Timeline for Use of the term "Cowardly Act" in regards to violence
Current License: CC BY-SA 3.0
11 events
| when toggle format | what | by | license | comment | |
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| Sep 18, 2013 at 16:41 | history | edited | twip | CC BY-SA 3.0 |
Final paragraph: replaced cowardice with dishonor to match the first paragraph; it's silly to call the thing idiomatic and then wrongly apply the word in the conclusion.
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| Sep 18, 2013 at 16:07 | history | edited | twip | CC BY-SA 3.0 |
Deleted the following sentence based on feedback: "Before we get too carried away with conspiracy theories or media-bias"
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| Sep 18, 2013 at 16:06 | comment | added | twip | @AdamBalsam I didn't mean that you were, and I've edited that line: it's plenty enough to note that it's happened before without me supplementing with inflammatory language. Thank you for the feedback. I'm still learning the StackExchange genre. | |
| Sep 18, 2013 at 14:52 | comment | added | Adam Balsam | I wasn't trying to imply media bias or conspiracy, but I had no idea that the phrase was used as far back as Carter. Thanks for the quote. | |
| Sep 18, 2013 at 14:38 | comment | added | twip | @JohnY The frame here for combat status is International Humanitarian Law, specifically, the special status of civilians. I agree that this subject is exceedingly messy. My intent with the gloss is to point out that the force used isn't the issue nearly so much as who the force is directed against. | |
| Sep 18, 2013 at 2:03 | comment | added | John Y | Definitely agree on the idiomatic nature of the phrase, and on @J.R.'s comment about its use as a coping mechanism of sorts. I am less gung-ho about agreeing that the cowardice really has to do with the combat status of the target, partly because the use of the phrase is more indiscriminate than that, and partly because "combat status" can be a very fuzzy and subjective concept in the messy real world. | |
| Sep 17, 2013 at 23:53 | comment | added | J.R. | I agree, and I'd go so far as to wonder if the idiom has become a coping mechanism of sorts. In other words, one way to deal with the shock of the horrific event is to label the perpetrators as "cowards." | |
| Sep 17, 2013 at 20:02 | history | edited | twip | CC BY-SA 3.0 |
Tweaked citations.
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| Sep 17, 2013 at 19:55 | history | edited | twip | CC BY-SA 3.0 |
Cleaned up citations, added attribution, corrected spelling.
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| Sep 17, 2013 at 19:08 | history | edited | twip | CC BY-SA 3.0 |
Added citations of usage.
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| Sep 17, 2013 at 18:50 | history | answered | twip | CC BY-SA 3.0 |