Dog-whistle politics exposed

MILLERTON  — Thirty-five community members from the greater Millerton area gathered at the Watershed Center to discuss the use of dog-whistle politics in the 2016 election, on Sunday, July 31.

The term dog-whistle politics describes the use of coded language by politicians that is intended to provoke a strong emotional response in a target audience. This coded language carries certain meanings that can seem hidden, but whose intent is to pit groups of people against each other. As the November election approaches, and politicians begin to court votes in the Millerton area, the meeting encouraged attendees to call out dog-whistle language from across the political spectrum.

The conversation was introduced by New York resident and lawyer Michael Kink, from the organization Strong Economy for All, and included faith leaders, labor leaders and community members. 

Kink underscored the importance of the meeting, telling the audience, “Politicians are going to be coming into our communities using powerful coded language that is designed to provoke an emotional response and to divide us.” 

For Kink, and others attempting to understand dog-whistle politics, that emotional response is “largely about fear.”

Examples of dog whistles were provided, such as “those who want to take our jobs” and “we do not even know who they are,” which is used to conjure negative mental images of immigrants of color; and “welfare queen” and “thug,” which are used to conjure negative images of black people. 

While these phrases do not name a specific racial dynamic, they are intended to create divisions by stirring up pre-existing fears and tensions, such as that of terrorism, unemployment, increased taxes or crime. Political dog-whistlers also use coded language to conjure positive mental images like “real Americans” or “hard-working taxpayers,” which are used to signify the group that is framed as in danger from whatever fear is being provoked.

Like a dog whistle, which creates a frequency only audible to dogs, the language of dog-whistle politics is characterized as being coded to elicit a reaction from a specific audience. Thus, while provoking an emotional response in the target audience, the language can ultimately still be defended as benign. 

And yet the use of dog-whistle politics has resulted in serious policy changes. A video by the public policy organization Demos describes the way in which dog-whistle politics provokes fear, and how this fear is used to move voters to support the economic interests of the 1 percent, under the guise of protecting them from whatever it is they have been told is a threat.

Many meeting attendees told personal stories of how language has been used in their communities to divide people. Kink told the crowd that combating dog-whistle politics entailed “engaging based on common values and facts.” It was clear that for many, those values include unity, dignity and the recognition of a common humanity. 

“People in our community of all races say that we can do better on issues that we care about if we hang together,” said Quintin Cross of the Staley B. Keith Social Justice Center in Hudson. 

Some cited this value as stemming from the teachings of their faith, while others shared stories of individuals who had helped them when they were in trouble.

While dog-whistle politics are rampant in the presidential election, Kink highlighted the fact that many New York state politicians had been successful in eliciting these reactions from voters, and warned that citizens must be prepared to recognize and call out dog-whistle politics for the betterment of the political system. 

As Millerton resident Bill Leicht concluded, “We need to be talking about what is good for our communities. Racism is not. Fear is not. Uniting our communities and working to meet each other’s needs is what is good for America.”

Brooke Lehman is co-founder of the Watershed Center and Audrey Irvine-Broque is an intern at the center.