Chickenhawk (politics): Difference between revisions
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In political usage ''chickenhawk'' is a compound of ''chicken'' (meaning ''coward'') and ''hawk'' (meaning someone who advocates war, first used to describe "[[War Hawk]]s" in the [[War of 1812]]). The earliest known print citation of ''chickenhawk'' in this sense was in the June 16, 1986 issue of ''[[The New Republic]]''.<ref name="wordspy">[http://www.wordspy.com/words/chickenhawk.asp "Chicken Hawk" entry from Word Spy]</ref> An association between the word ''chickenhawk'' and war was popularized several years earlier in the 1983 bestselling book ''[[Chickenhawk (book)|Chickenhawk]]'', a memoir by [[Robert Mason (writer)|Robert Mason]] about his service in the Vietnam War, in which he was a helicopter pilot. Mason used the word as a compound oxymoron to describe both his fear of combat ("chicken") and his attraction to it ("hawk"), a slightly different use of the term which nonetheless might have inspired the current usage.<ref name="wordspy" /> |
In political usage ''chickenhawk'' is a compound of ''chicken'' (meaning ''coward'') and ''hawk'' (meaning someone who advocates war, first used to describe "[[War Hawk]]s" in the [[War of 1812]]). The earliest known print citation of ''chickenhawk'' in this sense was in the June 16, 1986 issue of ''[[The New Republic]]''.<ref name="wordspy">[http://www.wordspy.com/words/chickenhawk.asp "Chicken Hawk" entry from Word Spy]</ref> An association between the word ''chickenhawk'' and war was popularized several years earlier in the 1983 bestselling book ''[[Chickenhawk (book)|Chickenhawk]]'', a memoir by [[Robert Mason (writer)|Robert Mason]] about his service in the Vietnam War, in which he was a helicopter pilot. Mason used the word as a compound oxymoron to describe both his fear of combat ("chicken") and his attraction to it ("hawk"), a slightly different use of the term which nonetheless might have inspired the current usage.<ref name="wordspy" /> |
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| ⚫ | Previously, the term ''war wimp'' was sometimes used, coined during the Vietnam War by Congressman [[Andrew Jacobs]] ([[Democratic Party (United States)|D]]–[[Indiana]]), a [[United States Marine Corps|Marine]] veteran of the [[Korean War]]. Jacobs defined a ''war wimp'' as "someone who is all too willing to send others to war, but never got 'round to going himself". |
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| ⚫ | Previously, the term ''war wimp'' was sometimes used, coined during the Vietnam War by Congressman [[Andrew Jacobs]] ([[Democratic Party (United States)|D]] |
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==References== |
==References== |
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Revision as of 00:45, 1 January 2013
Chickenhawk (also chicken hawk and chicken-hawk) is a political term used in the United States to describe a person who strongly supports war or other military action (i.e., a War Hawk), yet who actively avoided military service when of age.
The term indicates that the person in question is hypocritical for personally dodging a draft or otherwise shirking their duty to their country during a time of armed conflict while advocating that others do so. Generally, the implication is that chickenhawks lack the moral character to ask others to support, fight and perhaps die in an armed conflict. Those who avoid military service and continue to oppose armed aggression are not chickenhawks.
Origin of the term
In political usage chickenhawk is a compound of chicken (meaning coward) and hawk (meaning someone who advocates war, first used to describe "War Hawks" in the War of 1812). The earliest known print citation of chickenhawk in this sense was in the June 16, 1986 issue of The New Republic.[1] An association between the word chickenhawk and war was popularized several years earlier in the 1983 bestselling book Chickenhawk, a memoir by Robert Mason about his service in the Vietnam War, in which he was a helicopter pilot. Mason used the word as a compound oxymoron to describe both his fear of combat ("chicken") and his attraction to it ("hawk"), a slightly different use of the term which nonetheless might have inspired the current usage.[1]
Previously, the term war wimp was sometimes used, coined during the Vietnam War by Congressman Andrew Jacobs (D–Indiana), a Marine veteran of the Korean War. Jacobs defined a war wimp as "someone who is all too willing to send others to war, but never got 'round to going himself".
References
External links
