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PaperclipPerfector  9d ago (text post)   2387 thread views

Small-Scale Question Sunday for April 20, 2025

Do you have a dumb question that you're kind of embarrassed to ask in the main thread? Is there something you're just not sure about?

This is your opportunity to ask questions. No question too simple or too silly.

Culture war topics are accepted, and proposals for a better intro post are appreciated.

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Are there historical precedents of the modern, 201x and 202x version of the word "racist"? I don't mean when it's used accurately to describe someone advocating for the extermination of the jews or whatever, but in the "heretic" sense in which it is used to shut down discussion and malign political opponents or anyone who tries to present real data on immigration etc. What did e.g. the Greeks or Romans use, if they had anything like this?

Isn’t “heretic” literally a catchall term for holding the wrong beliefs? I don’t think it really entered the lexicon until Christianity, though.

Wikipedia suggests that the Old Testament used “αἵρεσις” as something more like “partisanship” or “factionalism.” Ironically, that’s probably closer to what you were looking for.

The Romans labeled a number of practices superstitio if they seemed too incompatible with Rome’s weird flavor of religious tolerance.

Yes, heretic seems to cover it, heh.

Thanks for the links!

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