Reply #6: exactly - bogeymen, all.

[sui generis]

Socialism is not a single unified concept - it has as many nuances in definition as there are poli sci professors and philosophers, and even more nuance in practice.

Nazi? A member of the Nationalist party in and around WWII Germany. Of course when we say "Nazi" what we imagine is the evil helmeted cartoon german soldier and a dozen other two-penny one-dimensional villains. Yes, there certainly were those, but for the most part the german soldiers that fought and died on the front lines were scared conscripted hungry german boys pressed into service just like ours were.

It is both diminishing and inappropriate to infer holocaust prison camp guard gestapo from the term "Nazi", and better to choose a more judicious comparison. HOWEVER, in common vernacular it now means a totalitarian absolute authoritarian, without reference to reality of any kind.

What is a homophobe? Is it always a rabid "death to gays" psychopath, or does that also include people who are under-exposed to the broader culture and haven't learned to accept other people? I have a lot more patience for the ignorant than for the hateful.

Ironically, I have been told here many times that I'm a racist and a bigot and even (snork!) a homophobe right here on DU. Not to mention that I'm also anti-semitic, misogynistic and elitist. And all because I refuse to see the world in black and white.

Good grief, some days it's like being in kindergarten all over again. The main thing is it's a desperate red herring to intentionally align someone with a distasteful moniker that they must vehemently deny or else tacitly admit, thereby side stepping the main logic (or lack of logic) of the disagreement under way.