Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Pelosi blows off AOC 'concentration camp' remarks [View all]Midnightwalk
(3,131 posts)85. What is a good term?
Lets start with a few things from Wikipedia
The term itself originated in 1897 when the "reconcentration camps" were set up in Cuba by General Valeriano Weyler. In the past, the U.S. government had used concentration camps against Native Americans and the British had also used them during the Second Boer War. Between 1904 and 1908, the Schutztruppe of the Imperial German Army operated concentration camps in German South-West Africa (now Namibia) as part of its genocide of the Herero and Namaqua peoples
.......
Holocaust scholars draw a distinction between concentration camps (described in this article) and extermination camps, which were established by Nazi Germany for the industrial-scale mass murder of Jews in the ghettos by way of gas chambers.
.......
As a result of the Holocaust, the term "concentration camp" carries many of the connotations of "extermination camp" and is sometimes used synonymously. Because of these ominous connotations, the term "concentration camp", originally itself a euphemism, has been replaced by newer terms such as internment camp, resettlement camp, detention facility, etc., regardless of the actual circumstances of the camp, which can vary a great deal.
.......
Holocaust scholars draw a distinction between concentration camps (described in this article) and extermination camps, which were established by Nazi Germany for the industrial-scale mass murder of Jews in the ghettos by way of gas chambers.
.......
As a result of the Holocaust, the term "concentration camp" carries many of the connotations of "extermination camp" and is sometimes used synonymously. Because of these ominous connotations, the term "concentration camp", originally itself a euphemism, has been replaced by newer terms such as internment camp, resettlement camp, detention facility, etc., regardless of the actual circumstances of the camp, which can vary a great deal.
Sorry for the long excerpting but it summarizes to the term goes back to 1897, was used commonly before the holocaust, and the term is now controversial because it gets conflated with extermination camps
It was reasonable post WWII to avoid terms like concentration camps that made false comparisons to the Nazis, but it was also a time when the horror wasnt history and people took never again seriously.
None of the suggested euphemisms convey the horror of family separations or making children sleep in over crowded, ice cold cells on concrete floors with no access to toothpaste, showers, soap, towels and dry clothes
Years ago I would probably be on the side saying dont minimize the holocaust by even remotely comparing anything to it. I never thought we would go this far.
Now I worry that we have to use euphemisms to avoid sounding like were doing anything to minimize the greatest crime against humanity.
The suggested replacements frankly suck. They dont carry the negative connotations we need.
Maybe theres a better replacement? For now I lean towards rather explaining that not being anywhere as bad as the Nazis is not a valid criteria for deciding whether something is acceptable.
Edit history
Please sign in to view edit histories.
145 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight:
NoneDon't highlight anything
5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
RecommendedHighlight replies with 5 or more recommendations
A friend explained it like this. "When they rounded up women and children behind barbed wire,
Autumn
Jun 2019
#73
It's part of our history. The camps, where the Japanese were held, were known as concentration camps
Baitball Blogger
Jun 2019
#24
You sure have a lot of theories about what is and isn't a concentration camp
Blues Heron
Jun 2019
#32
Not in S Africa, California WW2, Yugoslavia civil war, & many other places. . . . nt
Bernardo de La Paz
Jun 2019
#140
This. Is. How. It. Starts. Otherize/demonize. Segregate. Deny civil rights & human rights.Imprison.
Hekate
Jun 2019
#142
Among the names on this wall is 13 of my family who died in a REAL concentration camp
Jake Stern
Jun 2019
#36
Oh, bullshit! Events set names. Concentration camps post WWII have a defined meaning.
GulfCoast66
Jun 2019
#51
No, she is right on a broader level. They are concentration camps, and it is a moral issue.
demmiblue
Jun 2019
#6
Some may think AOC right on a narrower level; ethical, moral, legal, ideological, [all fine
empedocles
Jun 2019
#8
One would think crimes against humanity would be considered serious by most. Nt
Gore1FL
Jun 2019
#77
No question from me: there are very powerful moral, legal, ethical, etc. issues that need to be
empedocles
Jun 2019
#112
The concentration camps were the machinery of genocide, mass murder. There, people were worked to
emmaverybo
Jun 2019
#35
I can fix that, but I can't fix your sweeping "wrong on facts, wrong on history..." which is no
emmaverybo
Jun 2019
#41
It seems to me you know of only one example in history of 'concentration camps.'
pangaia
Jun 2019
#65
I have learned that the definition can be applied to other examples. However, I think Ocasio-Cortez
emmaverybo
Jun 2019
#68
Since folks here have educated me, I now know that "concentration camp" can describe a wider
emmaverybo
Jun 2019
#86
This...once again we're off arguing semantics about what to call something...
Wounded Bear
Jun 2019
#42
What's outrageous to me is that some in the media have made AOC's comments the outrageous
ecstatic
Jun 2019
#23
We've lost our way. They are going to concentrate a group of ppl into camps. Millions trump says
Kurt V.
Jun 2019
#27
What does the Jewish community have to do with the concentration camps we have on our border?
Gore1FL
Jun 2019
#91
You make the classic error confusing death camps with concentration camps.
Bernardo de La Paz
Jun 2019
#136
Calling a Concentration Camp a Concentration Camp should not be as controversial as having them. nt
Gore1FL
Jun 2019
#94
She was part of the wave that energized the base that gave the Dems the majority...
WoonTars
Jun 2019
#134
When Pelosi is Speaker of the House she'll hold the second most powerful elected position in the USA
Hekate
Jun 2019
#113
Misleading. Nancy did not "blow off AOC." She specifically said she had not spoken with AOC...
Hekate
Jun 2019
#109
I suspect there are some who are intentionally trying to soe division among Democrats.
still_one
Jun 2019
#124
The New York Post (Trump's favorite rag and the source of the cited headline and story)
lapucelle
Jun 2019
#111