Political Jargon, Slang and Phrases (4 Viewers)

Dadsdream said:

Social Justice Warrior/Crusader
(noun)

Example: John, the board's social justice warrior, found the picture of the Indian maiden on the butter package to be a repulsive expression of white supremacy with sexual overtones.

Social justice warrior is an often mocking term for one who is seen as overly progressive or left-wing. It's often abbreviated as SJW.

Social Justice Warrior

An often mocking term for one who is seen as overly progressive

www.merriam-webster.com

Justice crusaders are often found debating about political and social issues regarding inequality. Many tend to find racist, sexist, or other discriminatory intentions in places that did not originally intend to offend anyone by any means. They also commonly exaggerate the offense or take certain statements a bit too seriously. Unless you are also a justice crusader, most people find justice crusaders annoying.

A number of them are also very hypocritical. Justice crusaders are usually members of a minority, and they tend to target and criticize white people for their "white privilege" or "inability to understand." They do not realize that this in itself is discrimination; for they judge white people harder than other races and cultures. If you tell them this though, they will probably deny it; they defend themselves quickly and are usually angered easily. Trying to talk sense into them is difficult.

Urban Dictionary: Justice Crusader

A rights activist that strongly believes in equality and fairness. They generally fight issues regarding discrimination against a specific race, gender, or sexuality. Justice crusaders are often found debating about political and social issues regarding inequality. Many tend to find racist...

www.urbandictionary.com

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brandon said:

Do you find it interesting that you were able to find Social Justice Warrior in the dictionary, but could only find Justice Crusader in the Urban Dictionary?

Edit: as it turn out, neither of these terms are in the dictionary. They’re both just terms you’ll find in those right-wing extremist sites we know you don’t visit.

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1. to confuse, bewilder, or stupefy.
2. to make obscure or unclear: to obfuscate a problem with extraneous information.
3. to darken.

V Chip said:

dog whistle
[ dawg-hwis-uh l, -wis-, dog- ]SHOW IPA
noun
Politics. a political strategy, statement, slogan, etc., that conveys a controversial, secondary message understood only by those who support the message: His criticism of welfare was a dog whistle appealing to racist voters.

An example of dog-whistles is the famous interview in 1981 by Republican strategist Lee Atwater, explaining the Southern Strategy used to attract southern whites:

“You start out in 1954 by saying, “[n-word], [n-word], [n-word].” By 1968 you can’t say “[n-word]”—that hurts you, backfires. So you say stuff like, uh, forced busing, states’ rights, and all that stuff, and you’re getting so abstract. Now, you’re talking about cutting taxes, and all these things you’re talking about are totally economic things and a byproduct of them is, blacks get hurt worse than whites.… “We want to cut this,” is much more abstract than even the busing thing, uh, and a hell of a lot more abstract than “[n-word], [n-word].””

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Dadsdream said:

Hi V Chip,

We did "dog whistle" back on Page 2, but your take has a different tone and timbre. Here's the original:

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Dadsdream said:

Hi V Chip,

We did "dog whistle" back on Page 2, but your take has a different tone and timbre. Here's the original:

Recently added to Mirriam-Webster, today's term is a modern expression of an older term that's been around for over 200 years.

Example:
If you want to cast him as just a nativist, his slogan "Make America Great Again" can be read as a dog-whistle to some whiter and more Anglo-Saxon past.
—Ross Douthat, The New York Times, 10 August 2015

What's the Political Meaning of 'Dog Whistle'?
A message only some can hear

Update: This word was added in April 2017.

Figuratively, a 'dog whistle' is a coded message communicated through words or phrases commonly understood by a particular group of people, but not by others.

Yet there's another dog whistle we've been hearing about lately: a coded message communicated through words or phrases commonly understood by a particular group of people, but not by others.

Given that the term dog whistle has been around for over 200 years, it seems odd that it only developed a figurative sense recently. After all, it’s the perfect word to use to describe something that some people can hear, but others cannot. Yet it is only within the past 20 years or so that it has seen this figurative sense take hold. And it is primarily used to describe political speech.

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brandon said:

It’s like you didn’t even read the entry for obfuscation.

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Dadsdream said:

Oh I read it. Had I responded In kind, my response would have been replete with similar quotes from prominent Democrats from the early to mid 20th Century, but I didn't want to derail the thread any further.

Not every thread on every board has to be about racism, although that seems to be the apparent goal here with some folks.

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brandon said:

Let’s not pretend this whole thread is anything but a passive-aggressive derail of your PM inbox.

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Nattering Nabobs of Negativism - Political Dictionary

"Nattering nabobs of negativism" was a phrase used by Vice President Spiro Agnew to refer to the media with whom he had a very acrimonious relationship.

politicaldictionary.com

Dadsdream said:

nattering nabobs of negativism
phrase

"In the United States today, we have more than our share of the nattering nabobs of negativism. They have formed their own 4-H Club — the ‘hopeless, hysterical hypochondriacs of history.'”
Vice President Spiro Agnew, September 11, 1970

While the phrase is generally attributed to Agnew, it was actually written by White House speechwriter William Safire.

Nattering Nabobs of Negativism - Political Dictionary

"Nattering nabobs of negativism" was a phrase used by Vice President Spiro Agnew to refer to the media with whom he had a very acrimonious relationship.

politicaldictionary.com

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