What exactly is a “racist dogwhistle”?

Question

What exactly is a “racist dogwhistle”?

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Answer 1

a “dog whistle” in politics is a phrase that only a certain group will understand the message of but to most others it won’t mean much. Such phrases are a way to make controversial statements without most people realizing.

The archetypal example was the Nixon campaign’s focus on “law and order.” Given that the disorder he was implicitly referring to was the unrest of the civil rights movement, it’s quite clear that the message was, “I’ll fight the civil rights activists.” Saying that directly would have, of course, been deeply unpopular.