2004-02-26

Editorial- SPIN AND SPINNERS- 102

This is the second in a series of editorials on SPIN. In SPIN 101, we considered the use of the term asset by the military as SPIN. We turn now to the use of the term collateral damage.

102- Collateral Damage

We discussed the term euphemism in our discussion of the use of the term assets by the military. If we did not know already, we learned that a euphemism is the use of a neutral or inoffensive word as a substitute for an offensive one.

As it is used by our military and other branches of government, collateral damage is also a euphemism. Collateral has a number of meanings, according to my dictionary, but "located or running side by side," or "coinciding in tendency or effect" are the usages meant here. The term collateral damage, as typically used by the military, refers to damage accompanying an attack or a bombing either by the U.S. or by an enemy force.

Thus, we read or hear statements such as "our troops attacked an Iraqi terrorist position in the area of Tikrit with aerial and tank support with minimal collateral damage to our troops and the Iraqi civilian population. This is SPIN. Someone in the Pentagon, probably very high up, got the brilliant idea of using euphemisms to describe military actions so that the public would not be grossed out by more accurate descriptions of what occurred. If you are reading or listening to the news, collateral damage is much easier on your delicate stomachs than reading that several kids were burned to a crisp, their parents were blown apart into little pieces and a marine had his brains splattered amongst his buddies.

In the above example, you've been SPUN. Most of you probably prefer being SPUN

to rather than reading the grim details, but you should now be aware that when you read or hear collateral damage, you are being lied to. Trust me. People are telling you lies so that they can achieve their own goals without you protesting. Ask yourself, what kinds of people change words around so that they don't have to speak the truth to other people?

Now, I am going to SPIN you by telling you that Walter Reed Army Hospital in Washington is full, and I mean really full, of American kids who have been seriously maimed in Iraq.

When I unspin you and say to you that I'm using seriously maimed as a euphemism, then, perhaps, you can grasp just how horribly those kids have been damaged.