Don't listen to Robyn Archer until she fixes her "diaspora" nonsense

I-filed said :

thatsnotme said :

I simply feel that if you’re so outraged by misuse of a word that you choose to ignore the intent of a site like this, that you must be quite a sad individual.

It isn’t just the misuse of a word in isolation – I think you’re confusing this issue with people on the internet who grizzle about petty grammar & usage issues. This is a whole website that is skewing the meaning of a Canberra identity through ignorance. That’s a pretty big mistake with pretty big implications. The fact that Robyn Archer and the C100 crew “mean well” doesn’t make it OK.

No, I get it. I understand that you’re upset about more than just a grammatical issue. Yet I still feel that your outrage is laughable. I feel that the implications you mention are actually insignificant, because the vast majority of people who visit this website will take it on face value, without trying to analyse the meaning of its title, and what implications that title has on the messages contained within it.

I’d be interested to hear just how you think a website like this could possibly ‘skew the meaning of a Canberra identity’? Is our identity so fragile, that a website with a misguided identity can force it to shift? I think that many many more people would need to be aware of it, and take every aspect of it as gospel, before that could ever happen.

I dunno, I’ve listened to a few of the stories on there, and if these ‘big implications’ you’re talking about include more people speaking about Canberra in the same way that the people on this site do, then they’re implications I’m willing to accept.

Deckard said :

Who gives a toss!!

It’s her website, she can do whatever she wants…

From the website, “The Canberra Diaspora is a Centenary of Canberra project, proudly supported by the ACT Government.” It’s about us and funded by us, so I’m not saying it’s a bad thing but I think we ought to give a toss how it’s done.

I’d like to see Canberrans and people who liked visiting more clearly defined as separate groups. The word diaspora is bothering me too. At first I thought okay, perhaps it’s being used in its purest original sense whatever that is. But like Wikipedia says “the word has come to refer to historical mass-dispersions of people with common roots, particularly movements of an involuntary nature” which is the impression I’ve always had of it. It doesn’t fit people who have chosen to leave and are free to come back any time, it doesn’t fit people who have chosen to settle elsewhere without any desire to return, it certainly doesn’t fit people who weren’t ever Canberra residents in the first place. I find it rather disrespectful to people who have actually experienced a diaspora in the sense of mass involuntary dispersion. Why not just call the website Memories of Canberra or Why I Love Canberra or something and split it up into easy to identify sections for residents (current and former?) and visitors? Diaspora sounds a bit too clever and fancy, it’s wrong anyway, and it has a negative feel about it which surely wasn’t the purpose.

thatsnotme said :

I simply feel that if you’re so outraged by misuse of a word that you choose to ignore the intent of a site like this, that you must be quite a sad individual.

It isn’t just the misuse of a word in isolation – I think you’re confusing this issue with people on the internet who grizzle about petty grammar & usage issues. This is a whole website that is skewing the meaning of a Canberra identity through ignorance. That’s a pretty big mistake with pretty big implications. The fact that Robyn Archer and the C100 crew “mean well” doesn’t make it OK.

thatsnotme said :

I-filed said :

thatsnotme said :

I read the post. I looked up ‘diaspora’ in the dictionary. I decided that you don’t know what it means either.

Did you investigate the “widening definition” of diaspora? You might try Wikipedia. The meaning has gone nowhere near “anyone who has visited a particular location”. In any case, you’re ignoring the point of my post, which is that the website is based on a linguistic error, by a government or consultant ignoramus, and it does Canberrans no favour.

Oh no, I’m not ignoring the point of your post at all. I simply feel that if you’re so outraged by misuse of a word that you choose to ignore the intent of a site like this, that you must be quite a sad individual. I’d prefer to get behind someone that chooses to actually raises the positives of Canberra – despite any errors in language – than slam them over a technicality.

If you seriously believe that the potential misuse of a word is enough to portray Canberrans in a negative light, then all I can say is welcome to the internet. I’m sure you’ll find your stay very frustrating.

+1

Anything that challenges the slurs Canberra receives is a good thing. We live in a fantastic city and should support people who are working to share with the rest of the country how great this place is.

I know what Robyn Archer is trying to do, but the way she’s going about it makes her look like a total fool.

I heard her asking rhetorically in what other countries in the world are governments referred to by the name of the capital? Well the answer is plenty, from “Washington” to “Damascus”. Needs to get the dial of ClassicFM a bit more often.

Anyway, I don’t hold much hope for the Centenary anymore. The initial program looks threadbare and boring and the list of sponsors is tiny, less than for a typical art exhibition in Canberra. Between a penny pinching government, a failing retail chain and shrinking media company, there’s not a heap of backing.

I-filed said :

thatsnotme said :

I read the post. I looked up ‘diaspora’ in the dictionary. I decided that you don’t know what it means either.

Did you investigate the “widening definition” of diaspora? You might try Wikipedia. The meaning has gone nowhere near “anyone who has visited a particular location”. In any case, you’re ignoring the point of my post, which is that the website is based on a linguistic error, by a government or consultant ignoramus, and it does Canberrans no favour.

Oh no, I’m not ignoring the point of your post at all. I simply feel that if you’re so outraged by misuse of a word that you choose to ignore the intent of a site like this, that you must be quite a sad individual. I’d prefer to get behind someone that chooses to actually raises the positives of Canberra – despite any errors in language – than slam them over a technicality.

If you seriously believe that the potential misuse of a word is enough to portray Canberrans in a negative light, then all I can say is welcome to the internet. I’m sure you’ll find your stay very frustrating.

I think Robyn Archer is an awful choice for the 100 year thing. How boring does that program look? Every month a different form of basket weaving.

What a missed opportunity…

Who gives a toss!!

It’s her website, she can do whatever she wants…

thatsnotme said :

I read the post. I looked up ‘diaspora’ in the dictionary. I decided that you don’t know what it means either.

Did you investigate the “widening definition” of diaspora? You might try Wikipedia. The meaning has gone nowhere near “anyone who has visited a particular location”. In any case, you’re ignoring the point of my post, which is that the website is based on a linguistic error, by a government or consultant ignoramus, and it does Canberrans no favour.

dtc said :

arescarti42 said :

Actually that is probably right. I withdraw my previous statement on rents.

You clearly have no idea how to behave on the internet

I like to eschew normal social customs both on the internet and in person.