The Power of Coded Subjects
What is the purpose of coding to address challenging subjects, matters, or concerns? Who is using coding? Is coding necessary? What is coding used for?
Coding is often used by elected officials to touch into biased realities without being explicit about it. Coders are taught to study how people react to languages. Coding is a language used by speaking, writing and reading for expressions and communication are part of most people's everyday life. They learn to choose and combine words and phrases to control language as it relates to cultural, social and psychological circumstances. Coding is commonly used to make people uncomfortable or scared.
Coding is often used when minority people are being intentionally racialized or used in categories for specific populations with a mid-to-dark brown complexion. Also including individuals that meet the one percent rule, which refers to people with all possible kinds of skin pigmentation, from the darkest to the very lightest skin colors, including albinos, if they are believed by others to have African ancestry in any discernible percentage.
People that use coded language are manipulators. They slowly brainwash people by repeatedly using racist and sexist words.
The use of repeated coded language like bossy to describe women who are simply ambitious or thug to describe men of color who aren’t necessarily doing anything wrong, is constantly dividing society through fear tactics. They know using certain language over time, will become effective for some elected officials to gain political power. This is historical logic that is part of what makes coded language so problematic, especially as it is targeted against minority people.
The lack of understanding has caused
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‘A Political View’ By Sherry Holliman SHERRY HOLLIMAN (cont.)
many people all over the nation to make many negative snap judgments prior to ever really fully knowing the details of the situation. All the voters need to know is the wrong story from the right person or politicians using certain words to create racialized fears. This intentional plot will gain and scare voters.
The Republican Romney voter base consisted of White people that supported him from non-college educated men, he motivated these voters with code words that remind them of their racial difference with past President Obama and stigmatize that difference.
His efforts using words like “welfare” are extremely valuable. Although data has proven that there are more White than Black Americans on welfare, when a candidate says ‘welfare’ many voters think their tax dollars are being given to minorities known as lazy people. He created racial resentment around entitlements.
Another coded word used in every election is crime like welfare, even though more Whites commit crimes than Blacks, the word is more associated with Blacks who have historically been stereotyped as lazy, wild, violent, animalistic and immoral.
President George H. W.
Bush’s famous ad using inmate Willie Horton as a way to portray Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis as soft on crime and unable to protect people from wild Black criminals. These examples serve as proof that when you have a secret language known to only you and a few select friends.
You can communicate to each other that are incomprehensible to anyone who might intercept them, or you can talk to each other without others knowing what you are saying.
Having your own secret language is very powerful!
It is time to dismantle all the coded language used to gain support and see things for what they really are.
Society should not feel pressured to believe false lies with leaders substituting terms describing racial identity with race-neutral terms that disguise explicit and/or implicit racial hostility.
Coded language is usually aimed at groups or ideas that threaten traditional power structures. For instance, things that aren’t male, white, heterosexual, and of a Christian faith are not trusted. Coding is also commonly used against women, people of color, and religious groups, and people who identify as LGBTQ+. Whether it’s used in political speeches, social media, or at family barbecues, coded language is found everywhere these days causing people to use it in their own speech without realizing how harmful it can be.
When a person uses coded language to speak about racial stereotypes, they perceive they are doing it without the stigma of explicit racism, so that it’s almost passible. It’s a way of sidestepping blatant racist or sexist thoughts by hiding them in uses of other words and doing this should not be acceptable and anyone who uses coded language is intentionally
The only way to get around coded language is to call it out, explain to people what’s really going on and ask for an explanation from the user, and openly discuss how to work through bigoted fears.
Sherry Holliman is a concerned citizen of Crittenden County and has some views on a variety of topics that she wants to share with her neighbors. She serves on the Marion City Council.
