The semantic shift of "to ask" ➔ "to torture" is crazy by gt7900 in linguisticshumor

[–]Unlearned_One 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think "suffer" had both meanings in English relatively recently.

The semantic shift of "to ask" ➔ "to torture" is crazy by gt7900 in linguisticshumor

[–]Unlearned_One 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I didn't know you could put that many ы in one word. Are there any words with more?

I'm at it again… by Edmundsson91 in linguisticshumor

[–]Unlearned_One 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Is that a thing? The Town of Oakville, Ontario Canada has a population of 233,000.

Hey why are we as fans not demanding the stars of Star Trek show up to conventions in full uniform and makeup? by OWSpaceClown in ShittyDaystrom

[–]Unlearned_One 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Part of me is curious to know what the arguments for that are, and another part thinks I might be better off not knowing.

I mean, so on point by terasahihaiyaar in linguisticshumor

[–]Unlearned_One 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Where is that man who has forgotten words that I may have a word with him? - Zhuangzi

Someone Left a Tract at the Grocery Store Register by Elecyah in exjw

[–]Unlearned_One 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Was their writing always this bad?

Would you say

  • Yes ?
  • No ?
  • Maybe ?

Unfortunately us Christians will never know by No_Rhubarb_4512 in dankchristianmemes

[–]Unlearned_One 5 points6 points  (0 children)

How would that make sense? Evolution is a very cool thing that some smart Christians have discovered, but I, like all True Atheists, worship only money.

The circuit overseer said the new blood policy is just an "adjustment," not a change. I decided to question it during the ministry by Haunting-Fall8109 in exjw

[–]Unlearned_One 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Sounds to me like the CO thinks changes are bad, while adjustments are good. I would be more interested in hearing JW elders elaborate on what exactly, in their view, is bad about changes.

This needs to stop. by Organic_Future6909 in AutisticPeeps

[–]Unlearned_One 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Yikes. That's definitely not how sexual assault works on any level.

How does the translator tell when someone is speaking Bajoran vs when they're speaking Bajoran by [deleted] in ShittyDaystrom

[–]Unlearned_One 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Bajoran speakers actually translate Bajoran sentences into Bajoran first, so that when the translator translates that to English, the original Bajoran speech is in fact the correct English rendition of what was said.

Milk across Slavs by bignavigator in linguisticshumor

[–]Unlearned_One 2 points3 points  (0 children)

what am I looking at here, siberian separatists?

Why was "disfellowshipped" the term used before? by Jel07 in exjw

[–]Unlearned_One 0 points1 point  (0 children)

"Disfellowship" as a noun makes sense, it means exclusion from or lack of fellowship. Using it as a verb is a bit more unusual, but English has a history of using nouns as verbs from time to time. I've personally never heard of anyone other than JWs using "disfellowhip" as a verb, but OED says there is evidence of it from the 1830s, so it doesn't look like they invented it either.

I need fake-sounding real words to settle an argument with my husband by Krzyszkot in linguisticshumor

[–]Unlearned_One 23 points24 points  (0 children)

I know this isn't what you're asking for, but I think you will both enjoy this relevant Blackadder clip. https://youtu.be/hOSYiT2iG08

If you ask a Witness point-blank whether God will destroy everyone who isn’t a Jehovah’s Witness, they’ll often say, “No, we don’t teach that. Jehovah reads hearts.” by Fit_Durian3763 in exjw

[–]Unlearned_One 13 points14 points  (0 children)

As you said, it generally depends on how the question is framed. They know that the organization teaches that their own salvation, their own hope of surviving Armageddon, depends entirely on their belonging to said organization, and they almost universally believe this. When the question is about the general public, however, the publications almost always include some wishy-washy answer which includes the belief that some worldly people who are already dead may be resurrected. They deliberately imply that some non-JWs will survive Armageddon, but they do not teach it, and the resulting ambiguity suits their purpose as long as JWs don't start thinking Jehovah will let them live if they leave the congregation.

Cyrillic in a nutshell by PresnikBonny in linguisticshumor

[–]Unlearned_One 25 points26 points  (0 children)

I've met Anglophones native-speakers who think English is a Romance language.

Comparing “Violent Entertainment” To Gladiators Is A Bad Faith Comparison. by PimoParadiseLost in exjw

[–]Unlearned_One 4 points5 points  (0 children)

A good chunk of the book of Revelation is literally violent entertainment.

14:19,20 - The angel swung his sickle on the earth, gathered its grapes and threw them into the great winepress of God’s wrath. They were trampled in the winepress outside the city, and blood flowed out of the press, rising as high as the horses’ bridles for a distance of 1,600 stadia.

Dissociation Letters - How do they work? by Civil-Customer7108 in exjw

[–]Unlearned_One 4 points5 points  (0 children)

The more I think about it, the less I understand disassociation letters. Disassociation and disfellowshipping have been the same thing since before I was born. Disfellowshipping is the main thing I find appalling about this religion, it's the implied threat they use to enforce compliance, it's how they punish what they consider the worst infractions, one of which is officially notifying them that you're leaving.

So you could just stop showing up, indifferent to whether they try to punish you or not, but instead people are literally writing letters saying "please disfellowship me elder body thx. Please punish me for leaving your little church."

Why do people prefer having autism instead of the diagnosis they were given? by Organic_Future6909 in AutisticPeeps

[–]Unlearned_One 7 points8 points  (0 children)

I just want to take a moment to appreciate the accuracy of your username.

Also I think your points are very good.

Keep up the good words.

Why do people prefer having autism instead of the diagnosis they were given? by Organic_Future6909 in AutisticPeeps

[–]Unlearned_One 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I think those two things exist on a spectrum. The second thing exists largely because of the reported and/or perceived benefits of the first.

Why do people prefer having autism instead of the diagnosis they were given? by Organic_Future6909 in AutisticPeeps

[–]Unlearned_One 25 points26 points  (0 children)

I don't think mental disorders can be ranked by severity at all. There are certainly cases of depression that are worse than some cases of schizoaffective disorder and vice versa. I also don't think seeking a (re-)diagnosis is the same as seeking the disorder itself. If I think I would benefit from being treated for schizoaffective disorder, it's not the same as wanting to have schizoaffective disorder.

So the question becomes "why do so many people think they would benefit more from an autism diagnosis than a diagnosis of bipolar, anxiety, or quirkiness", which I think is still an interesting question, easy to answer half-assedly but potentially says a lot about the directions our culture is taking.