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You Keep Using That Word: Empathy

I do not think it means what you think it means.

Little things bother me.

Like when the kids leave their shoes in the middle of the floor instead of putting them in the ‘shoe’ box.

Or my wife not removing the tag before placing a new doormat in the foyer.

Or the dog eating — and then throwing up — the sparkly fabric wings from her ‘lovebug’ toy.

Maybe it’s my OCD flaring up, but this sort of thing gets to me.

So, it should come as no surprise that I get agitated with language too.

My most recent irritant?

Empathy.

I see this word everywhere:

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Now, I have no problem with empathy — the thing. Understanding someone else’s experiences and point of view is essential to a functioning society. In fact, a lack of empathy is a real problem. It’s a common deficiency among sociopaths and serial killers.

My problem is that many writers don’t seem to know what empathy means.

Here’s the definition from Merriam-Webster:

“Empathy — The action…