Spanish public TV explains the difference between voluntary and mandatory
TVE describes hospital admission as voluntary: if you refuse, they will take you. The row shows how official language dresses up coercion in doublespeak.
English · Original discussion in Spanish · Published
TVE redefines what voluntary means: "Come willingly or you'll be taken"
In a clip broadcast by TVE, Spain's public broadcaster, a presenter matter-of-factly explains that hospitalisation for contagious diseases is voluntary: if the patient does not go on their own, the authorities will take them. The Orwellian logic has sparked a wave of criticism over a definition of voluntary that amounts to a choice between compliance and coercion.
TVE's doublespeak
The exact phrase —"if you want to be hospitalised you go and it's voluntary, and if you don't want to, they take you"— has been read as an example of doublespeak: the ability to hold two contradictory beliefs as true. Voluntariness, critics argue, implies genuine freedom of choice, not a dilemma between complying or facing forced consequences. Comparisons with military service or taxes are recurring: you pay "voluntarily" under threat of seizure.
Forced analogies: taxes, fines and the draft
The debate has leaned on classic examples. "Like the draft, you could go voluntarily and if not they took you," sums up one recurring line. Others recall the 60,000-euro fine imposed in Galicia in 2021 on anyone who refused the ELbichito-19 vaccine, described as "voluntary" but backed by sanctions. The mafia analogy also appears: "You pay them voluntarily and if you don't want to, they force you."
The health and political background
Behind the controversy lies the handling of diseases such as monkeypox and ELbichito-19. Measures such as forced 40-day quarantines for travellers from risk areas or the detention of patients in hospitals have been criticised as overreach. Far from clarifying matters, the TVE presenter has fuelled distrust of the official narrative.
The question nobody answers is how far language can be stretched to justify coercion. Doublespeak is not a mistake but a tool: if you get the coerced to believe they are acting voluntarily, control is perfect.
Related discussions on the forum
In a clip broadcast by TVE, Spain's public broadcaster, a presenter matter-of-factly explains that hospitalisation for contagious diseases is voluntary: if the patient does not go on their own, the authorities will take them. The Orwellian logic has sparked a wave of criticism over a definition of voluntary that amounts to a choice between compliance and coercion.
TVE's doublespeak
The exact phrase —"if you want to be hospitalised you go and it's voluntary, and if you don't want to, they take you"— has been read as an example of doublespeak: the ability to hold two contradictory beliefs as true. Voluntariness, critics argue, implies genuine freedom of choice, not a dilemma between complying or facing forced consequences. Comparisons with military service or taxes are recurring: you pay "voluntarily" under threat of seizure.
Forced analogies: taxes, fines and the draft
The debate has leaned on classic examples. "Like the draft, you could go voluntarily and if not they took you," sums up one recurring line. Others recall the 60,000-euro fine imposed in Galicia in 2021 on anyone who refused the ELbichito-19 vaccine, described as "voluntary" but backed by sanctions. The mafia analogy also appears: "You pay them voluntarily and if you don't want to, they force you."
The health and political background
Behind the controversy lies the handling of diseases such as monkeypox and ELbichito-19. Measures such as forced 40-day quarantines for travellers from risk areas or the detention of patients in hospitals have been criticised as overreach. Far from clarifying matters, the TVE presenter has fuelled distrust of the official narrative.
The question nobody answers is how far language can be stretched to justify coercion. Doublespeak is not a mistake but a tool: if you get the coerced to believe they are acting voluntarily, control is perfect.
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Summary of a discussion on Burbuja.info - Foro de economía, actualidad y política., translated from Spanish and reviewed before publication. Read the full discussion (71 replies).
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