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Could someone explain to me how using dehumanizing language for Republicans helps our goals? [1]

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Date: 2023-08-23

In all the threads originating from wishing to use MAGA + t but having it auto banned, my general sense of the pro Maggot position is some version of “we use any effective tool at our disposal.” I’m really not trying to straw man here so if that is not the general position, please correct me. I think it is generally agreed on all sides of the Daily Kos debate that dehumanizing language in a vacuum is a bad thing. My impression of the pro Maggot side is more that the effectiveness of dehumanizing language and the severity of Republican transgressions justify its use in this case. The debates frequently have a litany of Republican deplorable actions and language being brought up as to why its okay to use it on them.

So we have a few questions regarding its usage.

The ethics of using dehumanizing language under any circumstance.

The ethics of using it under severe enough provocation.

The negative effects of using dehumanizing language on the person using the language.

But what rarely gets addressed is: Is it effective? I see many statements that assume the usage of dehumanizing language is effective without ever really exploring the mechanism of why it would be effective.

So I would like to put aside for a moment the questions of ethics and negative effects. And I would like to ask the proponents of using dehumanizing language on Republicans how effective the use of the language is? And as they most likely see it as effective (otherwise why argue for it) how does it achieve that effect? And finally, what about dehumanizing language leads to it being more effective than insults, swear words, or other forms of being called out?

My own understanding of dehumanizing language is that it is most frequently used to describe a target group as being less than human in order to make it easier to commit negative actions against that group. Slaves in the United States were dehumanized to justify their captivity. Jews in Nazi Germany were dehumanized to justify their persecution and the holocaust. Many other examples exist. But in every case the goal is to make the target group easier to kill, imprison, or commit other atrocities against.

Republicans use dehumanizing language in a variety of ways to prepare their base to view Democrats and Progressives as less than human in order to justify otherwise unethical actions. These have included horrific laws, lone wolf actions, and the insurrection. By making us less than human, then forcibly taking control away from us by way of insurrection or otherwise stealing an election is justifiable to them.

So if the goal is Liberals and Progressives to commit atrocities against Republicans, then use of dehumanizing language might be effective. But I don’t think anyone in the Pro Maggot group is suggesting we prepare ourselves to commit atrocities against Republicans. At least I really, really hope not.

If the goal is simply to belittle, make fun of, or simply insult Republicans it’s not clear to me how Maggots is superior to a simple “Fuck you”. Yes, I see the play off of MAGA, I’ve used it myself before realizing what I was doing was dehumanizing (and I stopped using it at that point). But there’s gotta be more than that. Being tough or stern has come up at times as justification of using it. It’s not clear to me why other insults don’t convey what is necessary.

So please walk me through:

What is the goal of specifically using dehumanizing language on Republicans?

How is that goal achieved, step by step?

Why specifically dehumanizing language achieves this goal when other insults or words do not?

My hunch is that it feels good to use these words, and perhaps its the power of breaking a taboo to convey the depth of our anger. But how does it forward our cause? Do Republicans hearing these words somehow act differently in a manner advantageous to us? Are people on the fence moved to join us by these words? Are these words meant for our side to rally around or move us to action in some form?

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[1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/8/23/2189246/-Could-someone-explain-to-me-how-using-dehumanizing-language-for-Republicans-helps-our-goals

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