[Excerpt - Article, Wikipedia, the free envuclopedia - Linked Above]
Dog-whistle politics, also known as the use of code words, is a term for a type of political campaigning or speechmaking which employs coded language that appears to mean one thing to the general population but has a different or more specific meaning for a targeted subgroup of the audience. The term is invariably pejorative, and is used to refer both to messages with an intentional subtext, and those where the existence or intent of a secondary meaning is disputed. The term is an analogy to dog whistles, which are built in such a way that the high-frequency whistle is heard by dogs, but appears silent to human hearing.
Fraternally, Philip Carter / Facebook / Great is Truth and mighty above all things (I Esdras 4:41)
[Excerpt - Definition, On Line Opinion, Australia's e-journal of social and political debate - Linked above]
The term “dog-whistle politics” originated in Australia during the Federal Election campaign in 1996, to describe John Howard’s winning ways and subsequent Howard Government policies. It was introduced into British Conservative Party politics in 2005 by Lynton Crosby, Federal Director of the Australian Liberal Party during the elections of 1996, 1998 and 2001, and is now understood world wide.
Dog-whistling is different from labelling, stereotyping, branding and dehumanising; it is deliberately covert and designed to activate concealed prejudices. The key to dog-whistling is to use coded language to convey an implicit, almost subliminal, message to a select target audience, while maintaining “plausible deniability” against accusations of prejudice or fear-mongering. The Double-Tongued Dictionary (2007) defines dog-whistle politics as “a concealed, coded, or unstated idea, usually divisive or politically dangerous, nevertheless understood by the intended voters”.
Fraternally, Philip Carter / Facebook / Great is Truth and mighty above all things (I Esdras 4:41)