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[theweaselking]

Mitt Romney, first Klansman president.

Not that there's much difference between "Mormon" and "Klansman" to begin with given Laman and Lemuel, but Romney seems determined to narrow the gap by adopting Klan slogans.

Comments

[scifantasy.livejournal.com]

Right, this seems like a good example of a Hanlon's Razor phenomenon.

Now, if Romney had used Mr. Ayak and Mr. Akai, that would be one thing. But a generic phrase like "Keep America American"? I find it plausible that Romney didn't know the Klan used it, and I find it troubling to call something that general "a Klan phrase." It's sort of like the "wear blue jeans to support X cause" fliers around campus when I was in college. If I wear blue jeans, does that mean I support the cause, or just that I have a pair of Levi's in my closet?

[theweaselking.livejournal.com]

Or like that politician who thought "Work makes you free" was an AWESOME slogan for a jobs placement program.

I don't actually think Romney's a Klansman - despite his being a white supremacist, he's the *wrong kind*. I just think he's stupid and nobody in his PR department has managed to figure out the "google it before you stick it on posters" thing - similar to why the teabaggers call themselves teabaggers.

[scifantasy.livejournal.com]

Yes, exactly. But while that's enough to call him unable to do basic due diligence, it's not really enough to call him a Klansman.

And then there's the "so what" angle. Sure, we think "Keep America American" is jingoistic and vapid and are happy to point to the fact that the Klan used it, but just because the Klan used it doesn't make it "theirs."

But then you get into dog-whistle phrases, and it's all tricky...

Which is why I'm kind of glad that, attention-grabbing headlines notwithstanding, the basic tenor of a lot of articles I'm reading isn't "Romney is a Klansman" but "Romney unintentionally/coincidentally parroted an old Klan rallying cry."

[theweaselking.livejournal.com]

#1: I don't claim to be "news". More "things that amuse me".

#2: I'm not literally saying Romney is Klan, in the same way that the jobs placement guy wasn't a neonazi. It's just a clueless use of a trigger phrase without knowing what it means, and the RESULT is association with a group he doesn't want to be associated with.

[scifantasy.livejournal.com]

True, on both counts.