The problem is that we’ve had 50+ years of “dog whistle” politics applied explicitly to social justice discussions, so even if you try to explicitly distinguish your statement as the former and not the latter, it is more rational to assume that you are lying than that you are telling the truth. If you are telling the truth, then this is not your fault—but it is also not the fault of your audience, who are receiving your communication on a poisoned channel.
Luckily, there is an newish Overcoming Bias article about this very subject:
EDIT: Note to whomever just systematically downvoted the last 25 articles and posts I made to this site over the course of 8 minutes: is that behavior actually in any way helpful? Does it, in fact, increase the probability that you, or I, or anyone else becomes more rational? If not, why do it?
Inorite! But I’d expect it to be possible for a politician, and, a fortiori, a Less Wronger, to say something along the lines of: “We have too much centralized legislation, and states should be more autonomous. And yes, I know the last time someone said that he was implying that segregation was okay. But I’m seriously talking about the denotation of ‘states’ rights’ here, and obviously ‘not being super racist’ is part of the stuff I’m not proposing to leave up to states, like, duh. So about giving states more power...”. Dog-whistles rest on, perhaps not subtlety, but at least subtext—explicitly disclaiming it looks sufficient in my model. What did I miss?
You missed the inevitable arms-race between mimics and legitimate signalers. We’re in an evolutionary environment, and assuming that any communication can be taken at face value is a kind of naïveté.
If you want to construct an argument where state’s rights (or women sensibly protecting themselves) is important, you have to spend extra effort in your signaling. You need to START by explicitly acknowledging all of the things you might be accused of, BEFORE you present your actual point. You then have to specifically display all of the ways in which your point differs from the false (dog-whistle) signal. For example:
We have too much centralized legislation, and states should be more autonomous. And yes, I know the last time someone said that he was implying that segregation was okay. But I’m seriously talking about the denotation of ‘states’ rights’ here, and obviously ‘not being super racist’ is part of the stuff I’m not proposing to leave up to states, like, duh. So about giving states more power...
This is the wrong order, and expends insufficient effort in its signaling process to demonstrate that it is not a false signal. This works better:
“A. Most state’s rights arguments are, in fact, racist dog-whistles. Unfortunately, some actual, legitimate situations in which states’ rights are being trampled upon are swept under the rug, due in part to the poisoning of the discourse by those very dog-whistles.
B. Here is why states should be more autonomous...
C. Here is how we prevent the abuses of state autonomy that happened in the past, while rescuing the needed autonomy that I’m advocating...”
Your system starts with B, then inserts a weak form of A, then jumps back to B—while nearly-completely ignoring C. This is insufficient to distinguish you from a false signaller. By providing a good A, B, and C, you establish that you are willing to expend effort to not be seen as a false signaller (A), clearly present your position (B), and indicate that you recognize the dangers of the false signalers’ agenda and are willing to help fight against it as a concession to getting the things you want (C).
The problem is that we’ve had 50+ years of “dog whistle” politics applied explicitly to social justice discussions, so even if you try to explicitly distinguish your statement as the former and not the latter, it is more rational to assume that you are lying than that you are telling the truth. If you are telling the truth, then this is not your fault—but it is also not the fault of your audience, who are receiving your communication on a poisoned channel.
Luckily, there is an newish Overcoming Bias article about this very subject:
Can a Tiny Bit of Noise Destroy Communication?
EDIT: Note to whomever just systematically downvoted the last 25 articles and posts I made to this site over the course of 8 minutes: is that behavior actually in any way helpful? Does it, in fact, increase the probability that you, or I, or anyone else becomes more rational? If not, why do it?
Inorite! But I’d expect it to be possible for a politician, and, a fortiori, a Less Wronger, to say something along the lines of: “We have too much centralized legislation, and states should be more autonomous. And yes, I know the last time someone said that he was implying that segregation was okay. But I’m seriously talking about the denotation of ‘states’ rights’ here, and obviously ‘not being super racist’ is part of the stuff I’m not proposing to leave up to states, like, duh. So about giving states more power...”. Dog-whistles rest on, perhaps not subtlety, but at least subtext—explicitly disclaiming it looks sufficient in my model. What did I miss?
You missed the inevitable arms-race between mimics and legitimate signalers. We’re in an evolutionary environment, and assuming that any communication can be taken at face value is a kind of naïveté.
If you want to construct an argument where state’s rights (or women sensibly protecting themselves) is important, you have to spend extra effort in your signaling. You need to START by explicitly acknowledging all of the things you might be accused of, BEFORE you present your actual point. You then have to specifically display all of the ways in which your point differs from the false (dog-whistle) signal. For example:
This is the wrong order, and expends insufficient effort in its signaling process to demonstrate that it is not a false signal. This works better:
“A. Most state’s rights arguments are, in fact, racist dog-whistles. Unfortunately, some actual, legitimate situations in which states’ rights are being trampled upon are swept under the rug, due in part to the poisoning of the discourse by those very dog-whistles.
B. Here is why states should be more autonomous...
C. Here is how we prevent the abuses of state autonomy that happened in the past, while rescuing the needed autonomy that I’m advocating...”
Your system starts with B, then inserts a weak form of A, then jumps back to B—while nearly-completely ignoring C. This is insufficient to distinguish you from a false signaller. By providing a good A, B, and C, you establish that you are willing to expend effort to not be seen as a false signaller (A), clearly present your position (B), and indicate that you recognize the dangers of the false signalers’ agenda and are willing to help fight against it as a concession to getting the things you want (C).
Does all that make sense?