I see people using the word “political” to refer to things that provoke discussions and/or disagreements (not sure if that’s the case here). Wouldn’t “controversial” be a better word for that use?
As far as I understand, political means being involved in public affairs of some kind, like working in politics, doing activism, etc.
I’m not a native English speaker, so correct me if I’m wrong.
Yes, here in the USA “political” can refer to all the things you mentioned, as well as being a synonym for “controversial”. But its meaning has been stretched and twisted here.
For example, there’s a whole line of discourse about what constitutes “a political act”, i.e. something that contributes to advocacy: you may have heard someone say “love is a political act” or “trans joy is a political act”. And sometimes “political act” is just shortened to “political”.
And disingenuous right-wing grifters have adopted the word to refer to any agenda the disagree with, and they intend it as derogatory. It’s a loaded word, now.
I see people using the word “political” to refer to things that provoke discussions and/or disagreements (not sure if that’s the case here). Wouldn’t “controversial” be a better word for that use?
As far as I understand, political means being involved in public affairs of some kind, like working in politics, doing activism, etc.
I’m not a native English speaker, so correct me if I’m wrong.
See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_personal_is_political
Yes, here in the USA “political” can refer to all the things you mentioned, as well as being a synonym for “controversial”. But its meaning has been stretched and twisted here.
For example, there’s a whole line of discourse about what constitutes “a political act”, i.e. something that contributes to advocacy: you may have heard someone say “love is a political act” or “trans joy is a political act”. And sometimes “political act” is just shortened to “political”.
And disingenuous right-wing grifters have adopted the word to refer to any agenda the disagree with, and they intend it as derogatory. It’s a loaded word, now.