Words can be weapons and so can a lot of other things. Maybe that’s why I keep hearing the word “weaponize,” which is defined at merriamwebster.com as follows:
Definition of weaponize
weaponized; weaponizing
transitive verb
: to adapt for use as a weapon of war
Recent Examples of weaponize from the Web:
Facebook, in particular, has come under fire for its partnership with Philippine President Rodrigue Duterte, who has weaponized the social media site to attack his critics.
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Alex Shephard, The New Republic, “Facebook Has a Genocide Problem,” 15 Mar. 2018.
Sinclair explicitly weaponizes local TV news’ reputation for impartiality to amplify White House talking points.
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Eric Levitz, Daily Intelligencer, “Local News Anchors Are Being Forced to Deliver Pro-Trump Propaganda,” 8 Mar. 2018.
Hertzberg said in January that foes were attempting to weaponize the allegations against him to kill his effort to overhaul the money bail system in California.
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Taryn Luna, sacbee, “Hugging banned for California lawmaker after harassment investigation | The Sacramento Bee,” 8 Mar. 2018
With all the real weapons in the word, I can’t imagine why so many other things need to be weaponized. Personally, I was hoping that definition would include an antonym, but it doesn’t (and neither does any other definition of “weaponize”).
Is it weaponizing my blog to clearly state that I’m against weaponization and for the opposite? For now, let’s call that”deweaponization” or maybe just “peace.”
I heard the word “weaponize” on the news yesterday morning and for the rest of the day, I tried to deweaponize by taking these photos.
YouTube has been weaponized with videos like “How to Weaponize Fidget Spinners,” “How to Weaponize IKEA pencils,” “How to Weaponize Trash,” “How to Weaponize Duct Tape,” “How to Weaponize a Beard,” and “How to Weaponize Business Cards.” I’m deweaponizing with this:
I’m also deweaponizing with gratitude for all who helped me with today’s blog post and — of course! — for YOU.
The Year(s) of Living Non-Judgmentally 