> [!summary] Progressive Summary > This is one of the first books to explore blatant racism and falsehood together. Since Trump's election in 2016, politicians have gotten away with saying the previously unsayable. Dogwhistles and figleaves allow speakers to get away with injecting racist views and sentiments into political discourse, without falling foul of the Norm of Racial Equality or Telling the Truth. When the other side is provoked into calling this out with anger or outrage, they can be painted as "easy to trigger" or "hypocritical" or "judgmental extremists". This is an "accusation figleaf" which diverts attention away from the norm-violating behaviour, and mobilises the base audience by making them feel threatened by legitimate criticisms. Figleaves are "a permission structure to go on supporting those who make racist utterances." Figleaves are dangerous because "a once appalling sentiment or idea can become normalized and mainstream." # Structured Notes ## Definitions ## Chapter Summaries ### Introduction The book shows how "deniability" increases the power of racism and falsehoods. It examines how language is used to divide groups and pit them against one another. Society has vague norms that tell us "don't be racist" (Norm of Racial Equality) and "be truthful". The vagueness of these norms is what allows some people to navigate around them. The book recognizes 3 groups of people: - Norm opposers - those who explicitly join racist organisations like the Klu Klux Klan. - Persuadables - People who would oppose racists or liers if they could recognise them, but who can be caused not to recognise them. - Strong norm supporters - people who not only support the norms, but are good at recognizing violations of them. As an example, during the 2016 election campaign, Trump called for "a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States until our country's representatives can figure out what is going on." The author refers to the last bit, that the ban is just until "our country's representatives can figure out what is going on", as a figleaf, the part that introduces deniability. - Strong norm supporters immediately called this out as racist. - Norm opposers were happy that Trump said this. - Persuadables were convinced that a true racist would call for a permanent ban, not a temporary one. ### White Racism, White Racial Folk Theory, and White Racial Discourse Many white people subscribe to a folk theory that sets the bar for racism very high, and paints racists as monsters, allowing them to deny racism when it happens. Sociolinguist Jane Hill and sociologist Eduardo Bonilla-Silva have studied this extensively. According to White Folk Theory: - races are a matter of biology; thus, a person making claims of cultural inferiority is not a racist - the truth about what a person believes can only be found in their heart, and not by what they say; this head-heart distinction allows people to get away with racist utterances, which are "mistakes of the head" - rapists are monsters; this is an "exonerating image" which prevents us from seeing the ubiquity of racism; in the same way, Hannah Arendt pointed out the banality of evil In contrast, any serious theory of racism accepts the following: - racism isn't just an individual trait; words, institutions and laws can all be racist - individuals can be racist without being monsters who hate all members of a racial group (eg, they can be fond of the server who waits on them) - individuals can be racist without seeing groups as biologically defined - individual racism is not just about conscious beliefs, but can also be a matter of less conscious attitudes ### Racist Dogwhistles Dogwhistles can be heard by dogs, but not humans. Racial dogwhistles are recognised by racists, but not by others. Overt code: - Acts like a secret code. For example, 88 refers to "Heil Hitler", but doesn't get picked up by hate speech algorithms. Covert effect: - Acts on people without them being aware of it. For example, the word "welfare" can trigger racist reactions at a subconscious level. Examples of racist dogwhistles: - States rights - George Wallace, an old-school southern Democrat, used states rights as a dogwhistle, referring to the right of southern states to own slaves, and to perpetuate segregation - Putting someone's {{{name}}} in brackets, to indicate that they are Jewish - George Soros - his name has become synonymous with the idea that Jews are malevolent fomenters of social dissent - Bad hombres - term used by Trump to exploit anti-Mexican racism - Waco, Texas - the deadly raid on the Branch Davidian compound by government forces has become a symbol of the far right as an example of government over-reach. It was used as a justification for the 1995 bombing of Oklohoma City, which was on the anniverary of the Waco raid.Trump decided to hold a rally there before his arrest for hush money payments to a porn star. - 14 Words - David Lane, member of white supremacist terrorist group, The Order, created the slogan "We must secure the existence of our people and a future for White children." - In 2021, the