Another commenter on the Forums posted something (in another topic) that says what I am thinking, better than I might be able to articulate it.
As much as I am a descriptive grammarian, this is (again) insanity of the 'a word means what I mean it to mean, no more and no less' style.
I might as well call you a kitten repeatedly, and - when questioned - explain that the word kitten has morphed into describing someone who claims to know the innermost thoughts and feelings of someone he's never met, and also commonly uses words to mean the opposite of what they normally meant.
You're welcome to use the word the way you mean it to mean. Call me an aardvark, and explain that aardvark means woke.
Just don't expect anyone to understand or agree with your bizarre redefinitions.
I believe that many of us are growing increasingly Frustrated; sometimes morphing into anger, when Words seem to take on Different "meanings" than they have had for our lifetimes.
I understand that "Languages Evolve" and so too definitions and meanings (usually, but not always the same).
However, in the 21st Century the "evolution" (Revolution?) of words, definitions and meanings, has greatly accelerated. Not merely because of advances of technology.
There are groups, and in some cases, powerful individuals who believe they are advancing their agendas by Morphing words and definitions.
I am too often hearing rhetoric such as "You believe X. Well, X (Now) means Y. So, YOU MUST Believe Y." to coerce people into believing the "New Thing" or at a minimum intimidates them into ceasing to argue, lest they be Cancelled!
As an example: Many people believe in Title IX to promote Women's Collegiate Sports, because for most of the 20th Century nearly all of the resources were devoted to Mens' Sports.
Recently a distinctly mediocre Mens' Collegiate Swimmer, who was as I recall ranked in the mid 150's or something (who was much better than I, even at my athletic peak). Proclaimed himself to be a "woman" and "suddenly HE was setting WORLD RECORDS In WOMENS' COLLEGIATE SWIMMING!" And, We were "Expected" to "celebrate" "her" accomplishments... the Actual Women Swimmers, and I could NOT avoid Noticing His Dick that made an Obvious, if small bulge in his Woman's Swimsuit! When some women athletes dared to complain, they were Threatened with Loss of Their Awards, Scholarships, and Threatened with being Cancelled!" So too were others who supported the actual women athletes threatened, and often their comments were erased from YouTube, Twitter, and elsewhere.
In our lifetimes if a male "sincerely" believed they were a "woman" they would have received Mental Health care (admittedly, probably not that good, unless they or their family was wealthy and spent serious money for good treatment). If they were just trying to make that False claim for personal gain, they would have likely been Criminally Charged with Fraud!
In the second decade of the 21st Century the people are coerced into "celebrating" His, no "her" it's, theirs... GAH! It is a Logical and Grammatical Nightmare! Lest we be Cancelled, lose our job, perhaps even be incarcerated for denying He is whatever he claims to be!
Fuck whatever consenting adult you want. You get to choose your own name; but if I can't pronounce it "correctly" I'm just gonna call you "Alphabet" or one of the other things my Drill Sergeants called people with incomprehensible names.
If you've got a Beard, and wear a dress, don't be surprised if I presume you are a Dude. Hell, I might Laugh, if I figure you can't kick my ass. If you are wearing high heels, I could probably hobble away faster than that freak can run.
Government Officials Threating to put Me in Jail for not being willing to go along with His mental illness or fantasy is Tyranny!
My real concern is that If we can't agree upon Facts, and we use Words with particular Definitions to discuss those Facts... We are Doomed to Conflict! Since perhaps the 1950's (in Western Civilizations) there have been a small minority attempting to impose radical changes.
Some changes were good, such as the Civil Rights movement(s) that ended Governments (and major corporations) abusing their powers in a Racist manner. "Equal" rights for women... If a woman is able to perform the physical tasks required of a Firefighter (see, I didn't say Fireman), then hire her, and pay her the same as a male firefighter of similar skill and experience. Don't Lower the Standards so as to be able to hire "x number" of female firefighters. {Some "progressives" are confusing even themselves, not knowing for whom to advocate when males Claiming to be Womyn demand to fill Quotas for Women...}
The Reverend Doctor Marin Luther King Jr. was able to Persuade a vast majority of people in the USA to end Government Segregation. Enforce Voting Rights. He did not advocate for the use of Government Power to compel people to change their minds. By the Power of his arguments, logic, and rhetoric, he managed to convince many racists to change their thinking. You will probably never persuade all of the racists, however, it is possible to inform and sway a majority of the population.
"Progressives" have managed to convince a majority of voters to enact numerous changes during the 20th Century. To "Fight the War to End All Wars." Or Prohibition (of Alcohol), or to repeal Prohibition. To establish Social Security, the TVA, CCC, to drink Tang, conserve the environment, reduce pollution, to Require by Law that vehicles have seatbelts, and later to have LEOs Ticket people for Not wearing seatbelts, drive flimsier (and more dangerous) cars to reduce fuel consumption, etc., etc., etc.
In the USA, Canada, Western Europe, and to a lesser extent degree other parts of the world, Persuasion has changed the thinking, and the voting of a majority of the people.
In the United Kingdom at least a slim majority of the voters were persuaded to reduce the government/union dominance of much of the economy. Not everyone agrees on all the outcomes, or the future. Brexit is another example.
It seems to me that some people, frustrated that they could not persuade a majority of the people to adopt radical opinions (i.e., a Male is a "female" if he says so). So, they have been attempting, too often successfully, to alter the definition of words!
If we cannot agree on Facts, and Facts require that we agree on the Definitions of Words; then we cannot engage in civil debate.
In the late 1970's and in the 1980's a resistance movement in Poland was to put a sign with: 2+2=4 in a window. The Russians / Soviet Union officials didn't know quite how to respond. Soviet Authorities proclaimed Obviously False statements; the Polish people persisted in believing Facts.
Last week, in Ireland, a Teacher at a Catholic school was sent to Prison for refusing to proclaim that a Male is a "female" in an ostensibly "Free Nation"
This week there is yet again another attempt to compel Seattle Pacific University, a Methodist institution, to go against their religious convictions to employ gay, lesbian, transexual, etc. instructors or staff. You may feel, or even think that is wrong. In the USA we still have the Right to religious beliefs (that don't conflict with other peoples' Constitutional Rights). No "religion" could get away with claiming that the practice of Slavery is among their "beliefs" and get away with it. However, some people seem to be getting away with polygamy and the government isn't enforcing those laws. (And Not just in SOL Stories.) No one has a right to a job. I can't compel a Hindu restaurant to serve me a Roast Beef Sandwich.
No "progressive" has been bold enough to "demand" to be allowed to be a female or "transgendered" Imam or instructor at a Madrassa in the USA. Yet... If that occurs, That will be an Interesting Day!
I fear that if we cannot agree to tolerance at least in the definition of words, we will inevitably spiral into violence.
I hope that here, on Stories On Line, and in particular in the Forums, We can agree that a Kitten is a Kitten. Of course, if in a Story You write, you want a Kitten to be an Aardvark; well, at least use proper Tags.
I welcome comments, and suggestions on how we can keep Our Discussions civil and have a better understanding of the definitions of words, at least in the SOL Forum. Perhaps we could even share some of that civility in our little spheres outside of SOL too. Writes can be influential to society, though most of us are "very small fish in a very large Ocean" but change has to start somewhere.
[I made a few edits to correct some misspellings I noticed after posting.]