- Once outright racism in politics became socially and legally unacceptable, many conservative politicians knew that they must use new forms of rhetoric that veiled their true intentions, all while effectively communicating their bigoted ideas surrounding race to their audience. To do this, they attached racist ideas and policies to the safeguarding of “law and order” in the country. By painting Civil Rights supporters, whether politicians, activists, or just regular people, as proponents of the violence cause by the “riots” and protests, they could legitimize and capitalize on the fears of white, working class, Southern voters, as well as blue-collar city Catholics. Using this politically correct language also protected them from accusations of racism from the opposition, as they could easily claim that their intentions were to cut down on crime. In addition, it would help to assure voters who wanted to believe they were not voting based on prejudice, but instead on facts and a desire for safety; for law and order.
- The Southern Strategy, which was introduced in the 1960s, is absolutely influencing politics and society in America today. As someone who grew up in very conservative communities, I can attest to many personal examples. However, a public example is that of the Black Lives Matter protests during the summer of 2020. Many conservative politicians (mostly the MAGA crowd) and especially President Trump himself, used the presence of riots and violence at a small amount of protests as a way to demonize the entire BLM movement, as well as delegitimize their beliefs. These ideas were also pushed by conservative news networks like Fox, who depicted American cities during that period as a violent dystopia, rotating constant images and videos of burning buildings, bloodied police officers, and angry protestors. Trump also included similar imagery in his anti-Biden ads at the time. Being able to connect these dots helps one realize how recent the Civil Rights Movement actually was.
Powered by:
