistake myself."

Er. They're taking refuge. Is there some stigma attached to the word "refugee" that I'm missing here?

Comments

[king-mob.livejournal.com]

It has connotations of "totally screwed" that he might not have wanted to attach. Although, you know, they kinda are.

[opadit.livejournal.com]

I think refugee is more correctly used to refer to stateless people, people who've fled one country for the help and refuge of another one.

[opadit.livejournal.com]

So really I think the correct term is evacuees or displaced former residents of the Gulf coast.

[waider.livejournal.com]

Merriam-Webster doesn't entirely agree with you; it says a refugee is one who flees, and uses especially to denote the usage meaning stateless people, but that very word indicates that it's not the sole meaning of the word. Like I said, if they're taking refuge, they're refugees. It's not a mistake to refer to them as such.

[waider.livejournal.com]

"denote" is wrong there. Or the words following it, perhaps. "demarcate" might just about convey what I was trying to say. Or "denote that the usage meaning stateless people is a (popular) meaning, but not the sole one."

I'm sure you got my point either way. Now if you'll excuse me I'm trying to squeeze a few more angels onto the head of this pin.

[mskala.livejournal.com]

Refugees have to be from places where the government has failed, and the American government doesn't fail.

Nice

[mopti.livejournal.com]

Like that

[waider.livejournal.com]

Hey! Who let that canadian in here?

[mskala.livejournal.com]

I think it's related to the reason that the people the USA is fighting against in Iraq are "fighters" and not "soldiers".

Legally

[mopti.livejournal.com]

As I understand it, the legal meaning of refugee is somebody fleeing from persecution in their home country to another country. People who flee persecution but reamin within their own country are called "internally displaced people".

I suspect that politcians in the US generally or the affected area specifically would prefer not to have persecution associated with those who are seeking refuge.

[ikkyu2.livejournal.com]

I don't think you fully understand how terrible it is not to be American.

[waider.livejournal.com]

I think it's a sort of terrible I can deal with. I'll ask my brother when he visits next week.

[ikkyu2.livejournal.com]

Don't you understand that you Don't. Want. To live. Like a refugee? (Don't want to live like a refugee, no)

[waider.livejournal.com]

Well, if "she" (whoever she might be) is a refugee, her mama say one day she gonna live in America, but her papa go to fight a war - he don't know what for - and I'm not entirely sure I belive her mama when she say he gonna come back from far away.

[bitpuddle.livejournal.com]

I don't understand that, either. I'm more concerned with preventing them from starving to death. I really don't care what they are called.

[wisn.livejournal.com]

'meat'?

[eejitalmuppet.livejournal.com]

soylent green