Hey, Morgan, that's a great point. We are *protecting* something that is
normal, which is under attack.  Yes, we should all pay heed to this one,
since we are looking into semantics and how the use of words clarifies or
clouds meaning.  Semantic change makes people do a double take and *think*,
and if use of better semantics is persistent enough, attitudes change.
Advertisers do it all the time, and we don't even notice when the word use
is picked up. 
I look forward to the comments of others.


Morgan wrote:
In the middle of the discussion on 'milk' versus soy juice... I found 
myself taking part in another 'Watch Your Language' paradigm change 
elsewhere.

The words "Breastfeeding Promotion Campaign' morphed into "Breastfeeding 
Protection Campaign'.

The genesis for this was someone debating with me the best tactics to 
'promote' breastfeeding.  I replied that breastfeeding requires no 
promotion, as it is the norm.  Rather, it requires protection from attack.

.... Everytime we work on a 'promotion' 
campaign, we are actually defending breastfeeding from attack.  Further, 
when 'promotion' is used, you have immediately set yourself into the 
arena - why are you choosing to influence others?  The nature of the act 
of the influencing, then becomes open to debate in itself.  Do you have 
a right to 'promote'?  What about the women who choose to refuse, do 
they have to be exposed to your 'promotion'? 

'Protect' puts it on a different setting. .... it cuts down on 
negative responses, and allows the message to get through more clearly.  
So I have evolved it to talk about "health promotion and breastfeeding 
protection" campaigns.  We're not in such a sorry state yet, where 
"health promotion" can be so ignored and attacked as "breastfeeding 
promotion".  Equally, 'tho, isn't "health protection" what we're all 
doing? 

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