Dog whistle politics involves using words and phrases that conjure up a specific scenario or a type of person without being too explicit about it. Those who use “dog whistles” make sure that they sit in the good graces of the American public, who will rightfully persecute them for being carelessly ignorant. Dog whistle politics perks the ears of those who know what the person is actually trying to say.
Donald Trump Loves His Dog Whistle
Donald Trump is bombastic, intriguing, wrong, and sneaky. Inept at blowing the dog whistle, Donald Trump will foster the seeds of hatred and ignorance, energizing those with his rhetoric. Instead of dissecting slave labor and understanding structural racism, many will instead use the easy route and blindly label Mexican people as “illegals”, and African Americans as “takers.”
Here is how Donald Trump justified using dog whistle politics throughout his campaign for the presidency:
1. “Repeating” that Ted Cruz is a “P*ssy:”
Donald Trump has called Ted Cruz this derogatory name several times. Instead of taking responsibility for the word, he said that he was just “repeating” it.
2. Retweeting apparently doesn’t matter.
When Donald Trump retweeted infographics from white supremacist accounts, he thought that retweeting was meaningless and had no bare on his personal views. He said that he “doesn’t know about retweeting.”
3. “He’s Hispanic, which is fine.”
Donald Trump is facing accusations that Trump University is a scam, with a Hispanic judge handling the matter. During a rally in Arkansas, Donald Trump expanded on the worn authenticity of Trump University. Donald insinuated that the Hispanic judge was particularly hostile towards him. A xenophobe is a common attendee at a Trump rally. What he was trying conjure up was images of an antagonistic Hispanic person who is naturally hostile towards a White American.
However, Donald Trump is not the first or last person to use dog whistle politics to inspire. Learn more about coded language here:
Featured image by Flickr, available under a Creative Commons Attribution – Noncommercial License.
