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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsReminder: Beware of Right Wing Lingo
Last edited Tue Jan 24, 2023, 09:22 AM - Edit history (2)
Especially MAGA lingo never let it take hold in public discourse or mainstream media.
1.
The latest lingo:
Weaponization of the federal government" -- instead, say tyranny.
One example of how MAGA lingo gets mainstreamed is from THECONVERSATION.COM, which comes out of the Miller Center at the University of Virginia. Author Ken Hughes purports to "explain" the history of the "weaponization of government" as an intellectual exercise. He does what Koch wants all his professors at his universities to do -- manage public perception of "government," "policy," and "history."
This "conversation" site has shown up on Facebook and probably other feeds. It's not that Ken Hughes himself doesn't speak of abuse of power under Nixon and other presidents, he does. It's that his headline validates the phrase as a mainstream political idea, which itself is a right wing form of perception management and political discourse.
Professor Timothy Snyder can put right wing lingo in its proper political context, but too often, people don't read behind the lingo used in blogs or op-ed headlines. They perhaps bookmark it, maybe go on to use the "idea" of the headline in their own discourse, often called punditry. What we've seen, historically, is that too many readers and media people can't, or won't, recognize right wing lingo when they see it. We hate when they drag us into chewing over it, giving it meaning and validity through inter-party political wrangling.
https://theconversation.com/the-weaponization-of-the-federal-government-has-a-long-history-197848?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=bylinefacebookbutton&fbclid=IwAR0cZmMYicNS3gs7tLly9lWLCR4Z6SP6EzyV0JxMIhNGztT8mjilnZI-Hrs
Lingo is a long game power strategy; e.g., MAGA itself is a play on the old Nazi slogan.
2.
The overall point: DO NOT CONFLATE ABUSE OF POWER WITH "weaponization of the federal government."
If a whole government were "weaponized" -- which has only happened once in U.S. history -- if it were even possible for 3 million people to be unified under some "weaponization" scheme -- that power would, in fact, be tyranny. If it has happened in American history, it has only happened as
a) our revolution against monarchial tyranny, and
b) the the slavery government setup with Jefferson Davis in the US civil war.
What "weaponization" has really been is the abuse of power by specific individuals in government who want to establish "rule of men" over "rule of law."
Some people in government have allegedly weaponized their roles and power, but that is legally known as abuse of power, or fraudulent use of power. To call it "weaponizing government" is to confound and obscure these individuals' unlawfulness. Which is what the current coup caucus are trying to do.
Abuse of power, when organized, sets up "rule of men" tyranny over "rule of law" democracy. It's what "we the people" fought a revolution against. Rule of men is what we the people now vote against.
Any organized or pervasive "Rule of men" system -- billionaires, AI, media propaganda, bankers, or Big Corps.-- never gets consent of the governed.
3.
Every election is our reminder to those rule of men entities that their front men do not have consent of the governed, that they may not run this nation the way they run their own systems.
In the future, every statement their scripted bag men make is our chance to stop their perception management game.
Others call it "controlling the narrative," or "alt," or even "George Santos."
As soon as liberals (anywhere, but mostly in government) say or do anything moral, fair, or democratic, the Right calls it "woke" or "cancel culture."
In the House, it's now a "select" committee to "study" the "weaponizing of government." We rule of law Americans call that lingo an attempt to obstruct due process of law.
If we don't fight the Right's lingo the self interested use of language of self proclaimed insiders the Right will eventually confound people's perception, then more easily control it. As theyve done from "Contract ON America" days to the T.E.A. "party" to their trumpcult base to their party platform.
4.
"Perception management," even sounds like lingo. But when it's done right, it's called reality, also, history.
When it's done wrong -- for power over past, present and future -- perception management is a right wing, fascist, and corporate, Koch thing. It processes itself into mainstream media and discourse through "think" tanks and universities.
Identify and put RW lingo in their proper contexts, and leave "government" systems out as a context for "weaponizing." When it comes to this phrase, it's operatives and power abusers in government who weaponize.
Not government.
When it's done right, is when Senate candidate Ruben Gallego reminds us of the basis of government:
"At the core, if you're more likely to be meeting with the powerful than the powerless, you're doing this job incorrectly."
Diamond_Dog
(31,989 posts)believing that Trump was the absolute worst offender at weaponization of our federal government in the history of our country and that hell never be held accountable for it.
Kelly could have spoken up and pushed back a lot harder than he did on so many illegal activities his former boss did. How any one with supposedly so much integrity could prostrate himself like that before such a traitor is beyond me.
ancianita
(36,053 posts)As long as you bring up Kelly (did he resign at some point?), we might as well throw in the whole lot of conspirators and enablers around him, the ones who Jack Smith will indict along with Trump.
There was never much moral fiber in any of them, being sellouts to the trappings of power and wealth. They just constantly used their bubble lingo (RW, business, evangelical, spite, hate, revenge bs) to justify the whole administration with whatever it took to hang onto that power with him.
Diamond_Dog
(31,989 posts)Just that he was mentioned in the article is why he came to mind. The media always described hm as impeccably honest, by-the-book, military regimental, didnt put up with bullshit. He was no better than the whole lot of deceitful criminals who comprised Dumps inner circle.
malaise
(268,976 posts)Rec
ancianita
(36,053 posts)Coming from you, that's high compliment.
Wounded Bear
(58,648 posts)central scrutinizer
(11,648 posts)Hes been saying the same thing about how metaphors frame our thinking and arguments for years. I think hes essential reading for all progressives
ancianita
(36,053 posts)Linguistics from him and Noam Chomsky are worthwhile, relevant and basic background.
Here's the thing -- Lakoff is not as relevant now as back then. He was, indeed, among the first to apply language across contexts, and theoretically explore the intentional misuses of it. And Chomsky was onto the rhetoric of manufacturing consent. But perception management came later.
As of today, I'd have to say that unless you can link some recent piece from him re political language, he's got no answers for what we've recently been facing.
Unless you have some specifics he would offer that you could refresh my memory with, that would help us in the fight to eliminate RW lingo, I think we're past that. But I could be wrong.
We're all swimming in an ocean of rhetoric these days, and we're kinda beyond the metaphoric realm. We're in actually in the zone of the loss, harm and damage realm of a democracy "in commerce" and fighting to enforce rule of law.
central scrutinizer
(11,648 posts)I read Lakoff when elephant.. just came out and it rang so true that I recommended it to everybody. But that was almost 20 years ago and the explosion of social media has changed the playing field dramatically.