Conservative Party of Canada used the slogan: "Canada's Recovery Plan will secure the future for you, your children and their children." It has 14 words, and 88 characters. - 88 - Heil Hitler (H is the 8th letter of the alphabet) ### Figleaves for Racism Figleaves are used by artists to cover parts of the human body that shouldn't be seen in public. > Racial figleaves are additional bits of speech which provide metaphorical cover for utterances that would otherwise be seen as clearly racist. Technical definition: > A **racial figleaf** F for an audience A with respect to an utterance R is a bit of speech which blocks A from correctly concluding that either (a) R (the bit of speech) is racist; or (b) R indicates that the person who uttered R is racist. Common racial figleaves: - "But I'm not a racist" - "Some of my best friends are Black" - "It's just a joke" - "People are saying" A synchronic figleaf is uttered at the same time as the racist statement. Example: When Donald Trump announced his candidacy, he said that Mexicans were rapists, but then added "And some, I assume, are good people." A diachronic figleaf is uttered later in defense of the racist statement. For example, I can criticise someone else's blatant racism, and then use this at any time to show that I'm not a racist. #### Danger of figleaves Figleaves provide a permission structure that exonerates problematic utterances. To see how standards of acceptable discourse have shifted, we can compare the fates of Representative Steve King and Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene. In 2019, King said that there was nothing wrong with white supremacy and white nationalism. This made his fellow Republicans remove him from all congressional committee assignments. By 2021, Marjorie Taylor Greene was welcomed by her fellow Republicans for suggesting the following: - the Rothschilds (classic target of anti-Jewish conspiracy theories) used lasers to set forest fires - George Soros is a Nazi - Hilary Clinton is involved with pedophilia and child sacrifice - the Great Replacement Theory, which says that Jews are plotting to replace White People with immigrants --- #### **But I'm Not a Racist** Racial figleaves work in conjunction with the White Folk Theory of Racism, which says that racists are monsters who would never befriend someone from the target race. Hence, a single example is enough to refute the possibility that someone is a racist. Also, the defense "I am not a racist" appeals to the distinction between head and heart, ie the person is not truly a racist at heart, but merely said some inadvertent things. --- #### **It's Just a Joke** Andrew Anglin, founder of *The Daily Stormer*, wrote a style guide for the site, urging contributors to use a humorous (lulz) tone: “The tone of the site should be light. Most people are not comfortable with material that comes across as vitriolic, raging, non-ironic hatred. The unindoctrinated should not be able to tell if we are joking or not. There should also be a conscious awareness of mocking stereotypes of hateful racists.” - https://www.timesofisrael.com/the-daily-stormers-jew-hating-style-guide-revealed/ In the "manosphere" of disgruntled, largely White men who feel rejected by and disconnected from mainstream culture, it is common to use offensive speech disguised as jokes. This is the fertile soil in which Trump found his audience. The politics of offensive publicity stunts finds its perfect match in an Internet culture of racist jokes, screen performances, and garbage ads. --- #### **Other People Are Saying** > If intention is all that matters, one can avoid acountability by insisting that one is only quoting others. An example from 1968, before the world of tweets, is British Conservative MP Enoch Powell's Rivers of Blood speech: > A week or two ago I fell into conversation with a constituent, a middle-aged, quite ordinary working man employed in one of our nationalised industries. > > After a sentence or two about the weather, he suddenly said: "If I had the money to go, I wouldn't stay in this country." I made some deprecatory reply to the effect that even this government wouldn't last for ever; but he took no notice, and continued: "I have three children, all of them been through grammar school and two of them married now, with family. I shan't be satisfied till I have seen them all settled overseas. In this country in 15 or 20 years' time the black man will have the whip hand over the white man." > > I can already hear the chorus of execration. How dare I say such a horrible thing? How dare I stir up trouble and inflame feelings by repeating such a conversation? > > The answer is that I do not have the right not to do so. Here is a decent, ordinary fellow Englishman, who in broad daylight in my own town says to me, his Member of Parliament, that his country will not be worth living in for his children. #### **Criticising someone else's racism** Another strategy is to criticise someone else's blatant racism, a credential that can be pulled out later when needed. #### **Snowflake/Cancel Culture/Political Correctness/Wokeness** This is a strategy that shifts attention from the racist utterance to the unreasonableness of the person pointing it out as racist. When Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scala suggested that affirmative action was bad for Black people, as it resulted in them being admitted to institutions which they found too difficult, Trump criticised it thus: “I thought it was very tough to the African-American community, actually. I don’t like what he said. No, I don’t like what he said. I heard him, I was like, ‘Let me read it again’ because I actually saw it in print, and I’m going – I read a lot of stuff – and I’m going, ‘Whoa!’ “ - https://edition.cnn.com/2015/12/13/politics/donald-trump-antonin-scalia-affirmative-action/index.html #### **Racism accusation** A colour-blind theory of racism says that any mention of race is evidence of racism. A good example of this might be Coleman Hughes' End of Race Politics: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/671726/the-end-of-race-politics-by-coleman-hughes/ > Accusing a person who points out racism of being a racist is an extremely effective diachronic figleaf. #### **Human figleaves** > A **human figleaf** H is a person who provides deniability for an action or utterance R that would otherwise be seen as racist. This deniability is provided by the fact that H is known to be from the demographic category targeted by R; and the fact that H is taken to be in some way expressing their support for the person(s) who engaged/s in action or utterance R. That's what Trump did when he pointed to a Black supporter at a rally: https://edition.cnn.com/2020/09/12/politics/trump-my-african-american-cheadle-rally-blake/index.html - “Oh, look at my African American over here,” Trump responded with a smile, pointing at Cheadle as some people in the crowd cheered. “Look at him. Are you the greatest?” - Cheadle says he was bothered by Trump’s comments last year when he told four congresswomen of color to “go back” to where they came from. He also didn’t like the fact that the overwhelming majority of Trump’s cabinet and judicial appointments went to white men. “When you look at the White House, it really is a white house,” he says. - But he refuses to call Trump a racist because the term is so loaded. Instead he says Trump has a “white superiority complex.” - “When you say someone is racist, it’s damning but it’s not productive,” he says. The White Folk Theory of Racism creates the environment in which calling someone a racist is not productive, because under that theory, only a monster could be racist. #### **Figleaves in thought** Figleaves that are thought and not uttered can block self-knowledge that one is a racist. Calling up such thoughts (eg "I have black friends") might allow one to avoid the uncomfortable conclusion that one is a racist. ### The Rise of Blatant Falsehood The different groups that the author identified above react to blatant falsehoods in different ways. A bald-faced lie to one group will not be perceived as such by another. ### Figleaves, and Dogwhistles, for Falsehood > A falsehood figleaf F for an audience A and utterance F is a bit of speech which blocks A from correctly concluding that A's utterance of F does not respect the Norm of Truthfulness. Since the Norm of Truthfulness can be interpreted in many different ways, this offers many opportunities to use figleaves. Figleaves make the persuadable group just comfortable enough to accept the person making false utterances, or passing falsehoods on to others. We often lie to be polite, kind, preserve privacy or protect others. Also, we don't often think of truthfulness as applying to questions or commands. People can also be truthful in a literal sense, while still be misleading. Common figleaves for falsehood: - Reporting what other people are saying (comes with little accountability) - I'm just asking questions - It was just a joke - I was being literal (eg Clinton's famous response to the question of whether he had a sexual relationship with Monica Lewinsky) - Claiming ignorance, but then stating a falsehood anyway (I'm not an expert, but ...) A higher standard for truthfulness would require any politician to do some fact-checking before passing on some rumour. Examples of falsehood figleaves: - When Trump downplayed the seriousness of Covid, he later justified it by saying that he lied in order to keep people calm (ie the Norm of Truthfulness doesn't apply when one needs to show leadership) - Gwyneth Paltrow's head of content claimed that her magazine Goop did not need to do any fact-checking, because it was not endorsing any view, but rather "just asking questions" - Joe Rogan: "This doctor was saying Invermectin is 99% effective in treating Covid, but you don't hear about it because you can't fund vaccines when it's an effective treatment. I don't know if this guy is right or wrong. I'm just asking questions." - John F Kennedy Jr: "I'm not anti-vax.... I am somebody who is skeptical of government and pharma, but I'm not anti-vax." Examples of falsehood dogwhistles: - Codes for QAnon: - "Nothing can stop what's coming" - referring