Talk:Bleeding heart

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What is the etomology of the term bleeding heart, exactly? I am trying to understand how someone relates the litteral meaning of a bleeding heart for what the term is used as now.

In the case of the birds called bleeding-hearts, it is obvious once you see one - see the picture in Luzon Bleeding-heart. seglea 22:17, 15 May 2006 (UTC)

Iwas more thinking of the politcial sense of the word.

The heart symbolizes sympathy. The word "bleeding" refers to the excessive gushing of such sympathy, possibly even to a detrimental degree (to actually be bled on by another person in considered in some cultures to be repulsive). That's my understanding anyway. (And please sign your comments) - SigmaEpsilon → ΣΕ 18:47, 27 June 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Bleeding heart ?

What makes the term bleeding heart politically loaded? I thought it was a term that could be used to describe any person who was overly sympathetic to another person's (or group of people's) plight regardless of politics. Jcpippa 22:15, 9 February 2007 (UTC)