dog whistle 

Dog whistle is a type of strategy of communication that sends a message that the general population will take a certain meaning from, but a certain group that is "in the know" will take away the secret, intended message. Often involves code words.

Republicans say they want to make civil rights for gays a state issue, which is really just a dog whistle strategy for saying that they will refuse to grant equal rights on a federal level.

dog whistle by magnummanager July 23, 2011

dog whistle 

a secret whistle used by dogs so they can identify each other as members of the cool whistling dog club

*dog whistle*
ayy it's Fido! Those scones you brought to the last meeting were bomb!

dog whistle by mantis_shrimp August 3, 2020

Dog Whistle 

In politics, a dog whistle is the use of coded or suggestive language in political messaging to garner support from a particular group without provoking opposition. The concept is named after ultrasonic dog whistles, which are audible to dogs but not humans.

Something to be aware of; however, is that it is also a slippery slope fallacy in which bad actors can claim any one thing can also mean another thing without having to explain why logically. The counter to this is to ask them to explain how they came to that conclusion, to which, they won't be able to actually explain why logically.

Equating legitimate generalized statements or criticisms and concerns to hate is generally how the Dog Whistle Slippery Slope Fallacy is abused by bad actors looking to put words or intent in their victim's mouths.

This also leads to a circular logic problem where the person injecting the slippery slope dog whistling racist intent into the meaning of a generalized statement will claim everyone who disagrees with them are bigots, and they know they are bigots because they don't agree with their beliefs, therefore those beliefs are correct because all who disagree with them are bigots.

Normie: We need to be tougher on crime!
Wokie: That's a racist dog whistle!
Normie: What about it is racist?
Wokie: You're calling for arresting more inserts racial group(s) here that aren't "white".
Normie: How so?
Wokie: Because you're racist! REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!

Dog Whistle by ApplesPotatoGardner May 13, 2023

dog whistle weekend 

This refers to a weekend (or evening perhaps) that is so low key and lacking in events that on a volume scale it is undectable to humans...just like a dog's whistle.

Matt: How was your weekend man?
Jay: Effing horrible. Friday night my ride bailed and Saturday/Sunday I stayed in studying...my weekend was so low key only the dogs were aware.
Matt: Ahh you had a dog whistle weekend...lame.

dog whistle weekend by King Jay March 9, 2008

dog whistle politics 

The use of code words in political campaigning or speechmaking. Coded language appears to mean one thing to the general population but has a different or more specific meaning for a targeted subgroup of the audience.

“We grow good people in our small towns, with honesty, sincerity, and dignity," Sarah Palin.
Dog Whistle Politics translation to racists: White people are safe and those elitists who have Muslim names and work in cities, aka Obama, are dangerous.

dog whistle politics by portend March 1, 2009

dog whistle comment 

A surreptitious inclusion of code words or phrases that will be heard by some of those listening, while not disturbing the other listeners, who may not appreciate the hidden message(s).

President George W. Bush is constantly littering his speeches with dog whistle comments meant for the religious right, so that he can tell them what they wants to hear, while not offending those who aren't evangelical or born again. (paraphrase of text by Ian Welsh, on his Agonist blog)

dog whistle comment by Mike P. Grant, esq. October 5, 2006

Dog Whistle Code 

In the Republican Southern Strategy, terms, phrases, and actions that evoke racism to racists, while being plausibly deniable to the press and the wider public. Much of this code is inherited from the pro-slavery code of the antebellum South.

The name is a reference to high-pitched dog whistles that people cannot hear, but dogs can.

Dog Whistle Code became an essential part of the Republican Southern Strategy after overt racism became unacceptable.

Barry Goldwater's Libertarianism was Dog Whistle Code for segregation at the 1964 Republican Convention.

Ronald Reagan's first Presidential campaign appearance was itself Dog Whistle Code, taking place in Philadelphia, Mississippi, the scene of the murder of three civil rights workers.

States' Rights

Originally, Dog Whistle Code for the right to keep slaves, then the right to maintain Jim Crow segregation laws, now the right to oppress any disfavored minorities, women, immigrants, GLBTs and the rest of the riffraff

Deficits don't matter (Ronald Reagan)

Because they hurt Blacks worse than Whites (Lee Atwater, explaining the Southern Strategy and Dog Whistle Code)

Dog Whistle Code by Antibogotes October 6, 2010