But I would counter that I’m not sure all of these are as ‘inside-jokey’ as “FOOM”.
Brexit and YIMBY, and RINO are all actual acronyms or portmanteau’s, unlike FOOM.
I maintain that ‘Woke’ shot itself in the foot; I feel like this label really alienated people in several ways. (Sense of superiority, use of nonstandard English slang). and maybe it did catch on a bit but the silliness of the name made it more mockable. But it also
“Don’t say Gay” is not the movement name.
MeToo, ok that is close but I don’t see it as a trivial fun sounding ‘inside reference’ someone made up; it seems like a pretty meaningful rallying cry. “BelieveWomen” is pretty straightforward, not a funny word.
I think these are closer examples than you think. ‘Don’t Say Gay’, ‘Junk bonds’, and ‘Unicorns’ aren’t movements, but neither is ‘FOOM’ - in each case they are a cute name for a thing that people want to draw attention to and have other people take seriously. Similarly, I think you have the woke example backwards—the term has been successfully developed by anti-woke people to draw attention to the dangers of the woke movement and have people take the threat seriously (not just a silly thing on college campuses) and gather a coalition to oppose it, in the same way that we are trying to draw attention to the dangers of FOOM as a serious thing (not just a silly science fiction thing).
True, foom is not the movement but it’s the serious outcome they are trying to get ppl to bw concerned about.
But I think “woke” was in fact a term developed by the ppl espousing it, not by the anti-woke. So I think this might be evidence that flippability of a silly name might be an argument against using it.
Some pretty good examples.
But I would counter that I’m not sure all of these are as ‘inside-jokey’ as “FOOM”.
Brexit and YIMBY, and RINO are all actual acronyms or portmanteau’s, unlike FOOM.
I maintain that ‘Woke’ shot itself in the foot; I feel like this label really alienated people in several ways. (Sense of superiority, use of nonstandard English slang). and maybe it did catch on a bit but the silliness of the name made it more mockable. But it also
“Don’t say Gay” is not the movement name.
MeToo, ok that is close but I don’t see it as a trivial fun sounding ‘inside reference’ someone made up; it seems like a pretty meaningful rallying cry. “BelieveWomen” is pretty straightforward, not a funny word.
Junk bonds, Unicorns: these are not movements.
I think these are closer examples than you think. ‘Don’t Say Gay’, ‘Junk bonds’, and ‘Unicorns’ aren’t movements, but neither is ‘FOOM’ - in each case they are a cute name for a thing that people want to draw attention to and have other people take seriously. Similarly, I think you have the woke example backwards—the term has been successfully developed by anti-woke people to draw attention to the dangers of the woke movement and have people take the threat seriously (not just a silly thing on college campuses) and gather a coalition to oppose it, in the same way that we are trying to draw attention to the dangers of FOOM as a serious thing (not just a silly science fiction thing).
True, foom is not the movement but it’s the serious outcome they are trying to get ppl to bw concerned about.
But I think “woke” was in fact a term developed by the ppl espousing it, not by the anti-woke. So I think this might be evidence that flippability of a silly name might be an argument against using it.