| | Star replied to me as follows: Since when did unbiased, equal and just, become synonyms for confused or no careful distinctions?" I replied, "Huh?? Since when did I say that unbiased, equal and just were synonyms for confusion or a lack of careful distinctions?" Star then quoted me, "There's another meaning of non-discriminatory and that's indiscriminate," and juxtaposed the following definitions:
Non-discriminatory - Fair, equal, just, unbiased
Indiscriminate - Confused, making no careful distinctions.
Star, all you're doing is citing one of the meanings of "non-discriminatory" and contrasting it with the meaning of "indiscriminate," which is fine. But I wasn't referring to that definition of "non-discriminatory," which is why I said that there's another meaning of the term, which is "indiscriminate." Words sometimes have more than one meaning. Citing The American Heritage Dictionary:
Discriminatory: 1. Marked by or showing prejudice; biased. 2. Discriminating.
"Discriminating," of course, means: "capable of recognizing or drawing fine distinctions."
So, using "discriminatory" in the second sense, "non-discriminatory" would simply mean non-discriminating or lacking in discrimination, which is precisely the meaning of "indiscriminate," as the dictionary defines it, viz.: "Lacking in discrimination: indiscriminate admiration of power"
- Bill
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