Mom Confessions

Can you hate everything about a specific religion without being branded a "phobe" of some kind?

Since that’s the definition of “phobic,” no. Since there’s no religion whose adherents all believe the same thing and practice the same way and many different religions overlap in practices and beliefs, you’d have to have irrational reasons to hate all aspects of a single religion.

A phobia is an irrational fear of something. If hate is the same as fear, then I suppose yes. I don't think hate is the same as fear every single time, so I am going to say that hating something does not make one phobic. For instance, I hate eggs. I am not phobic about eggs, though. I hate milk, although I love ice cream.

I believe that we are using the concept of a phobia in the completely wrong way.

A phobia as defined by the medical community is an irrational anxiety, yes. But the word “phobic” applies to other situations. For example, some inanimate objects are ‘hydrophobic,’ but that doesn’t mean that they are irrational afraid of water, it just meals water. To be ‘phobic’ means to have an intense aversion, intolerance, or fear something.

So an islamophobe isn’t someone who is necessarily afraid of Muslims, they are a person who has an intense aversion, whether fear-based or just plain old-fashioned hate-based. Similarly, homophobes aren’t necessarily scared of gay people. So by the basic definition, someone who hates everything about a religion would be a “that-religion-phobe.” That’s the definition both technically and colloquially.

29again wrote: ↑Mon Oct 21, 2019 7:24 pm A phobia is an irrational fear of something. If hate is the same as fear, then I suppose yes. I don't think hate is the same as fear every single time, so I am going to say that hating something does not make one phobic. For instance, I hate eggs. I am not phobic about eggs, though. I hate milk, although I love ice cream.

I believe that we are using the concept of a phobia in the completely wrong way.

I always thought that an object that was hydrophobic was something that did not work, or did/could not live in water. It doesn't mean just water. It means more than that. The "hydro" part is water, though.

I see phobias as something stronger than just someone who doesn't like/approve of/hates a religion or group of people. To my thinking someone who is islamaphobic would be trying to kill them all, same with homophobics. There would be a much stronger reaction than just avoiding them.

SolidlyAverage wrote: ↑Mon Oct 21, 2019 7:50 pm A phobia as defined by the medical community is an irrational anxiety, yes. But the word “phobic” applies to other situations. For example, some inanimate objects are ‘hydrophobic,’ but that doesn’t mean that they are irrational afraid of water, it just meals water. To be ‘phobic’ means to have an intense aversion, intolerance, or fear something.

So an islamophobe isn’t someone who is necessarily afraid of Muslims, they are a person who has an intense aversion, whether fear-based or just plain old-fashioned hate-based. Similarly, homophobes aren’t necessarily scared of gay people. So by the basic definition, someone who hates everything about a religion would be a “that-religion-phobe.” That’s the definition both technically and colloquially.

29again wrote: ↑Mon Oct 21, 2019 7:24 pm A phobia is an irrational fear of something. If hate is the same as fear, then I suppose yes. I don't think hate is the same as fear every single time, so I am going to say that hating something does not make one phobic. For instance, I hate eggs. I am not phobic about eggs, though. I hate milk, although I love ice cream.

I believe that we are using the concept of a phobia in the completely wrong way.

Sure, you can. You can all the tenets a religion stands for, however, to not be labeled “phobe”, you have to treat the adherents of that religion with the same respect and courtesy you give everybody else.

Sure... you wouldn’t automatically get branded as phobic, you would be classified as “anti-“.

Oh, that was just a total brain fart/typo! lol. Sorry. I had edited a bit and moved some sentences around so the response made more sense and I didn’t proofread.

The ‘hydro’ part means water, the ‘phobic’ part means that it doesn’t bond to it. So like that NeverWet stuff that you can spray on fabrics is a hydrophobic compound and it makes water bead up and roll off instead of absorbing into in to the fabric.

The definition that you have in your mind is probably true for a number of people, but that’s not what it means. Words like ‘homophobia’ or ‘xenophobia’ apply to people with prejudice and blanket hatred, whether that sparks violence or not.

Consider its opposite: -philic/philia. In medicine, ‘philia’ is used to denote abnormal sexual attraction to something, like “pedophilic/pedophile” or “corpophile/corprophilic.” Yet ‘hydrophilic’ just means that something will bond to water. We also accept it to mean something very different, describing a socially acceptable form of affection/interest when we use terms like “bibliophile” or “Francophile.” Same goes for ‘phobia/phobic.’

29again wrote: ↑Mon Oct 21, 2019 7:57 pm I always thought that an object that was hydrophobic was something that did not work, or did/could not live in water. It doesn't mean just water. It means more than that. The "hydro" part is water, though.

