Euphemisms about Racism (in Quotes) 5

I’m not being racist, I’m reflecting the national conversation. (Katie Hopkins, paraphrase)

It goes, "I am an expat. You are a migrant. He is a refugee. They are terrorists." (@ClareOBrien) Some people I know see me as an expat rather than a migrant, as I'm 'educated' and 'not on dole'. (@gabywolferink)

When people talk about millennials, they're almost exclusively talking about white people. (Martin Truther King‏ @brownlashon)


Euphemisms 4 racism the white liberal commentariat have used so far:  
economic anxiety,
racial self interest,
cultural anxiety.
(kaam jawaan ki maut @naziasmirza)

"VERY REAL CONCERNS" (John Band‏ @johnb78)


Apparently the new term for anti-racism, anti-sexism, anti-fascism, anti-classism and anti-colonialism is "Identity Politics". (Liam Hogan‏ @Limerick1914)

Snowflakes: Why can’t they be more racist, like us. (Do You Even Science, Bro)

Migration flow (Church of England document about the election)

We saw the sales of any character that was diverse, any character that was new, our female characters, anything that was not a core Marvel character, people were turning their nose up against. (David Gabriel of Marvel, Times)

A group of American football stars have complained that they were turned away from one of London’s most fashionable night clubs for being “too urban”... a phrase often used as a euphemism for black. (Times)

So yet again, "neutral" is not neutral but a loaded term - a default to white, to Christian (male, straight, middle class, etcetera). (Charlotte L. Riley‏ @lottelydia EU has allowed firms to forbid headscarves.)

"We need to be able to discuss dangerous ideas!"
"I agree. Neoliberalism has run its course and - "
"Ah sorry, I meant: I want to be racist."
(Hot Take, Tim‏ @burgerdrome)

More here, and links to the rest.

Political Euphemisms (in Quotes) 4

His rivals… were understandably annoyed by his willingness to treat journalism as a creative art, in which in order to convey larger truths, and catch his readers’ attention, he did not scruple to embroider his material. (Translation: Boris made up the EU straight banana.)

We're not going to introduce ID cards. We're going to introduce cards of identification. (David Davis)

Funny the way parties always assume the problem was "we failed to communicate", rather than "people disliked our ideas". (@JonnElledge)

Health and safety = trying to make sure people don't die
Political correctness = trying to be kind
(Sathnam Sanghera)

It would be helpful if broadcasters were willing to be a bit patriotic. (Andrea Leadsom to Emily Maitlis after being questioned on Brexit)  
Where 'patriotism' somehow means *not* asking pertinent, evidence-based questions about the national interest. (@mrjamesob James O'Brien)

PM spokesman says she "expressed her disappointment" about the Paris Agreement in a phone call with Donald Trump this evening.
This is still pretty weak, even allowing for British understatement ('I'm not angry, I'm disappointed' = 'you bumbling fool'). (@chrislintott)

"Stop virtue signalling" means "Stop making me feel bad about being an asshole by going around not being an asshole". (@MitchBenn)

'I am not political'; 'They are all as bad as each other'; 'All politicians lie'; there are many ways of saying, "Secretly, I vote Tory". (Matt McG‏ @glaikit_f )

Examples of modern jargon...
Deep State = the rule of law
I am troubled. = I will do nothing.
Fake news =  I dislike this.
(@SamWangPhD)

When Republicans and Tories say "choice", they mean "choice between commercial options". (RK)

Language of the contemporary internet-left:
"Listening" to someone means agreeing with them 
"Silencing" someone means disagreeing with them
(Jen Isaacson‏ @isacsohn)

Iain Duncan Smith hits out at "self-appointed court" that "tried to tell Parliament how to run its business". (@politicshome)
"Self-appointed" being the new way of saying "established by the Constitutional Reform Act 2005". (@alexmassie)

Funny how "hard-working British families" become the scum of the earth when they strike for decent pay, conditions, safety of their service. (@scarlettstuff)

Interesting how any way to protest that is effective is called "not the right way" to protest. (cheddar truckle ‏@emmetbroaders)

Certain mountainous districts in the north, inhabited by small savage tribes, had until recently escaped the clutches of the British, but it is more and more likely that they will meet the same fate as the rest of the country, thanks to the process euphemistically known as ‘peaceful penetration’, which means, in plain English, ‘peaceful annexation’. (George Orwell in an article on Burma)

More here, and links to the rest.