this post was submitted on 16 May 2024
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I think there are some wise uses for “it is what it is” and YOLO, but that is mostly internal dialogue stuff. In conversation it feels way different.
maybe they couldn't stop thinking about it but I'm built different
“I haven’t stopped thinking about this since”
YOLO
OK it works
That's a meme terminating cliche
What does it mean to short circuit cognitive dissonance?
Short circuit - bypass or impede
Cognitive dissonance - conflict from holding two conflicting beliefs simultaneously
So it's a way to either prevent or stop mental frustration due to conflict between two beliefs.
For example, X needs to be fixed, but fixing it will take too much effort. "It is what it is," so we'll just accept it being broken as a given and work around it. If you didn't short-circuit the line of thinking, you'd spend a ton of time on something that can't reasonably be fixed.
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Or just "thought-stoppers".
Loaded language meant to quell criticism and dissent.
Loaded language meant to quell criticism and dissent.
Jesus Christ, Lemmy is way too anarchist for me to handle sometimes.
People just don't want to think about stuff that doesn't affect them or that they can't change. Not everything is some kind of fascist conspiracy.
I feel the opposite, this website has too many right wing chuds annoyingly complaining that eveyone is a tankie or some shit.. its fucking annoying give it a rest already jeez
They are just pointing out that these phrases are used for that, which is why they are recognized as "thought-terminating cliches", it doesn't mean they are always used in such a way. You can be aware of manipulative language without being an anarchist or commie.
It is what it is, ya know?
The loaded language having an "intention" doesn't mean that intent is necessarily consciously realised by the speaker.
When I waa growing up, the f-slur for gay men was used pretty liberally without it having any related meaning to us. We didn't hate or even dislike gays. It was just "something people said" and we picked up on it and used it.
Now I have to say that a lot of those people really did turn out to be homophobes, but as it was a rural village, the chances were high anyway.
The point I'm making is that speakers can spread the "intention" or connotation of a phrase without even ever having understood it's meaning.
People just don't want to think about stuff that doesn't affect them or that they can't change.
Yeah, I understand this, and that's part of the problem. People think they can't affect change, so they don't want to think about change, so they say things like "we can't change things, it is what it is" and then someone who still had hope (but looks up to the speaker) loses their hope of change, and also starts using said language.
Accepting defeat is certain defeat.
Ofc in a lot of conversations, it might not be political at all. Sometimes you can't change things, as you have no agency. Like we used a lot of these semantic stop signs just as coping tools in the army. Digging a well into frozen ground, manually, in -20C... "it is what it is."
But it is exactly loaded language. It's just that not every use is malicious or political. They can be mundane and arbitrary criticisms that are quelled as well.
Edit also I do not identify with anarchism
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the more polite way of telling someone off than insults and slurs.
Thought Terminating Cliches can be useful because it is not productive to worry about things over which you have no power.
That's fair
like if you encounter a bear in the woods. or a man.
But does it shit in the woods? Or is that a different kind of cliche?
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Not YOLO, though, which is often used to stop thinking about the consequences of choosing to do something stupid.
I also often hear "It is what it is" to mean "someone made a bad decision and I'm not fighting it like I should."
I see it used oftentimes to dismiss systematic injustice aswell... "it is what it is"..
which on an individual level feels like we have no control over but is infact something we have a lot of control over. A very malignant useage I feel
Yes, the subject being dismissed is what makes it a good or bad thing. Is it something you have zero control over? Good thing. Otherwise, bad thing.
Or the thing has already been done.
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Cool story, bro.
Or my personal favorite, "that's just like, your opinion, man."
Bless your heart!
But what about "It is possible to commit no mistakes and still lose"?
That's not a Thought-Terminator, that is life!
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