protest = 'demonstrate in public to draw attention to'

[Laurence Horn]

At 8:51 AM -0400 4/25/10, Jonathan Lighter wrote:
>Why become an advocate for migraines or protest the need for jobs when you
>can rally for global warming instead?
>
>CNN reports James Cameron's involvement in a public demonstration
>today(called the "Climate Rally")  in which "thousands will rally for
>climate change."  That means they're against it.
>
>Meanwhile the bottom-of-the-screen note says "Call For Climate Change."
>
>
>JL

I recall getting upset back in the day, when I participated in
rallies to end the war in Vietnam that were then described in the
press or on the news as "anti-Vietnam" demonstrations.  Not exactly
the same, but...

LH

>On Sat, Apr 3, 2010 at 1:01 PM, Jonathan Lighter
><wuxxmupp2000 at gmail.com>wrote:
>
>>  ---------------------- Information from the mail header
>>  -----------------------
>>  Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>>  Poster:       Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at GMAIL.COM>
>>  Subject:      Re: protest = 'demonstrate in public to draw attention to'
>>
>>
>>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>
>>  When my generation protested the need for jobs, we were talking about a
>>  very
>>  different issue.
>>
>>  I'm with Joel. To be a "telescoping" of "protest about the need,"
>>  intrans._protest_ has to mean "take part in a public demonstration" (the
>>  NPR
>>  ex. was of course trans.)
>>
>>  Somewhere there may be someone who uses the word that way, but for everyone
>>  else a sentence like the following would still be logically impossible:
>>
>>  *OK, young Democrats, I want to see at least fifty of you protesting in
>>  honor of President Obama's arrival tomorrow.  (Meaning "*demonstrating
>>  enthusiastically.")
>>
>>  In terms of semantics, "protesting the need for jobs" is like "has become
>>  an
>>  advocate for" in that the once-apparent plain sense of the utterance is
>>  more
>>  or less reversed, owing to a combination of changes in the semantic
>>  associations of both "advocate" and "protest" along with complete
>>  inattention to the form of what one is saying or writing.
>>
>>  Several factors are undoubtedly involved. But the switcheroo in these cases
>>  is startling.
>>
>>  JL
>>
>>
>>
>>  JL
>>
>>
>>  On Sat, Apr 3, 2010 at 10:09 AM, Joel S. Berson <Berson at att.net> wrote:
>>
>>   > ---------------------- Information from the mail header
>>  > -----------------------
>>  > Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>>  > Poster:       "Joel S. Berson" <Berson at ATT.NET>
>>  > Subject:      Re: protest = 'demonstrate in public to draw attention to'
>>  >
>>  >
>>
>>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>  >
>>  > At 4/2/2010 10:57 PM, Arnold Zwicky wrote:
>>  > >On Apr 2, 2010, at 3:05 PM, Jon Lighter wrote:
>>  > >
>>  > >>_All Things Considered_ reported this evening on about 36 teenagers
>>  > >>who were
>>  > >>chanting "We need jobs!" outside a municipal agency.
>>  > >>
>>  > >>According to the highly paid journalist-narrator, they were
>>  > >>"protesting the
>>  > >>need for jobs."
>>  > >
>>  > >this appears to be "protest" 'protest about' -- yet anoth
>>  > >transitivizing P-drop, in addition to "protest" 'protest against'.
>>  >
>>  > Still, I wouldn't protest about the need for jobs.  (I don't think
>>  > I'd even protest against the need for jobs.)  I'd protest about the
>>  > lack of jobs.
>>  >
>>  > Joel
>>  >
>>  > ------------------------------------------------------------
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>>
>>
>>
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>>  "If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the truth."
>>
>>   ------------------------------------------------------------
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>
>
>
>--
>"If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the truth."
>
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