Friday 1 May 2020

Euphemisms about Class in Quotes 2

Overstuffed
I have always suspected that if our economic and political problems are ever really solved, life will become simpler instead of more complex and that the sort of pleasure one gets from finding the first primrose will loom larger than the sort of pleasure one gets from eating an ice to the tune of a Wurlitzer. (George Orwell)

Stefan Zweig was born into the comfortably overstuffed world of the Viennese bourgeoisie in 1881. (Guardian 2010)

It’s worth considering the use of euphemisms like “up-and-coming” to describe gentrification, displacement, unequal distribution of resources, increased policing, and so on. (slate.com)

Our home is not your “rural idyll” or “bolthole” right now. (Councillor Julia McKenzie March 2020)

Old money=rich or comfortable. New money=affluent or wealthy. Also, I've met some seriously rich people who claimed they were "middle class". (@Steenshorne)



One minister ... told me a while ago how much Johnson rated Sunak in cabinet meetings: how Sunak speaks "pithily and eloquently" while Javid takes a while to get to his point. (@elashton)

This is an interesting perspective. Sunak was educated at Winchester, Javid ... was not. I wonder if, in some circles, speaking "pithily and eloquently" translates in part as, "speaks in the sort of tone and style I'm used to". (@peterwalker99)


Yes, also watch for “authoritative”. (@janemartinson)



"Culture fit" in tech hiring literally means "fits in with white people."
(@soniagupta504)

It's not just that, they're also verifying that you're of the right social class, in case they couldn't get enough class cues from your resume.
(@alexkyllo)


For my company culture fit means you like to do stuff outside and recycle.
(@I3Mtns)



WHO ARE "WE" AGAIN?
Boris Johnson’s father Stanley tells  @BBCr4today that the PM now needs to rest and that becoming ill has "served an amazing purpose in that it's got the whole country to realise this is a serious event". (@bbcnickrobinson)

When Stanley says 'the whole country' he of course means himself. It's the classic thing of assuming everyone thinks the same as you do. (@garius)
See also that MP who said “we only just now realise how important all those ‘unskilled’ workers are”. (@orhunt)

Alastair Sooke says the Elgin marbles “belong to everyone”. Meaning “us”. (@kieran_hurley)

That's why I always challenged any teacher, professor or anyone who used the phrase "for the greater good" when speaking of %'s in demographics. They literally committed and continue genocidal tactics so that Native numbers are low. (@redhaircrow)

More here, and links to the rest.

More euphemisms and political rhetoric here.