My esteemed editor at The Spectator Australia, Rowan Dean, has coined a brand-new (and very useful!) word.
Speaking on his Outsiders program on Sky News Rowan coined the term ‘labelism’ to name how some (mentally lazy) commentators go about their work.
Instead of using real mental muscle these lazy commentators just resort to ‘labelism’—they stick a label on a person or an idea or a movement.
That means they no longer need to think about it.
They can just pigeonhole (and dismiss it) under a handy label.
For example, there is the label ‘far right’ (sometimes expressed as ‘hard right’).
By labelling the One Nation political party as ‘far right’ it has been stuck in a pigeonhole, and you can STOP THINKING about it.
The label tells you all you need to know.
Or so these commentators seem to think.
If you have some complex ideas about fashionable climate theories you can be labelled ‘climate denier’ and just dismissed.
There is no need to consider the evidence or the arguments—anyone pigeon-holed under the ‘climate denier’ label can just be ignored.
If you happen to think that attacks on Jews (both verbal and physical) are a bad thing you can be labelled a ‘Zionist’—and hence there’s no need to weight the moral seriousness of what you say.
If you are concerned about radical Islamic terrorism your protests can be dismissed under the label of ‘Islamophobia.’
Similarly, if you have the temerity to have reservations about the wisdom of legalising same-sex marriage then clearly you can be rejected under the label of ‘homophobe.’
Even the label ‘Boomer’ is being used to dismiss the views of older Aussies.
If you’re part of the baby boom generation then you must be old and stupid and you should be slammed in a box labelled ‘Boomer’ to muffle the sound of your complaining voice.
That’s how ‘labelism’ works.
Well done Rowan Dean!
This is a word we clearly need.
I hope it catches on, and that many others use it, so that it earns a place in our dictionaries.
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