१८ ऑगस्ट, २०२०

It's not a convention, it's a conclave: "Kicking off a four-day conclave during which they hope to both win over moderates who are uneasy with Mr. Trump’s divisive leadership..."

"... and energize liberals who are unenthusiastic about their own nominee, Democrats reached for the recent past. They showcased Mr. Sanders, the leader of the left and their reigning presidential runner-up; a handful of Republican defectors, including former Gov. John R. Kasich of Ohio; and the most popular figure from the previous administration, Mrs. Obama.... Mrs. Obama portrayed the Trump era as a gallery of social and political degradation: a government defined by 'chaos, division and a total and utter lack of empathy' and guided by the ethos that 'greed is good and winning is everything.' She warned that children had seen the country’s leaders 'emboldening torch-bearing white supremacists,' and she faulted unnamed people for recoiling from the phrase 'Black lives matter' — a description that plainly applies to the president."

So says the New York Times, in "Democrats Begin Virtual Convention, Hailing Biden and Denouncing Trump/Driven online because of the coronavirus, the program spanned the ideological gamut, from socialists to Republicans. 'Donald Trump is the wrong president for our country,' Michelle Obama said."

I just want to talk about the substitution of the word "conclave" for "convention." Does it express what has changed about the event? The etymology of "conclave" is — according to the OED — the Lat "con-" which means "together" and "clāvis" which means "key." So originally it was a place that could be locked up. An obsolete early meaning is "A private room, inner chamber, closet." In the 1300s, it took on the specific meaning, "The place in which the Cardinals meet in private for the election of a Pope." By the 1500s, "conclave" also meant "Any private or close assembly, esp. of an ecclesiastical character." And that's it. So the NYT, in using "conclave," draws attention to how small and closed off this thing is. With a whiff of the ecclesiastic.

३९ टिप्पण्या:

Browndog म्हणाले...

"It's shark week, mother fuckers!"

Keeping it real.....

PhilD म्हणाले...

'Divisive leadership'

The man is divisive, he fights back, how dare he!

Phil 314 म्हणाले...

“emboldening torch-bearing white supremacists,”

As opposed to Democratic mayors who emboldened black looters to torch your neighborhood

exhelodrvr1 म्हणाले...

They wanted to use a different word, since it is a virtual gathering, but they didn't choose wisely.

Greg Hlatky म्हणाले...

"Annuntio vobis gaudium magnum!..."

D.D. Driver म्हणाले...

Perhaps Obama was merely a John the Baptist figure, paving the way for our one true Savior, Joseph Robinette Biden Jr.

Skeptical Voter म्हणाले...

Considering that the Democrats founded the KKK and that dear old Senator Robert Byrd was the Grand Dragon of the Klan in West Virginia, could this shindig in Milwaukee be considered a KlanKlave? Just asking.

Leland म्हणाले...

guided by the ethos that 'greed is good and winning is everything.'

Said Michelle from her vacation home on Martha's Vinyard, because when you won and are rich like the Obamas, you can go on vacation during the covid pandemic and be without a mask.

Mike (MJB Wolf) म्हणाले...

And as expected the production values and presentation was horrible! Do Democrats not understand they are producing a “TV special” this year? That they are running against a TV star and master of the medium? Of course they denounced him in ritual fashion. That was expected. And exhausting, since I can only hear that I’m a racist for voting for Trump and they are anti-racist for opposing him. But it was horribly boring bad TV. Has COVID killed the concept of production values? Is Joe even watching?

This is the exact scenario I predicted to my wife: Whitmer and to a lesser extent Cuomo appeared between flags of their state and the USA at their governor's desks looking stately and properly appointed with symbols of authority. They were well lit, mics picking them up clearly. Then there was the parade of lesser characters phoning it in from the respective basements. And even given the obvious visual disparity, Joe will blow it. He will not be presented with flags and a podium or lectern or massive desk. He has no sense of presentation and Tom Perez has no idea how to run a convention née conclave in the COVID era.

Of course good ideas presented simply could also work. But that ain’t what the DNC is selling. They are selling socialism with soviet-style TV production. Did you see these people? Angry. Hateful. Apparently frustrated by their circumstances. What a gaggle of racist downers! Can’t wait for The Apprentice version to compare.

Will म्हणाले...

Habemus Pablum


conclave it is!!

Gospace म्हणाले...

Conclave.....

For some reason I’m thinking that’s what an arm of the Democrats, the Ku Klux Klan, called their gatherings and get togethers.

NTTAWWT.

I wonder just how much history they know.

Kevin म्हणाले...

This is not a convention.

It’s a con.

Wince म्हणाले...

... and she faulted unnamed people for recoiling from the phrase 'Black lives matter' — a description that plainly applies to the president."

Usually, the NYT routinely capitalizes BLM because when it wants to conflate the sentiment of the phrase with the organization. In other words, you can't believe sentiment if you don't support the organization.

Revealingly, the NYT doesn't capitalize BLM here, because it allows them to impugn those who simply do not support the organization as also being opposed to the sentiment.

Fernandinande म्हणाले...

The etymology of "conclave" is irrelevant, as usual.

Mark म्हणाले...

"Conclave" means "under the key," or more precisely, "with the key." It meant it in the 1300s and it means it today. It is the way that popes are selected.

Of course, the popes could be elected in an open session. But then it would NOT be a conclave. It would more accurately be a consistory, which is a meeting of the college of cardinals.

Mark म्हणाले...