to the eventual rounding up of everyone involved in the conspiracy - WWG1WGA - where we go one we go all (used as a hashtag or in the text of an Instagram) - "Save the children" - Hijacking phrases from the wellness community: "awakening", "enlightenment", "seeking one's truth" - Anti-vaxxers use emojis like pizza slices, cupcakes and carrots - ### Obvious Falsehoods without Deniability A bald-faced liar is someone who utters a falsehood, knowing that it is so obviously false that it is very unlikely their audience will believe them. A bullshitter is someone who speaks without regard to the truth or falsehood of what they are saying. Boris Johnson is an example of a bald-faced bullshitter. He had written columns for and against Brexit, and at the last moment joined the Brexit campaign. He was widely known to have lied throughout his career. An echo chamber is an environment in which someone holding opposing views is reviled. That's how the anti-establishment has discredited the mainstream media. But this clearly doesn't apply to why Trump's statement that his inauguration was bigger than Obama's was accepted. It's not about the credibility of the source; the photos are quite clear. Perhaps politics is seen as entertainment, or a form of theater, in which case truthfulness isn't so important. There is also a phenomenon of "expressive responding", in which one is merely showing support for one's team. Bald-faced lies can also lead to gaslighting, in which people start doubting what they previously knew, or their own capacity as knowers. This is useful for autocratic regimes, because it leads to a feeling of powerlessness. Authoritarians use lies: - to display their power - tell their followers what they should do - when the followers comply, this is humiliating and degrading, and leads to submission When authoritarians lie, it is a "power lie". When their subordinates repeat it, it's called a "compliance lie". An example of a compliance lie is when Ted Cruz contradicted himself about the January 6 insurrection. He had condemned it as a violent protest for over a year. When it became evident that Trump had secured his dominance over the Republican Party, Cruz proved his loyalty by reframing it as a peaceful protest. Journalists are not equipped to deal with bald-faced lies. They are trained to present both sides of the story. But this doesn't work with bald-faced liars. Fact-checking can't keep up with the torrent of lies. Steve Bannon calls this "flooding the zone with shit". ### Dogwhistles, Figleaves, and the Fight against Racism and Blatant Falsehood It is clear that some strategies from the past no longer work: - discussing racist messages openly - factual corrections of falsehoods - automated online moderation The best strategy is innoculation, teaching people to recognize and understand how dogwhistles and figleaves work. # Quotes # References Research on the destructive effects of genocidal speech - [Maitra 2012-05-31 - Genocidal Language Games1](zotero://select/items/1_KA5ND3V5) - [Tirrell 2017 - Toxic Speech: Toward an Epidemiology of Discursive Harm:](zotero://select/items/1_7EZMW7BG) Bonilla Silva's pathbreaking book on systemic racism: - [Bonilla-Silva undefined - Racism Without Racists : Color-blind Racism and the Persistence of Racial Inequality in the United States](zotero://select/items/1_YN89QVHA) --- Jason Stanley's study on fascism: [Stanley 2018 - How fascism works: the politics of us and them](zotero://select/items/1_G827Q34P) > Fascist politics covers up structural inequality by attempting to invert, misrepresent, and subvert the long, hard effort to address it. Affirmative action at its best was designed to recognize and address structural inequality. But by falsely presenting affirmative action as uncoupled from individual merit, some of its detractors recast advocates of affirmative action as pursuing their own race- or gender-based “nationalism” to the detriment of hardworking white Americans, regardless of evidence. The experience of losing a once unquestioned, settled dignity—the dignity that comes with being white, not black—is easily captured by a language of white victimization. --- Rini, Regina. ‘Weaponized Skepticism: An Analysis of Social Media Deception as Applied Political Epistemology’. In _Political Epistemology_, edited by Elizabeth Edenberg and Michael Hannon, 1st ed., 31–48. Oxford University PressOxford, 2021. - [Edenberg 2021-5-25 - Weaponized Skepticism: An Analysis of Social Media Deception as Applied Political Epistemology](zotero://select/items/1_FKX79SXG) - "As we will see, the ultimate goal of anti-democratic epistemic interference is not simply to trick people. The point is not to implant false beliefs. Rather, the point is to induce skepticism. By flooding the channels of public discourse with falsehood, then allowing citizens to know that this has happened, anti-democrats make it reasonable for us to trust no one, least of all our cocitizens. That is the story of how weaponized skepticism slices through democratic culture – not down some dark alley, but out where everyone can watch it happen."