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Obamanation

angelicaangelica Posts: 6,038
edited November 2008 in A Moving Train
okay...so my friend used this term in a positive sense yesterday on facebook, referring to Obama's win.

How do people feel about this 'word'?
Is it a witty play on words?
Does it fit?
Does it have a disturbing not-so-hidden meaning?
What's the consensus?
"The opposite of a fact is falsehood, but the opposite of one profound truth may very well be another profound truth." ~ Niels Bohr

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Rhinocerous Surprise '08!!!
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  • NiteLite10NiteLite10 Posts: 144
    angelica wrote:
    okay...so my friend used this term in a positive sense yesterday on facebook, referring to Obama's win.

    How do people feel about this 'word'?
    Is it a witty play on words?
    Does it fit?
    Does it have a disturbing not-so-hidden meaning?
    What's the consensus?

    I think the word is disturbingly similar to abomination... (especially spoken out loud) which is definitely bad.
  • dpmaydpmay Posts: 643
    well gee, when i first read that, it sure sounded like a slam on obama to me...
  • wolfbearwolfbear Posts: 3,965
    Yep, at first glance, seemed not good. Then I saw a positive. It can obviously be taken either way, which I'd generally say isn't a good recommendation. :)
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  • dcfaithfuldcfaithful Posts: 13,076
    If used in a non-inviting way, this is how I view it: It's just an outlet for conservatives, racists, ignoramis's who are upset at this for one reason or another...

    I was in disbelief when someone told me that they overheard someone saying W is a visionary...I almost lost it laughign, but then my anger settled in. All I could think of was him being a visionary to create, and continue a paradigm of failure.
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  • Mrs.Vedder78Mrs.Vedder78 Posts: 4,585
    angelica wrote:
    okay...so my friend used this term in a positive sense yesterday on facebook, referring to Obama's win.

    How do people feel about this 'word'?
    Is it a witty play on words?
    Does it fit?
    Does it have a disturbing not-so-hidden meaning?
    What's the consensus?

    IMO
    I think it depends on the person.
    I see that word and I think of his accomplishment with this campaign, and huge drive it had for voting, volunteering and excitement.
    Does it fit? I think so, based on the reasoning I explained above.

    I guess for someone who doesnt like Obama it could sound scary? negative? I dont know itd be interesting to see what the guys that dont like him so much around here have to say.
    "Without the album covers, where do you clean your pot?" - EV
  • angelicaangelica Posts: 6,038
    wolfbear wrote:
    Yep, at first glance, seemed not good. Then I saw a positive. It can obviously be taken either way, which I'd generally say isn't a good recommendation. :)
    That's sort of what I saw initially. The word abomination has some very serious negative meanings! (anything abominable; anything greatly disliked or abhorred. intense aversion or loathing; detestation. a vile, shameful, or detestable action, condition, habit, etc.: Spitting in public is an abomination ...)

    And at the same time, I see on the other hand, it's got a really potent, productive message of unity! To me it's a little brilliant, on it's own, because it has a perfect balance, sort of like the yin-yang symbol.

    Granted, all that flies out the window if it's used with a negative intent.....
    "The opposite of a fact is falsehood, but the opposite of one profound truth may very well be another profound truth." ~ Niels Bohr

    http://www.myspace.com/illuminatta

    Rhinocerous Surprise '08!!!
  • angelicaangelica Posts: 6,038
    dcfaithful wrote:
    I was in disbelief when someone told me that they overheard someone saying W is a visionary...I almost lost it laughign, but then my anger settled in. All I could think of was him being a visionary to create, and continue a paradigm of failure.
    I see your point...
    If he had an ounce of vision, imo, he'd have been literally unable to do what he has...
    "The opposite of a fact is falsehood, but the opposite of one profound truth may very well be another profound truth." ~ Niels Bohr

    http://www.myspace.com/illuminatta

    Rhinocerous Surprise '08!!!
  • QuestionAuthorityQuestionAuthority Idaho Posts: 327
    I have only heard it used negatively.. pronounced like abomination, which in defination is anything greatly disliked or abhorred.

