"You keep on using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means."

Do you remember in grade 12 math being told about the existence of some mysterious thing, "imaginary numbers"? I think I vaguely recall it standing out in the midst of the haze of revulsion through which I remember most of my highschool math.

What a surprise now, over 20 years later, to have it pop into my forebrain again. I am reminded of it because of something that I have been thinking about: Imaginary Words.

Of course, you say, applying common sense, there's no such thing. If it's a word it's a word. A phoneme group with a set spelling and meaning. A noise that everyone agrees represents in abstract form some reality.

Ah, but no, there are sounds that people use all the time that have spelling but no meaning. I think I remember a physicist friend once telling me about a subatomic particle that had direction and spin but no mass...sort of like that I guess.

See if you agree.

What do the following words mean?

Islamist

Racist

Fascist

Choice

Anti-choice

Homophobic

...

See what all these have in common? They're words that get used a lot in the media and in politics. But what, concretely do they mean? Do they represent real things? Is it possible that they are really just useful noises?

They are sounds like a claxon, and they are so alarming that everyone is so busy jumping out of their collective skin at the sound of them, they don't take a second to wonder what they actually mean.

In some cases, like "Islamophobic" or, you know, that other one, it is a noise that has the astonishing power of creating an impenetrable shield. Bullets don't quite bounce off it, but prosecution certainly does. As well as negative media coverage.

I remember once talking to a young person at a demonstration. She had hurled one of these sounds at me and I think I suprised her by asking her what she meant (I call it my "rational thought shielding"). "I'm sorry, I don't know what you mean by that," was a reaction she wasn't expecting.

Everyone knows what it means. Sheesh! Do I have to spell it out?

No, I know how it's spelled. I just don't know what it means. It's an unword.

What exactly is a fascist? I am willing to entertain the possibility that I am one, but not until I have a clear definition.

What is a racist? What does "choice" mean?

I asked a group of school children once to name me the things that first popped into their heads when I said the word, "abortion." "Abortion" is a sound that represents a real thing. But the first word out of their little mouths was "choice." We explored that word a bit and found out that it didn't really mean what they thought it meant.

Ever have the experience of saying a word, any common word like "lunch" to yourself over and over until it suddenly loses its meaning?

Robert Spencer does all the time, I bet.

Jihad Watch, launched in 2003, has allowed him to answer his critics, and especially charges of “Islamophobia”, a label he dismisses. “It’s a fictional, trumped-up political term, there to deflect attention away from the violence committed by Muslims in the name of Islam. Victim status equals privileged status in the West. People know they can be free from criticism and ordinary scrutiny.