There’s a term that a lot of people mispronounce. I don’t think they’re misusing it, because the context is generally correct, but the pronunciation is sometimes wrong. That term is “moot”. You’ll hear a lot of people pronounce it “mute”.
As an adjective, the word “moot” means doubtful or irrelevant. But the typical use of “moot” is to call or render something irrelevant.
Let me give you an example.
In 2001, the city of New York had a ridiculous law making it illegal to take guns OUT of their city. If someone living in New York City wanted to go shooting at a gun range outside the city, it was illegal for them to bring their own gun. The case ended up on the docket at the U.S. Supreme Court. But, before arguments could be heard, the city of New York changed their laws so that it was no longer illegal for someone to transport their gun outside of the city limits.
The Supreme Court ruled that, because of the recent law change, the case had been rendered moot by the change in the New York City law. In other words, the case was no longer relevant, and the Court wouldn’t hear it.
Another place you’ll hear the word “moot” is in the term “moot point”. It means that your point is irrelevant. And like before, many people pronounce it “mute point”, a malapropism for “moot point”.
But I sort of like the term “mute point” and I think we should find a use for it. I’ve got the perfect definition: A mute point is one that has been actively suppressed an opposing side.
Here’s an example:
President Trump has been saying for more than six weeks that there was massive election fraud, and the election was stolen by the Democrats. The point he’s trying to make is that, without the fraud, he would have clearly won the election. His legal team has been trying to get the chance to prove that fraud was rampant during the election.
So far, their efforts have been successfully blocked by people who have a vested interest in the evidence of election fraud never seeing the light of day. Their efforts to present their case in a court of law have been thwarted by the very people delegated with the responsibility of ensuring the election was fair.
If they can’t make their case in a court of law, what about the court of public opinion? Clearly the American people deserve to hear and see the evidence. Right?
Nope. The Democrats refuse to engage in a conversation about election fraud. The mainstream media is nearly entirely silent about anything concerning the President’s accusations (other than to call them “baseless”). Social media initially “fact-checked” his claims but now have resorted to simply deleting anything that references election fraud.
Politics has become the third rail that no one touches in conversations anymore. There is no longer a free and healthy exchange of ideas between people with differing opinions. So, Biden supporters get all of their information from mainstream and social media. Since the media is refusing to investigate or even just report on the volumes of evidence of election fraud, Biden supporters are unable to hear what the President has to say. Furthermore, social media stifles any conversation concerning election fraud thus keeping Biden supporters ignorant of the facts.
The Democrats, mainstream and social media have, in effect, muted the President’s point. Their strategy is to simply run out the clock. They believe that if they can keep people ignorant long enough, Joe Biden will become President by default.
Essentially, the strategy of the Democrats, and mainstream and social media, is to render the President’s point mute until it becomes rendered moot.
