“Reactionary”: why is that a pejorative?
Interesting question, I’ve heard the term but didn’t necessarily consider it derogatory.
Google brought up a couple answers along these lines: “Reactionary is someone who seeks to regress to a previous mode of production/social system. A conservative wishes to maintain things as they are, and a progressive seeks to advance to the next step of development.”
make America great “again” could
kinda encapsulate the rally cry of a reactionary in a pejorative sense.
I can understand why someone, let’s say a black person, would consider the statement vaguely threatening. Exactly how far back would America need to revert in order to be great again?
I can also understand a non-pejorative case for someone who wants to express their concern about behavior that is so “progressive” it blurs healthy boundaries.