Terrorists and other chaps

I have taught many a student about connotation, and how words conjure up ideas not necessarily inherent to their denotations.

So, I came across an item that made me think about the word "folks." Now, in its denotation, folks just means a group of people, but I think that this word has strong connotations as well.

To illustrate: Which of the following does not belong?

• I met some folks at the bowling alley, and we had a blast.
• Hey folks! How's it goin'?
• Some folks just get all the breaks.
• The bank was held up at gunpoint by some folks in masks.

So, here's a recent quotation from the President:

In Iraq, Afghanistan and across the world, we face dangerous enemies who want to harm our people, folks who want to destroy our way of life.
-- Nampa, Idaho, Aug. 24, 2005

How quaint.

Later this week I'll give my impressions of the new Death Cab album. So that's something to put on your calendars.