[cjjuice]

unrelated side note... I think this is a great example of how much we use loaded language in rhetoric.

you turned "cannabis" to "plant matter" and "beat your wife with a stick no bigger than your thumb" to "domestic violence".

It's also amazing that this rhetorical technique is only useful to a modern audience that has been conditioned to associate certain feelings to the words.

Not disagreeing with your point, just thought it was interesting.

[_jal]

Pretty sure manipulation with loaded language is not unique to modern discourse. There seems to be an assumption that folks who predate modern tech were somehow unsophisticated or innocent. Not so - if anyone finds modern political antics entertaining, I highly recommend them Roman history.

While spotting rhetorical techniques, I'd throw out that my synonym-choice is more something that I've been trying to train myself out of - I tend to unconsciously take a step 'up' in generality when rephrasing elements of others' arguments, and it isn't a great habit. Sometimes it can be useful, but oftentimes muddies the waters. Been trying to retrain myself, obviously with mixed results.

[cjjuice]

Yeah, maybe I phrased my comment wrong. By "modern" I mean "contemporary" meaning the loaded words are only effective on people contemporary to the speaker who grasp the hidden context behind the words.