    I choose not to use the word.
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


    As individual fingers we can easily be broken, but together we make a mighty fist ~ Sitting Bull
  • TrixieCatTrixieCat Posts: 5,756
    angelica wrote:
    okay...so my friend used this term in a positive sense yesterday on facebook, referring to Obama's win.

    How do people feel about this 'word'?
    Is it a witty play on words?
    Does it fit?
    Does it have a disturbing not-so-hidden meaning?
    What's the consensus?
    It is not a witty play on words.
    No, it does not fit.
    If this person were seriously trying to use this is a positive way, don't you think
    Obama-Nation would have been wittier?
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  • Mrs.Vedder78Mrs.Vedder78 Posts: 4,585
    wolfbear wrote:
    Yep, at first glance, seemed not good. Then I saw a positive. It can obviously be taken either way, which I'd generally say isn't a good recommendation. :)


    Very interesting to read the responses, when i saw the word I saw it as I read it though i could totally see now how would people see it as not-so-innocent play on words... I guess I wasn't looking for a negative connotation so I never really saw it in a negative way.... so again I think it comes down to who reads it...
    "Without the album covers, where do you clean your pot?" - EV
  • angelicaangelica Posts: 6,038
    TrixieCat wrote:
    If this person were seriously trying to use this is a positive way, don't you think
    Obama-Nation would have been wittier?
    No, but I can understand someone else thinking so.
    "The opposite of a fact is falsehood, but the opposite of one profound truth may very well be another profound truth." ~ Niels Bohr

    http://www.myspace.com/illuminatta

    Rhinocerous Surprise '08!!!
  • Mrs.Vedder78Mrs.Vedder78 Posts: 4,585
    TrixieCat wrote:
    Obama-Nation

    This is exactly how I read it in my mind when I saw the word, I guess I put the dash myself when I read it without even thinking, which is why I'm assuming never saw the negative to it...
    "Without the album covers, where do you clean your pot?" - EV
  • angelicaangelica Posts: 6,038
    QuestionAuthority wrote:
    I have only heard it used negatively.. pronounced like abomination, which in defination is anything greatly disliked or abhorred.

    I choose not to use the word.
    I had not heard the term until yesterday, where I saw it written. At first I saw it positively, based on Obama's name + nation. And then I recognized a possible connotation due to it's play on 'abomination'. I can definitely understand if people would not be comfortable using it due to that connotation.
    "The opposite of a fact is falsehood, but the opposite of one profound truth may very well be another profound truth." ~ Niels Bohr

    http://www.myspace.com/illuminatta

    Rhinocerous Surprise '08!!!
  • MichaelMcKevinMichaelMcKevin Posts: 1,161
    Though you or your friend mean it as positive, the similarity to abomination will always give it a negative context.
    Camden I '06, Camden II '06, Bonnaroo '08, Camden I '08, Camden II '08, Philly Spectrum II/III/IV '09, MSG I '10, MSG II '10, Made In America '12, Wrigley '13, Brooklyn II '13, Philly I '13, Philly II '13, ...
  • AmentsChickAmentsChick Posts: 6,969
    Well I was out last night watching/celebrating Obama's win. I was talking to two guys who were African American and they were calling the election a Black Out. I thought that was hilarious! :D
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  • Mrs.Vedder78Mrs.Vedder78 Posts: 4,585
    GivenToCarve wrote:
    Though you or your friend mean it as positive, the similarity to abomination will always give it a negative context.


    I dont think it was meant in a positive way by the OP, of course this is just my observation.