I see phobias as something stronger than just someone who doesn't like/approve of/hates a religion or group of people. To my thinking someone who is islamaphobic would be trying to kill them all, same with homophobics. There would be a much stronger reaction than just avoiding them.

SolidlyAverage wrote: ↑Mon Oct 21, 2019 7:50 pm A phobia as defined by the medical community is an irrational anxiety, yes. But the word “phobic” applies to other situations. For example, some inanimate objects are ‘hydrophobic,’ but that doesn’t mean that they are irrational afraid of water, it just meals water. To be ‘phobic’ means to have an intense aversion, intolerance, or fear something.

So an islamophobe isn’t someone who is necessarily afraid of Muslims, they are a person who has an intense aversion, whether fear-based or just plain old-fashioned hate-based. Similarly, homophobes aren’t necessarily scared of gay people. So by the basic definition, someone who hates everything about a religion would be a “that-religion-phobe.” That’s the definition both technically and colloquially.

29again wrote: ↑Mon Oct 21, 2019 7:24 pm A phobia is an irrational fear of something. If hate is the same as fear, then I suppose yes. I don't think hate is the same as fear every single time, so I am going to say that hating something does not make one phobic. For instance, I hate eggs. I am not phobic about eggs, though. I hate milk, although I love ice cream.

I believe that we are using the concept of a phobia in the completely wrong way.

I don’t see Islamaphobia as hating and wanting to kill them all, I see it more, by some, as a fear of Islamics wanting to kill them.

29again wrote: ↑Mon Oct 21, 2019 7:57 pm I always thought that an object that was hydrophobic was something that did not work, or did/could not live in water. It doesn't mean just water. It means more than that. The "hydro" part is water, though.

I see phobias as something stronger than just someone who doesn't like/approve of/hates a religion or group of people. To my thinking someone who is islamaphobic would be trying to kill them all, same with homophobics. There would be a much stronger reaction than just avoiding them.

SolidlyAverage wrote: ↑Mon Oct 21, 2019 7:50 pm A phobia as defined by the medical community is an irrational anxiety, yes. But the word “phobic” applies to other situations. For example, some inanimate objects are ‘hydrophobic,’ but that doesn’t mean that they are irrational afraid of water, it just meals water. To be ‘phobic’ means to have an intense aversion, intolerance, or fear something.

So an islamophobe isn’t someone who is necessarily afraid of Muslims, they are a person who has an intense aversion, whether fear-based or just plain old-fashioned hate-based. Similarly, homophobes aren’t necessarily scared of gay people. So by the basic definition, someone who hates everything about a religion would be a “that-religion-phobe.” That’s the definition both technically and colloquially.

29again wrote: ↑Mon Oct 21, 2019 7:24 pm A phobia is an irrational fear of something. If hate is the same as fear, then I suppose yes. I don't think hate is the same as fear every single time, so I am going to say that hating something does not make one phobic. For instance, I hate eggs. I am not phobic about eggs, though. I hate milk, although I love ice cream.

I believe that we are using the concept of a phobia in the completely wrong way.

Hydrophobic and hydrophobia are 2 different things.

29again wrote: ↑Mon Oct 21, 2019 7:57 pm I always thought that an object that was hydrophobic was something that did not work, or did/could not live in water. It doesn't mean just water. It means more than that. The "hydro" part is water, though.

I see phobias as something stronger than just someone who doesn't like/approve of/hates a religion or group of people. To my thinking someone who is islamaphobic would be trying to kill them all, same with homophobics. There would be a much stronger reaction than just avoiding them.

SolidlyAverage wrote: ↑Mon Oct 21, 2019 7:50 pm A phobia as defined by the medical community is an irrational anxiety, yes. But the word “phobic” applies to other situations. For example, some inanimate objects are ‘hydrophobic,’ but that doesn’t mean that they are irrational afraid of water, it just meals water. To be ‘phobic’ means to have an intense aversion, intolerance, or fear something.

So an islamophobe isn’t someone who is necessarily afraid of Muslims, they are a person who has an intense aversion, whether fear-based or just plain old-fashioned hate-based. Similarly, homophobes aren’t necessarily scared of gay people. So by the basic definition, someone who hates everything about a religion would be a “that-religion-phobe.” That’s the definition both technically and colloquially.

29again wrote: ↑Mon Oct 21, 2019 7:24 pm A phobia is an irrational fear of something. If hate is the same as fear, then I suppose yes. I don't think hate is the same as fear every single time, so I am going to say that hating something does not make one phobic. For instance, I hate eggs. I am not phobic about eggs, though. I hate milk, although I love ice cream.

I believe that we are using the concept of a phobia in the completely wrong way.