Political content doesn't mean political discussion

[Charlie Bernstein]

That's true, but I really don't think that the content I quoted in my post was inflammatory.

To many Americans, at least, it is. That was the moderator's concern.

It was about "Your President will continue to put the People first". That was positive (no pun intended) and inspiring.

Again, many Americans would disagree vehemently.

Having read the rule in the general rules, before I had posted my post, I didn't think it violated the rule.

I agree. You were just wondering about an incorrect capital letter. And you supplied enough of the quote to be sure we understood the context.

Plus, there's a first time for everything. This is the first time I have been in this situation.

Yes. You're blameless!

So I would wish that the moderator could have taken a little time to make a copy of the contents, and send it to me with an explanation.

That's a reasonable suggestion. I don't know whether our moderators have time to deal with queries that way. They can answer that.

If this was the second time or more, then just delete my post. I wouldn't say a word.

Kadio, your written English continues to improve! At this point, it's better than most native English speakers'.

[tzfujimino]

The problem isn't creativity. The problem is that Kadio was trying to learn English from unedited writing. That's bound to lead to confusion.

Well, I think her way of using the phrase "the People" is creative in the sense that people don't normally write it that way.

I'd like to ask you a question, Charlie.
Please imagine that you're typing some English sentences on your computer/phone. You come to a point where you need to type the word 'people'.

Do/Can you capitalize it unconsciously?
Do/Can you do it without any intention?

[GoesStation]

Please imagine that you're typing some English sentences on your computer/phone. You come to a point where you need to type the word 'people'.

Do/Can you capitalize it unconsciously? Sure. Everyone makes a mistake from time to time. That kind is called a "typo", which is short for "typographical error".
Do/Can you do it without any intention?

Yes. See above.

[tzfujimino]

OK.

I thought we'd need to make a conscious effort to capitalize a word on a computer/phone. I suspected she had used it intentionally to convey her message effectively.

I was wrong.
Sorry.

[emsr2d2]

OK.

I thought we'd need to make a conscious effort to capitalize a word on a computer/phone. I suspected she had used it intentionally to convey her message effectively.

I was wrong.
Sorry.

I still think she did it on purpose, to emulate the way that Trump (incorrectly) capitalises certain words.

[GoesStation]

Trump isn't alone in using capitalization that way, and he didn't originate the practice. I'm sure his use of it has significantly increased its use in the general population. It's probably become a marker of the writer's political views: Trump opponents are sure to shun it for fear of looking like Trump.

[Charlie Bernstein]

Well, I think her way of using the phrase "the People" is creative in the sense that people don't normally write it that way.

Only if you call all mistakes creative.

I'd like to ask you a question, Charlie.
Please imagine that you're typing some English sentences on your computer/phone. You come to a point where you need to type the word 'people'.

Do/Can you capitalize it unconsciously?

Not so far! (And I learned to type over fifty years ago.)

Do/Can you do it without any intention?

Of course not, for the same reason: It's hard to accidentally hold down the shift key while typing a letter.

I capitalize the first letter of every sentence, the first letter of each word in a proper noun, and most acronyms.

And like lots of people, I do make all kinds of mistakes. But I don't call it creativity!

[jutfrank]

I thought we'd need to make a conscious effort to capitalize a word on a computer/phone. I suspected she had used it intentionally to convey her message effectively.

Yes, I find it hard to imagine that wasn't intentional. I think it's just part of her rhetoric. I think it's reasonable to call that creativity.

Interestingly, I've just discovered that The Independent has quoted the Tweet without the capitalised 'P'. I'm now wondering whether that was a mistake.

Without particularly wanting to stray back into the discussion of what constitutes inflammatory content, I'll point out that this comment was made by the Press Secretary of the President of the United States. I can't imagine how a comment could possibly be any less inflammatory! I mean, what the hell else do people expect her to say? What am I missing here?

[GoesStation]

Without particularly wanting to stray back into the discussion of what constitutes inflammatory content, I'll point out that this comment was made by the Press Secretary of the President of the United States. I can't imagine how a comment could possibly be any less inflammatory! I mean, what the hell else do people expect her to say? What am I missing here?

The press secretary has very recently been widely ridiculed by people who don't support the president for thinking that someone who graduated from a small, obscure institution called Rhodes College was, perforce, a Rhodes scholar. Asking a question about the English in a tweet about that gaffe would lead to something similar to the deleted post.

[Piscean]

This is a forum with members from all over the world, and therefore political discussion is banned due to its potential to offend.

Discussions about religion and politics often become arguments very quickly. Our general policy is not to have such discussions. We are a language forum and, as far as possible, discussions should stick to language issues. There are political aspects to language learning and teaching, but any discussion that starts to get heated will be closed or deleted.

Perhaps the part of this rule that I have italicised should be changed to any post that mentions a politician or anything said by or about a politician, or is about language in a text that any sensitive soul might consider in any way political, will be deleted. As it stands, kadioguy's question about the use of a capital letter could be considered a pure language issue and therefore acceptable. We clearly can't have that!