Hacker News Reader

Comment by karmakurtisaani | Hacker News Reader

I hate this "War on X" rhetoric. They're not going to bomb the ocean or send troops to shoot it, so why make it sound like it? Just say what they're actually going to do about it.

View on HN

If war is a constant of humanity, better it be against the seaweed than the people. Jokes aside, I agree, but in general folks love dramatic names.

"War on X" was originally a way of mocking Richard Nixon's "War on drugs". Everyone thought it was a stupid term at the time, for the reasons you list. So we started talking about the "war on cheap beer", the "war on disco music", etc (I was in college at the time). I'm not sure when people started using the term seriously.

Tangent - The War On Drugs is an excellent band.

Sounds like we need a War on "War on X"-headlines.

They’re gonna kill the whole ocean and conquer it in its entirety. Any resistance by the ocean will be futile!

Perhaps if they demonstrate a decisive victory over the forces of one Seaweed Lord, and they offer reasonable terms to the rest, they can win their vassalage without further bloodshed?

In the article they did send the navy.

When the only thing you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail...

Whoever's dubbed it so doesn't know it's a quixotic effort they'll never win, just like the War on Drugs and the War on Terror.

A strange case of nominative determinism.

Do not give this administration any ideas, after all Caligula ordered his legions to wade out and attack the waves with swords.

At least the War on Seaweed is more real than the War on Christmas.

> Just say what they're actually going to do about it.

People don't have infinite attention. That's why headlines and slogans carry so well, even when they are lossy/misleading to the reality.

I lost my best friend to the War on Christmas. His body came home stuffed with pine needles and partridge feathers.

"Those damn elves.. They came out of nowhere.. And were long gone by the time the napalm started raining.. All you could hear was a faint chime of their bells as they retreated to their tunnels.."

Reply on news.ycombinator.com