    Actually let me retract that because she did mention it was not her who came up with that it was I think a friend that posted it somewhere else, so I can't really attribute this to the OP
    "Without the album covers, where do you clean your pot?" - EV
  • angelicaangelica Posts: 6,038
    GivenToCarve wrote:
    Though you or your friend mean it as positive, the similarity to abomination will always give it a negative context.
    I wonder if everyone agrees on this point.

    Then, what if someone's intent is different than the outcome. Are they responsible for how people read it, if they did not intend it that way? Would that be considered a miscommunication, then, if the intended communication was not received. And I'm giving this example, hypothetically assuming we know for sure someone using it is not intending a negative intent.
    "The opposite of a fact is falsehood, but the opposite of one profound truth may very well be another profound truth." ~ Niels Bohr

    http://www.myspace.com/illuminatta

    Rhinocerous Surprise '08!!!
  • Mrs.Vedder78Mrs.Vedder78 Posts: 4,585
    angelica wrote:
    I wonder if everyone agrees on this point.

    Then, what if someone's intent is different than the outcome. Are they responsible for how people read it, if they did not intend it that way? Would that be considered a miscommunication, then, if the intended communication was not received. And I'm giving this example, hypothetically assuming we know for sure someone using it is not intending a negative intent.


    I didnt see it as negative until i saw others responses, I just didnt even think about the word abomination when I read that I actually read it in my head as Obama-nation as if it was 2 words... so if we dont know the intent I guess, I think its up to who reads it...
    "Without the album covers, where do you clean your pot?" - EV
  • angelicaangelica Posts: 6,038
    Mrs_Vedder78 wrote:
    I dont think it was meant in a positive way by the OP, of course this is just my observation.

    Actually let me retract that because she did mention it was not her who came up with that it was I think a friend that posted it somewhere else, so I can't really attribute this to the OP

    My appreciation for this blend of words is because it's kind of holistic...in that it balances good/bad. Again, like the yin-yang symbol, where it balances dark/light...the opposing forces are held in an interplay as is reflected in all of life...there is a beauty, naturalness and poetry to that to me.

    however, like wolfbear says, that would make it a not-as-great choice if I were, say, campaigning for Obama...where I might want to present a more positive position.
    "The opposite of a fact is falsehood, but the opposite of one profound truth may very well be another profound truth." ~ Niels Bohr

    http://www.myspace.com/illuminatta

    Rhinocerous Surprise '08!!!
  • QuestionAuthorityQuestionAuthority Idaho Posts: 327
    angelica wrote:
    I had not heard the term until yesterday, where I saw it written. At first I saw it positively, based on Obama's name + nation. And then I recognized a possible connotation due to it's play on 'abomination'. I can definitely understand if people would not be comfortable using it due to that connotation.


    Crowds at McCain/Palin rallies were screaming it out.. it went along with "kill him" and "terrorist". Odd you had not heard it.
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


    As individual fingers we can easily be broken, but together we make a mighty fist ~ Sitting Bull
  • angelicaangelica Posts: 6,038
    QuestionAuthority wrote:
    Crowds at McCain/Palin rallies were screaming it out.. it went along with "kill him" and "terrorist". Odd you had not heard it.
    I'm Canadian. I don't watch TV or read any media publications...
    "The opposite of a fact is falsehood, but the opposite of one profound truth may very well be another profound truth." ~ Niels Bohr

    http://www.myspace.com/illuminatta

    Rhinocerous Surprise '08!!!
  • QuestionAuthorityQuestionAuthority Idaho Posts: 327
    angelica wrote:
    I'm Canadian. I don't watch TV or read any media publications...


    Well.. there you go.

    So.. you watch no tv and read no media publications? Where exactly do you get your news?
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


    As individual fingers we can easily be broken, but together we make a mighty fist ~ Sitting Bull
  • angelicaangelica Posts: 6,038
    Mrs_Vedder78 wrote:
    I didnt see it as negative until i saw others responses, I just didnt even think about the word abomination when I read that I actually read it in my head as Obama-nation as if it was 2 words... so if we dont know the intent I guess, I think its up to who reads it...
    I sort of agree with you. I don't think the word has inherent meaning, except for that which it's given by us.

