"dog whistles"

[victor steinbok]

Joel, that's precisely the point. First, these memes don't need to be true
(propaganda rule #2). Second, even had they been true, I'm not suggesting
that they prove anything. But this trio, along with other random tidbits,
is undeniably used to portray Obama as lazy /in the minds if those who use
them/. Your rational approach clearly demonstrates that you're not the
target audience.

There are several others. There's the "hauty" image that's being stoked as
well. That may include the "selfish language" claim (that's been debunked
every time), the "doesn't want to negotiate" claim (overlapping with
"lazy", but equally nonsense), and a bunch of other similar constructs. It
doesn't mean any of it is true, just that someone tries to project that
image. There's the "weak" or "over his head" image that has several
associated memes with it and has resulted in conservative endorsement of
Putin.

I can keep going but first there's a question that requires an answer. It
is often hard to differentiate between a concerted effort to create a
perticular image (propaganda) and a post hoc reconstruction of this goal
based on coincidental classification that had nothing to do with intent
(effectively, a conspiracy theory).

VS-)

On Apr 3, 2014 8:10 PM, "Joel S. Berson" <Berson at att.net> wrote:
>
...
>
>
> >merely oblique
> >references to make Obama look lazy, or is this a dog whistle to the
> >Southern image of blacks as lazy?
>
> Would these be oblique references to make Republicans look lazy, or
> dog whistles to the effete elite bicoastal Democrats' image of
> Republicans as the idle rich?
>
> Joel
>

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org