the phrase " to take care of someone"
Troubling!
the verb "to take" with regards to what is supposedly a compassionate sentiment?
what is being taken? shouldn't care be given?!
yes - it should. And that's why we say "to give care" when that is what is happening.
But i hear the former phrase far more often, and i think seeing the ugliness of the verb in this context gives name to what to me does feel troubling when someone says it. The idea is central to WorkOut ideology - that it does no-one any good to "take care" of them. Let individuals express need, let others try and meet it, but don't reach beyond the bounds of the other person's self-hood and think that you can manage them better than they can manage themselves. It may look like "care" but it's actually 'taking' something. What, you ask? I don't know - a sense of being in control in the world, assimilating the greatness of another person into just an object in your world, the feeling of being virtuous. something like that.
that's all. So watch out if someone says it. it's not just a matter of words. deep down we know what words mean, and we use them accordingly. Sometimes, like in this instance, our grammar reveals our concealed intentions.
If being caring is the goal, I want to be sure that it is in the poise of "giving" - a state that the giver is in, and a virtue.
that's all.
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