Well, the term 'feminazi' is, no doubt about it, a highly negative term. But 'militant' can be positive, if the power's used for good. And there are some instances when being militant is important, and does make a difference, so it's a bit more neutral. It just indicates a strong leaning towards a certain position -- and it's an ambiguous term, too. One can be militant about women in the workplace, or militant about abortion rights, or militant about sexual assault, I suppose.
I suppose the difference is that 'feminazi' makes both the mission *and* the person sound like a negative, evil thing, and in most cases, it's neither. It's just that the person is so much more militant about a subject than the audience, but this doesn't mean the person's goal is necessarily evil, and certainly (hopefully) not as evil as the original Nazis.
In some ways, calling someone a feminazi for being gung-ho on A, B, or C not only insults the person who (most likely) is simply fanatical and devoted to their pet cause -- it also trivializes those who did suffer under the Nazis.
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Date: 5 Aug 2005 12:23 am (UTC)I suppose the difference is that 'feminazi' makes both the mission *and* the person sound like a negative, evil thing, and in most cases, it's neither. It's just that the person is so much more militant about a subject than the audience, but this doesn't mean the person's goal is necessarily evil, and certainly (hopefully) not as evil as the original Nazis.
In some ways, calling someone a feminazi for being gung-ho on A, B, or C not only insults the person who (most likely) is simply fanatical and devoted to their pet cause -- it also trivializes those who did suffer under the Nazis.