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Speaking In Code

Ever since the United States divided into Red and Blue states, it has been common to observe that increasingly Democrats and Republicans, Liberals and Conservatives, are more like tribes belonging to different cultures than simple partisan or ideological groupings.

This election has revealed, however, that we also are beginning to speak different languages. In the new, emerging liberal lexicon, for example, ?inexperienced? has become a new racist code word for ?uppity,? as have other terms, such as ?celebrity? or ?rock star.?

The latest example of this downwardly spiraling idiocy comes from one Lewis Diuguid, a Kansas City Star editorial columnist, who pronounces ?Shame on McCain and Palin for using an old code word for black? (HatTip: Drudge).

And what is that ?old code word for black?? ?Socialist.?

Silly me: I always thought socialists were red.

To prove his point, Diuguid gives four examples of black leaders who were called ?socialist? at one time or another: Martin Luther King Jr., W.E.B. Du Bois, Paul Robeson, and A. Phillip Randolph. Apparently Diuguid is unaware that three of the four (all except King) actually were socialists of one variety or another.

Any discussion of the emerging liberal lexicon would be incomplete without reference to Ambrose Bierce?s classic, early 20th Century The Devil?s Dictionary. If you?re not familiar with it, or even if you, take a look at its entries here. One of my favorites:

CONSERVATIVE, n.
A statesman who is enamored of existing evils, as distinguished from the Liberal, who wishes to replace them with others.

In that spirit, let me suggest some entries for the new Liberal Lexicon that someone will surely publish shortly:

QUOTA, n.
The reservation of a specific number of positions for applicants from approved racial and ethnic groups, as distinguished from AFFIRMATIVE ACTION, a policy whose purpose and effect is to fill the same number of positions with applicants from approved racial and ethnic groups by giving them preferences based on their race or ethnicity.

PLAYING THE RACE CARD, v.
Low, base, racist tactic of calling attention to the race of a political candidate in order to elicit a) animosity, if played against one?s opponent, or b) sympathy, if dealt to one?s self or one?s favored candidate, a maneuver that pre-emptively employs this low, base, racist tactic to accuse one?s opponent of planning to engage in low, base, racist tactics.

Full post as published by Discriminations on October 22, 2008 (boomark / email).