It seems clear that mentioning a word is not the same as using the word , even though to mention a word having the power to shock or offend seems to have about the same effect as using that word . Maybe this reaction would be tempered if more people understood the mentionuse distinction , but I ' m skeptical . Once a word has been imbued with this kind of power , the listener can ' t help but react upon hearing it . There may be invisible scare quotes around the word when it ' s getting mentioned , but apparently we process words before grammar and punctuation , and so the word has the same effect as though it were actually being used . <| sep |> I wanted to hear what the guy on the left had to say about why he was excited for Trump ' s presidency .