And don’t pull your punches
George Lakoff wrote a popular guide to message framing a couple of decades ago entitled “Don’t Think of an Elephant!” Perhaps we’re due for another entitled “Don’t Talk Like an Alien.”
The Washington Post this morning features a series of LTEs (that’s letters to the editor for those who don’t speak acronym) on Democrats use of language that’s off-putting to normal people. The occasion was a May 27 front page story, “Democratic troubles revive debate over left-wing buzzwords.” Subhead: “From ‘intersectionality’ to ‘equity,’ many say jargon is alienating key voters. But progressives say inclusive language is vital.”
My late MIL (that’s mother-in-law for those who don’t speak acronym) was a Columbia-trained librarian. I once asked how she dealt with the educational fads that periodically sweep through academia. She replied with a grin, “We just tried to ignore them until they went away.” And mostly they did.
The left is as susceptible as much as other Americans to trendiness, especially younger activists. Remember “call outs” and “microaggressions” and “safe spaces”? Where are they now? Today it’s a focus on announcing your pronouns. I get it. But that trend will go away too, in time (maybe after it just settles in). For now, to ordinary Americans they make users sound like aliens not allies.
From the original article:
“Some words are just too Ivy League-tested terms,” said Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-Arizona). “I’m going to piss some people off by saying this, but ‘social equity’ — why do we say that? Why don’t we say, ‘We want you to have an even chance’?”
[…]
“I believe that, over time, and probably for well-meaning reasons, Democrats have begun to speak like professors and started using advocacy-speak that was meant to reduce stigma, but also removed the meaning and emotion behind words,” [Kentucky Gov. Andy ] Beshear said, citing such examples as using “substance abuse disorder” to refer to addiction.
“It makes Democrats or candidates using this speech sounding like they’re not normal,” Beshear said. “It sounds simple, but what the Democratic Party needs to do is be normal and sound normal.”
“Substance abuse disorder,” Beshear said, drains all emotion out of a human tragedy and minimizes what it means to beat addiction. “Food insecurity” means children go hungry. Just say so.
During GOTV efforts (that’s get-out-the-vote for those not in our club), when voters tell volunteers they like Donald Trump because he “tells it like it is,” it may not be just his reinforcing their prejudices, but because he talks like they do and not like a overeducated pinhead who’s virtue signaling.
Post readers respond this morning:
Prostitutes are now “sex workers,” illegal immigrants become “undocumented workers,” a husband and a wife are transformed into “partners,” and someone who is dumb must be “intellectually impaired.”
What these Democrats fail to understand is that empty symbolism is worthless. Their goal should be to get elected so they can provide material help to these people. Using language that is out of touch with societal norms might make them feel good (whether it makes the objects of their concern feel good is another matter). But it will keep them on the losing side of elections. Republicans continue to use the term “woke” as a pejorative, and they have been successful. Moderate Democrats such as myself cringe as more and more independents vote Republican because they believe Democrats are arrogant Ivy Leaguers who have lost touch with mainstream America.
Another writes, maybe code switch, howabout it? Use your trendy term around activists and another around normies. Consider your audience:
I am not suggesting we call everything “a beautiful bill” or find ways to make things “great again.” “Beautiful” has nothing to do with a bill that, say, saves Medicaid. “Beautiful” might be immediately appealing to some, but it is not a useful way to express many policy ideas. To me, the word has the same effect as pouring corn syrup into our cereal. Ugh.
I grind my teeth every time a left-leaning talking head regurgitates and reinforces “big, beautiful bill.” Are you nuts? Lakoff would be turning over in his grave. Except he’s not dead.
But Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) using “oligarchs” seems okay:
A big word differs from so-called jargon. When liberals use “intersectionality,” they slam the door on dialogue with many people, me among them. Too often — though not always — the usage sounds like an attempt to show off a political affiliation, a level of education or a worldview rather than to communicate.
The above is an over-long introduction to this clip from Congressman Stephen F. Lynch (D) of the 8th District of Massachusetts. You want plainspoken? He’s from South Boston. He’s got it down. He pulls no punches.
The first thing we learned in my first campaign school was something we were to remember when speaking with voters on their doorsteps: “You are not normal people.” Don’t talk to voters the way you talk with each other.
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