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Notes -
"A centrist by any other name would smell as [foul, from hanging out in the middle of the road with the dead skunk]"
But seriously, changing the term people use is comparatively much easier than changing the actual underlying situation. It may become taboo to say "centrist," but the population that word used to describe will still be there, and there will be another term on the euphemism treadmill, for sure.
I would call it a "Kolmogorov Treadmill" or something. Centrists can't be the only group. I wonder if "Classical Liberal," if not the same cluster, is at least a related one and also has undergone the treadmill. By that, I mean a few years ago I heard a lot of people self-describing as it, but I feel like recently, people have caught on and I've only heard "classical liberal" be used sneeringly.
"Free Speech" is probably another such term, where originally it's this unobjectionable, nice-sounding thing that someone can describe themselves in good conscience. Now some people do still call themselves supporters of free speech, but it's definitely a Bingo square now.
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