Dog-Whistling Past Disaster


One example occurred in 2004, when Karl Rove engineered the inclusion of anti-gay-marriage voter initiatives on ballots in a several key states to help pull more conservative voters, who were more likely to vote for George W. Bush, to the polls. In another example, certain phrases in political speechmaking -- like "family values," "activist judges" and "evildoers" -- indicate to a conservative audience that the speaker is on their side. One "dog whistle" that bothers me is when public safety advocates refer to the dangers that some products pose to "our children." They try to draw out more and stronger emotion by using the phrase "our children." Their point should be more straightforward: the product is bad for all people, not just kids.

These are some examples of intentional political "dog-whistling."

Unintended Consequences?

Based on how this strategy works, though, we should assume that unintentional "dog-whistling" can also occur.

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By all accounts, the U.S. is a pretty violent society. At 14.24 deaths per every 100,000 people, the rate of firearm deaths in the U.S. far outstrips that of our economic counterparts. By comparison, the rate of firearm deaths in Europe is just 2.17 per 100,000 people. The U.S. also spends far more on defense than any other country on Earth. Video games, rap music, sports, religious tales, movies and TV shows offer a steady stream of messages that violence is a legitimate response to a problem. Add to this mix political candidates, legislators and "celebriticians" like Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck and Sarah Palin using violent rhetoric and gun metaphors, throw in conservatives' constant portrayal of government as a threat, the difficulties Americans have accessing mental health sevices and free and wide access to guns, and it's not a big leap to conclude we have a social tinderbox on our hands.

We can surmise that violent discourse and the use of gun metaphors and imagery in political speech -- particularly when they reach a fevered pitch as happened during the last election season -- have the potential to serve as an unintentional "dog whistle," or call to action for people who are mentally unbalanced. Even if no one who uses such rhetoric publicly truly intends to incite dangerous behavior, public figures would be on the safe side to assume their words have the power to motivate action, and that what they say really does matter.

The mere potential for unintended consequences from such speech is enough reason for public figures to consider being more measured and wise about what they say, and how they say it.

Being careful about what you say is free. It can't hurt, and it could help.


It has long been obvious how the republicans have learned from the fascists use of propaganda and made great improvements on the use of the mass media to distort truth and control public perception. For those who lack the ability to think critically the rhetoric is so easy to swallow and saves them the trouble of having to use their brain. For the rest of us it is sickening to see the bastardization of the english language go unchallenged by not only the opposing party, but the guardians of education all across this country. Words like liberal, which means "free", "not restricted" which implies openmindedness, has been made a dirty word by republicans. And "truth" is something they constantly distort or obscure. As far as campaign tactics go they are no longer needed because another thing that is patently obvious to those who still believe their eyes, is the fact that votes and voters no longer count for anything. Our elections have been hijacked by the right and the secret. In fact the left has been hijacked by the right as you can see that no matter who is in office it is corporate communism that prevails! Their control of communications and media makes it virtually impossible to organize any opposition even if the dim witted were to come to their senses. Since the value for political speech is limited due to phoney elections, the only real value for "dog whistling" is for public persuasion, more accurately called "mind control". Just like the unsuspecting German people were caused to rise up against their fictitious enemy "the jews", Americans have been brainwashed to hate a variety of "enemies" whom the republicans have deemed undesirable. Those who border on the edge of reality use to receive treatment and were generally cared for even if they were poor. The late great actor Ronald Reagan while he was acting the part of president (he was just acting) put an end to treatment of the mentally disturbed and as a result these people are now on the streets, easy pickings for the republican propaganda of hatred. People like Limbaugh, Beck, and Palin make me want to puke. How anyone can buy into their trash is beyond me. They are obviously of limited intelligence and only those with less would give them the time of day. I personally don't believe they have the popularity of a brown paper bag. More media lies to affect those who lack the ability to think for themselves.