English isn't my first language. I have been a member here for 5 years and it comes up a lot. My latest posts in the WAYR thread are about Lovecraft and Tolkien in Swedish translation vs the original. I don't see how that makes me misunderstand the word slaughter. The Swedish word is similar, "slakta".
The power of words. People are different and they have different opinions based on religion, class, upbringing and education. People vastly differ on what makes something negative or positive.
A few years ago there was a short story titled
Regicide. I found the word incredible amusing because of a Simpsons episode where Bart tries to dial the police.
Springfield Police Department Rescue Phone. Was it silly? Yes. Did people get the humour? Probably not.
Another example of how people view things differently:
I have consciously postponed my reading of my beloved Lovecraft for a few months, even though I was getting to interesting places.
First, after the attacks I think it's better to move to lighter and fluffier reading. It's not a coincidence I'm reading Tolkien in order to recapture some rosy, childhood nostalgia.
Second, December is the darkest month in Scandinavia, with roughly 6 hours of light. Sometimes the darkness is oppressive. After what happened it feels like it's the darkest December in many years, there is a feeling of uneasy.
Yet others might find comfort in reading Lovecraft, horror and listening to death metal when things get rough (lately I have seen so many mentions of death metal and metal, maybe the universe is trying to tell me something). And unlike me they may live in a sunny place.
Then there are others that might not be affected at all by recent events and reading is the usual business.
All of these are valid reactions because people have different outlooks and opinions in life. We don't all enjoy the same things.