Conclave.....
For some reason I’m thinking that’s what an arm of the Democrats, the Ku Klux Klan, called their gatherings and get togethers.
NTTAWWT.
I wonder just how much history they know.


You obviously don't know much history, shit for brains asshole.

"Conclave" is an overwhelming Catholic term -- as most people know, including you, I suspect -- and the Klan would NEVER associate itself with such popery.

Mary Beth म्हणाले...

If they had lots of people watching, the viewership numbers would be headlines.

Jake म्हणाले...

Children would be oblivious to the goings-on of adults if not for the constant and endless push to incorporate them into the narrative.

Rory म्हणाले...

"I’m thinking that’s what an arm of the Democrats, the Ku Klux Klan, called their gatherings"

This is correct.

Temujin म्हणाले...

Yes, there is a whiff of something, but I don't think it's ecclesiastic.

Joe Smith म्हणाले...

Was Epstein's jet a conclave? Maybe the 'temple' on his island?

Tim म्हणाले...

The only "divisive leadership" has come from the Democrats/Media. Over 4 years of it.

Narayanan म्हणाले...

It's not a convention, it's a conclave:
----------=============
that should lock up the RC vote

when do we see black smoke and white smoke

mikee म्हणाले...

A conclave is a meeting of a select few, in private, to prevent the masses from participating in decisions. That is, indeed, the Democratic Party of the United States today.

BUMBLE BEE म्हणाले...

RUH ROH! There they go again! Black woman -> woman of color, convention -> conclave. They change the meanings... prepare for impact.

Narayanan म्हणाले...

Mark said...
"Conclave" means "under the key," or more precisely, "with the key."
---------------
Clavier Also kla·vier.
- any musical instrument having a keyboard, especially a stringed keyboard instrument, as a harpsichord, clavichord, or piano.
...
against Drumpf >>>> to be beaten like a rented mule (D hope)

Josephbleau म्हणाले...

If the DNC is having a zoom convention, why are there not modern Hoffmans and Rubins with zoom riots. They could burn stuff in their basements and hit posters of policemen with hammers. Of course there are real riots, but they are not acknowledged, orphan riots.

BUMBLE BEE म्हणाले...

Granny Killers at their well lit Granny Killing podiums. Makes me proud to be an AMERICAN!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qKEUddydEIg Cool American Guys! Thank a Mutant.

Calypso Facto म्हणाले...

Mark (the douchebag one) ... said: "You obviously don't know much history, shit for brains asshole."

And here's a shocker, Gospace was exactly correct, and Mark completely wrong about an easily verifiable (check Google, genius) fact: the KKK did widely use the term "conclave" for their meetings,and it was repeated often in the reporting about their get-togethers.

Maybe Mark thinks being as rude as possible at the top of his lungs will somehow win over those not already charmed by his embarrassing ignorance and lack of intellectual curiosity?

Narr म्हणाले...

Klavern.

Narr
History repeats

Dr Weevil म्हणाले...

There is another meaning of classical Latin conclave (3 syllables: con-CLAH-way) that has not come into English: meaning 'c' in the Oxford Latin Dictionary is "a public toilet", in which 30-40 individual seats were placed around the edges of a room facing each other, with no stalls or partitions of any kind. (Google 'Roman toilets': there are lots of pictures on the Web.) I like to think that whichever Timesman chose to call the Democratic virtual convention a 'conclave' had a vague recall of this bit of high-school or college Latin and couldn't help thinking of the convention (subconsciously, of course) as a gigantic, and very public, toilet.

Sam L. म्हणाले...

I despise, detest, and distrust the NYT (and it's little dog WaPoo, too!)

ColoradoDude म्हणाले...

Conclave also should be recognized as a word that, for many decades, referred to a meeting of elderly men who almost always picked one of their number as their next leader. The elderly Biden, as this conclave’s designated successor, makes “conclave” a truly appropriate word choice. The insiders’ favorite, even!

DavidD म्हणाले...

“...and the most popular figure from the previous administration....”

First Lady is not an administrative position.

Richard Dolan म्हणाले...

"With a whiff of the ecclesiastic."

You can almost smell the incense, except that actually burning it is not good for the climate.
So they're making do with virtual incense.

And the NYT will tell you that Biden (like Pelosi) is a deeply committed Catholic, except for the parts he (and she) doesn't like. It's almost as if they have their own church but prefer the trappings of the old one to keep up appearances. Or something.

cubanbob म्हणाले...

The DimCom's are having their quadrennial confederation of dunces. Tis a tale told by an idiot. Full of sound and fury signifying nothing.

hstad म्हणाले...

"...With a whiff of the ecclesiastic..." AA - clever - but the average person doesn't care and won't be watching. You can see Biden's got no energy - he's just not there anymore. The lack of energy hurt Hillary (famous stumble to limo), in 2016, and will decimate Biden in 2020. To many negatives for the Dems this cycle (riots, defund police, Lefty tilt, etc.). Hell they even had a Democrat on there last night saying let's get rid of "Capitalism". What? I'm smelling defeat of the Dem ticket already. Biden campaign in real trouble!

Ingachuck'stoothlessARM म्हणाले...

Convention? Conclave??

...try 'Coven'

Gospace म्हणाले...

Well, Mark, as has been pointed out- you can look it up. While not certain why they did so, I strongly suspect the KKK used “conclave “ fog it’s gatherings for alliteration purposes, conclave adding two more “K” sounds. A lot of groups use alliteration as a tool.

So when will you issue a retraction and an apology for being so obviously wrong?