Repugs and language

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Repugs and language

1margd
Editat: feb. 27, 2021, 2:01 pm

It's a small thing I know--compared to Jan 6 attack on the Capitol or Iraq war--but more and more Republicans are using language to belittle opponents, including domestic ones. Kind of childish, but they are having an effect. And increasingly Dems are responding in kind (QPAC, etc.). Any wonder that the public has less and less respect for politicians? Is there no end to this race to the bottom? Where IS the bottom? (A spider hole? ;)

What’s in an adjective? ‘Democrat Party’ label on the rise
JULIE CARR SMYTH | 27 Feb 2021
https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-us-news-ohio-elections-f39b9370f14fd698a...

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Bush insults Hussein when saying 'Sa-dam' WAR IN THE GULF
Knight-Ridder News Service THE BALTIMORE SUN | Jan 31, 2021

...the name Saddam has two distinctly different meanings, depending on where the accent is placed. With the accent correctly placed on the second syllable, Saddam means "learned one" or "leader."

...But an Egyptian says the way George Bush pronounces Saddam gives the name "a very vulgar meaning."...when "Saddam" rhymes with "Adam," the word means "a boy who fixes or cleans old shoes. It's the dirtiest possible insult in some parts of the Arab world, but you have to have spent years on the streets of Alexandria or Cairo to know it."...

https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bs-xpm-1991-01-31-1991031089-story.html

2kiparsky
Editat: feb. 27, 2021, 7:35 pm

Ah, they're back to "Democrat party" again? I'm not sure why that would be belittling. I mean, it's pretty appropriate for the party that represents a clear majority of Americans and whose positions consistently poll as the preference of Americans generally - even the ones who for some reason have convinced themselves that Jesus wants them to vote for a gang of greasy racist scumbags who are too busy giving blowjobs to power to notice that their policies are literally killing Americans every day.

As a person who believes in democracy as the best (though still imperfect) solution to the problem of a people governing themselves, I'm fine with voting for the "Democrat Party", and I can't see why the supporters of the anarchist death cult that opposes the Democrats would consider the term "Democrat party" to be an insult.

3margd
març 1, 2021, 5:14 am

Then there's visual imagery ("dog whistles"):

Hyatt calls hate symbols 'abhorrent' after CPAC stage compared to sign used by Nazis
Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Orlando
Sun, February 28, 2021, 5:33 PM·2 min read

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Hyatt Hotels Corp called symbols of hate "abhorrent" on Sunday after the design of a stage at the Conservative Political Action Conference at one of its hotels drew comparisons to a Norse rune used by Nazis during World War Two.

High-profile Republicans including former President Donald Trump were attending the four-day event in Orlando, Florida, as conflict rages between Trump allies and establishment politicians trying to distance the party from him.

A photo of the CPAC stage went viral on social media on Saturday, with thousands of Twitter users sharing posts comparing its distinctive design to an othala rune, one of many ancient European symbols that Nazis adopted to "reconstruct a mythic 'Aryan' past," according to the Anti-Defamation League...

https://news.yahoo.com/hyatt-calls-hate-symbols-abhorrent-223344644.html

4Molly3028
Editat: març 1, 2021, 12:10 pm

Wing-nut radio show hosts like Limbaugh and political wordsmiths like Frank Luntz instructed GOP reps on what words and phrases would make the most impact on clueless, gullible voters.

5Limelite
Editat: març 1, 2021, 12:56 pm

Did You Know 1/6/21 Trump Buh-Bye Rally Was a 'Lovefest'?

Retired Florida Man celebrated the preamble to the insurrection by describing it as a "lovefest" and a"beautiful thing."
Former President Trump in an interview late Sunday defended his response to the deadly rioting by his supporters at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 and called the rally where he spoke beforehand a "lovefest."

“It was tremendous numbers of people, not the Capitol, I’m talking about the rally itself. It was a lovefest. It was a beautiful thing,” Trump said to Steve Hilton on Fox News.
In fact, Retired Florida Man redefined the meaning of "immediate" in a video message the night after the Capitol mob invasion. He said, "I
. . .immediately deployed the National Guard and federal law enforcement to secure the building and expel the intruders."
Make that Still Lying Retired Florida Man.
"While Trump was involved in discussions in the days prior to the Wednesday rioting about the National Guard response, he was not part of the decision-making that day," the AP reported.
Most obviously, Trump has changed the meaning of "winning." When in office, he celebrated all of his many actual losses as victories. The Big Lie, that Trump won the 2020 election but it was 'stolen' from him by massive voter fraud, is the best example of doublespeak outside 1984.

6librorumamans
març 1, 2021, 3:17 pm

>3 margd: Then there's visual imagery

In the flicker of attention I paid to the event, I thought the gaudy statue of the Former New Yorker was amusingly, and tellingly, suggestive of Aaron's golden calf.