Problematic

My favourite English word

As a non-native speaker, I never had this organic understanding of the English as natives do. Yeah, I studied it formally, but formal knowledge is incomplete. It was through trial and error that I got to know it better. Trying and erring I found my favourite English word:

Problematic

Why? You see, we are all humans. Semi intelligent social animals, our brains wired for status signalling. And for reading such signals, of course. So, when you are talking, writing, etc. people absolutely will scan your speech for familiar patterns. Then they are gonna make a status judgement based on the patterns they recognised. Keep that in mind.

Now the thing is is they are scanning your speech for a wide range of parameters simultaneously. And there is no other parameter you can manipulate easier than the vocab.

A language operates with registers: the lower and the higher one. We all instinctively feel that "gangsta" would be of lower register, while "sophisticated" of higher. Filling your speech with higher register words may be the easiest status signalling trick ever. Now which words should you choose? There are plenty:

Sophisticated. Heteronormative. Problematic

Choose problematic. Unlike the other two you can insert it randomly into every sentence.

You see, you can't just walk around calling everything "sophisticated". It may work once or twice but then it will look awkward. This word has an actual meaning, a substance behind it. Which limits your ability to drop it here and there for status signalling.

A great thing about problematic is that it has no substance at all

0% substance
100% sophistication

That's what makes it so universally applicable. You can insert it into every argument, every sentence, every phrase. It fits perfectly everywhere.

That doesn't mean that the word problematic is neutral. Not at all. It means "bad", just an upgraded version of it. When you say problematic, you convey the idea of “badness” with a dose of:

1) Nuance
2) Sophistication
3) Passive aggressive vibe

A winning combination.

"Problematic" is the most powerful rhetorical weapon ever. Just call them problematic and you won. What are they gonna do? Denying you are "problematic" amounts to claiming you are "non-problematic". You see, it already sounds stupid

NB: Do not add any specific details of *why* they're problematic. If you add just a grain of substance into your accusations, you are giving them an easy way out. They may change the topic of conversation to the specifics and escape the trap. You'll have nobody but yourself to blame