    Also, different cultures will take words with one meaning, and deliberately use that word in a different context to change the meaning. And dictionaries will reflect cultural changings of the meaning of words. The connotation could be like when someone names a new baby some very old fashioned name that makes us think of our grandmother...eventually, the new baby changes that old-fashioned connotation, to where we think of the name associated to the new baby, or child, and as fresh and young.
    "The opposite of a fact is falsehood, but the opposite of one profound truth may very well be another profound truth." ~ Niels Bohr

    http://www.myspace.com/illuminatta

    Rhinocerous Surprise '08!!!
  • catefrancescatefrances Posts: 29,003
    QuestionAuthority wrote:
    Well.. there you go.

    So.. you watch no tv and read no media publications? Where exactly do you get your news?


    she makes it up like the 'real' media does sometimes. ;):p:D


    not watching tv is not a bad thing imo.
    hear my name
    take a good look
    this could be the day
    hold my hand
    lie beside me
    i just need to say
  • angelicaangelica Posts: 6,038
    QuestionAuthority wrote:
    Well.. there you go.

    So.. you watch no tv and read no media publications? Where exactly do you get your news?
    I don't get any "news".

    I'm informed by many sources. Books, for one. Life and all the wide-ranges of life experience that goes on in the natural world. The universe is intelligent, and we are communicated with vast amounts of information in every moment, if we're not distracting ourselves with, say, TV. Evolution is filled with information to direct us in healthy adaptive ways, when we're not too tuned out from reality.
    "The opposite of a fact is falsehood, but the opposite of one profound truth may very well be another profound truth." ~ Niels Bohr

    http://www.myspace.com/illuminatta

    Rhinocerous Surprise '08!!!
  • catefrancescatefrances Posts: 29,003
    angelica wrote:
    I don't get any "news".

    I'm informed by many sources. Books, for one. Life and all the wide-ranges of life experience that goes on in the natural world. The universe is intelligent, and we are communicated with vast amounts of information in every moment, if we're not distracting ourselves with, say, TV. Evolution is filled with information to direct us in healthy adaptive ways, when we're not too tuned out from reality.


    and whose reality would that be?
    hear my name
    take a good look
    this could be the day
    hold my hand
    lie beside me
    i just need to say
  • angelicaangelica Posts: 6,038
    catefrances wrote:
    and whose reality would that be?
    in this context the reality that evolution holds us to when we're adapting to it. And I'm not so sure evolution cares a lot about the TV and "news" "reality".
    "The opposite of a fact is falsehood, but the opposite of one profound truth may very well be another profound truth." ~ Niels Bohr

    http://www.myspace.com/illuminatta

    Rhinocerous Surprise '08!!!
  • catefrancescatefrances Posts: 29,003
    angelica wrote:
    in this context the reality that evolution holds us to when we're adapting to it. And I'm not so sure evolution cares a lot about the TV and "news" "reality".

    and thats a singular reality is it?
    hear my name
    take a good look
    this could be the day
    hold my hand
    lie beside me
    i just need to say
  • angelicaangelica Posts: 6,038
    catefrances wrote:
    and thats a singular reality is it?
    I'm describing to you what I see using what symbols I have at my disposal, given this context.
    "The opposite of a fact is falsehood, but the opposite of one profound truth may very well be another profound truth." ~ Niels Bohr

    http://www.myspace.com/illuminatta

    Rhinocerous Surprise '08!!!
  • Mrs.Vedder78Mrs.Vedder78 Posts: 4,585
    angelica wrote:
    I'm Canadian. I don't watch TV or read any media publications...


    yet you seem to be very opinionated in regards to the US elections and Senator Obama and our flawed system ... :confused:
    "Without the album covers, where do you clean your pot?" - EV
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