Liberals With Tin Ears

[babylonsister]

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Liberals With Tin Ears
Today on TAP: We need to get a lot better at political language.
by Robert Kuttner
December 15, 2021


There has been a lot of discussion lately about the coinage “Latinx,” which violates the rules of Spanish grammar, and is rejected by 98 percent of Hispanic Americans polled. Our friend and former colleague Matt Yglesias, who is of both Latino and Ashkenazi Jewish heritage, has written a very astute essay suggesting that the imposition of “Latinx” by well-meaning white lefties doesn’t explain most of the Democrats’ problems with the Hispanic vote, but it sure doesn’t help.

Not to beat a dead caballo, but imagine if earnest progressive wannabe allies came up with must-use terms for Blacks, Jews, or Asian Americans rejected by those groups themselves. I’d like to expand the discussion to other instances of liberal tin ears. Here are three more self-defeating terms that should be retired.

Safety Net. This widely used synonym for social insurance is metaphorically and politically wrong. A safety net catches you when you fall off a high wire. It suggests something for losers and unfortunates rather than universal social income that binds us all together.

snip//

The word “entitled” has come to describe an obnoxious person who claims privileges that are excessive or undeserved. Sheesh, does that describe Social Security and Medicare? No, but they are described in budget lingo and more broadly as entitlements.

snip//

Union Density. This clunker is a case of academic language being picked up by journalists and liberals who want to sound with-it. Union density refers to the proportion of workers who are members of unions, as in “Union density has declined from 33 percent in 1958 to 13 percent in 2020.”

But density evokes stodgy union bureaucracy rather than a spirited social movement. Who wants to be part of something dense? What’s wrong with the simple word “membership”?

one more para....

https://prospect.org/blogs/tap/liberals-with-tin-ears/

[Thomas Hurt]

1. Why would Democrats want to seize any political narrative.....

[Kid Berwyn]

7. That would upset the apple cart before the horse.

Repuglians wouldn’t have a chance with effective Democratic messaging.

[ck4829]

2. It's simple. Put the words "should" and "not" together

"People SHOULD NOT be going bankrupt from medical bills"

"We SHOULD NOT have billionaires in space and GoFundMe campaigns to raise money for lifesaving medical procedures in the same economy"

"The United States SHOULD NOT be going backwards as a country"

---

And actually talk to Latin people. They groan when they hear "Latinx". That 98% could very well be 100%.

[gab13by13]

3. I guess it all depends on the person,

I don't mind a "word" I care about the substance behind the word.

Trumpers use the word wall because it is a mightier word than fence worthy of spending billions of dollars for. It is what is behind the building of the fence that matters, besides, everyone here calls the fence a wall.

[WHITT]

4. GEEZ

is rejected by 98 percent of Hispanic Americans polled.

Fake poll put out by Miami-based anti-Cuba front group. My assumption is that they think 'Latinx' is too homogenizing, and further diminishes them as they become a shrinking minority in Florida politics.

...the imposition of “Latinx” by well-meaning white lefties...

Nobody, let alone "well-meaning white lefties", IMPOSED the word on anybody. Younger people began using it, I assume to leave separation and divisiveness behind.

Amazing how so many otherwise intelligent people can be gullible enough to get suckered into such nonsense.

[comradebillyboy]

6. Here in New Mexico where Hispanics are the largest

ethnic group I have yet to hear any Hispanic person refer to themselves as latinex. I have seen the word used quite a bit by non-Hispanic folks on MSNBC talk shows however. Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham and Senator Ben Ray Lujan both eschew the term. My wife volunteers at the Hispanic Cultural Center not the latinex cultural center.

[Elessar Zappa]

10. I'm in NM also

and I concur. Most people around here prefer Hispanic or even Mexican.

[Sur Zobra]

12. There's a very real animus

against the term by Hispanics, like me, here in New Mexico

[DeeNice]

5. I wondered about the latinx thing

I found this MJ article helpful in understanding the origins. I had no idea where latinx came from and how Hispanic Americans felt about it. But long story short, the people who are being referred to should have the say over what they are referred to as. I'm listening and learning.
[link:https://www.motherjones.com/media/2019/06/digging-into-the-messy-history-of-latinx-helped-me-embrace-my-complex-identity/|

[Caliman73]

13. Agreed.

It is not a word that was "Bestowed" upon Latinos, it is a word that Latino academics adopted to challenge the gender binary that is present in the Spanish language.

It is not popular. The generational struggle that is present in most cultures is certainly present in Hispanic and Latino cultures. Tradition can be a very difficult thing to challenge and it is usually the youth who do the challenging. Language is one of the big ways that culture is transmitted through the generations so changes and challenges to the structure and use of language are going to have an uphill battle.

Focusing on this minor language issue, is a distraction. We need to focus on larger more day to day issues within the various Latino/Hispano communities and as you said, listen, learn, and respect what each particular group wants.

One major problem with American culture and society is that we tend to want simple, quick solutions to complex problems.

Getting in shape means eating the right foods, in the right amounts, exercising and incorporating activities into your daily life, managing stress, creating good sleep habits, etc...

"Fuck that" says the American, give me the latest pill, exercise gear, etc... so I can spend 5 minutes to get those rock hard abs...

This is how we also treat complex social and economic issues.

[crickets]

14. Excellent article. Thanks for the link. nt

[Lonestarblue]

8. While we're at it, let's get rid of "woke" and "defund the police."

There’s nothing wrong with the ideas behind them, but Republicans have twisted their meanings and weaponized them.

[Caliman73]

11. Defund the police was always a bad slogan...

Woke is a Black American term that has been used since (as far as I could research) the 1920's and 1930's.

We are talking about a term that has been in use among a particular group of people to communicate with each other, that has been taken and corrupted, maliciously by White people who are continually pushing racial bias.

We cannot cede words to them. We have to challenge them and make them explain what they are talking about or keep those words out of their mouths.

If we give up every word that Republicans try to twist and weaponize, then we lose ANY language which with to fight them.

[Sympthsical]

9. I sometimes think this is just "cool parent" syndrome writ large

It seems like a lot of white liberals and Democrats are forever seeking ways to signal to other groups in our coalition that they are with it. "I understand you! We're buddies!"

So whenever some bit of nonsense gains even a little bit of currency on Twitter or whatever, it's seized on to signal that they are, well, used to be "woke," but that term isn't doing so well anymore. But it's just the worst form of signalling.

LatinX came from where a lot of these things do - academia. Some vanishingly small segment of people come up with something, it catches on in some small segment of college groups, and suddenly people who want to say, "I get and respect your group," start spreading it themselves to show they are up to date on these things, oblivious to the fact that the general population of that group doesn't use it (because they hilariously and clearly do not interact with actual people from that group themselves, or else they'd know this). And, as we see, many times the general group population doesn't particularly like it.

I know I, as a gay man, am subjected to this stuff all the time. The Q+ portion of the program is certainly getting . . . creative in the enclaves of social media. I don't need a new word or term for every possible permutation of mood under the sun. The "new and improved" Pride flag looks like someone let a five year old loose with a box of crayons. The overwhelming majority of LGBTers do not care about this stuff. At all. No one asked us. And when we're hearing lectures about it, it's typically from cis straight people who saw something on Twitter.

It just doesn't work. It's patronizing and condescending. When a straight person comes at me explaining why "genital preferences" are bigotry, I'm throwing digital hands.

Use of general terms until specifically asked not to by an individual works just fine. It's ok. Not everything on Twitter is a good idea.