(THIS IS A CRUCIALLY IMPORTANT ARTICLE SUNDERING LIGHT FROM DARKNESS ON DIALECTICS! Buzzword studies, sorting the hate-terms from the truth, nailing all the left's trickery and mind-messing, this is our task front and center. READ -- ENJOY -- GROK -- REDEPLOY -- PLEASE! NN)
Sophistry is part and parcel to the Left. Leftists make discussions of certain topics socially costly and then pretend to misinterpret what you mean when you use a euphemism for an un-PC concept. Multiculturalism is a good example.
Multiculturalism is really a euphemism for multiracialism. People use the term Multiculturalism because speaking about race and racial differences and the idea of different racial groups as not having totally aligned interests are all verboten topics. That is not to say that actual multiculturalism (read: White countries with multiple White linguocultural groups) does not present some problems: Anglophone Canadas tension with French-speaking Quebec, Spains experience with Basque separatist terrorism, and Scotlands recent flirtation with secession from the UK all come to mind. But this is not what most people mean when they speak out against multiculturalism, especially in light of Europes ongoing ghettoization by Islamic hordes. Multiculturalism puts assimilation-resistant Bavarians on the same plane of evil as Arab Muslims targeting white women for rape and sexual slavery. It certainly is not what you meanso why not speak in a way that clarifies, rather than obscures, the issue? In other words, learn to use better framing.
What is framing? Framing is choosing ones language to define the parameters of debate. Frames can do much more than just curate political discourse; they also play a role in cognition. Frames can influence the outcome of a political contest by limiting what vocabulary and metaphor may be used. Words are the scaffolding of thought, so if you can determine what words can or cannot be used, you can influence the thoughts and emotional responses people will have. Research shows that if you use the right frame, you can radically alter your subjects response, making them more amenable to your views. The Left has long understood the importance of framing: undocumented Americans rather than illegal immigrants, DREAMer rather than anchor baby, marriage equality vs. gay marriage, etc. This is a big part of why they have been so successful recently.
What ends up happening when you use the wrong frame is that you end up playing into the leftists (rubbing) hands, and some of the cleverer ones will take advantage of this and try to dance around your real argument. For example, argue that multiculturalism never works, and a leftist may bring up a country like Switzerland and try to claim that as a successful example of multiculturalism and therefore flooding Europe with Muslims is no big deal goy :^). Instead of engaging in good faith with what you are trying to say, they will take what you said, interpret it literally, almost like an autist, and argue against that premise instead, rather than engage with the implied message. This has the effect of muddying the waters for any unconverted onlookers, who may not be aware of what the true issue is that the term multiculturalism speaks to (race), and may find this sort of glibness sufficient to quiet any cognitive dissonance they may have been experiencing. It also has the effect of tiring you out by forcing you to respond to red herrings. If you are arguing with a liberal you need to stop saying the former and start saying the latter so as to draw the liberals out of their sophistic word games and force them to fight you on your ground. Falling into their trap can be avoided with good framing...............
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