Redefining Words and Terms is a Tool for Oppression

The far-right has been successful in redefining what words mean to oppress marginalized groups in the Trump era

Photo by Danielle-Claude Bélanger on Unsplash

For more than a decade, we’ve listened to rabid Trump supporters tell us that he didn’t say what we all heard him say followed by excuses to try and convince us that what he said isn’t what he meant. More recently, however, it seems as though many are falling for this type of rhetoric as words and phrases such as “woke,” diversity, equity, and inclusion, or “DEI,” and antisemitism have been redefined in social spaces to justify oppression.

This is not a new phenomenon. Previously, we’ve heard people categorize anything or anyone to the political left of far-right Christian nationalism as communist or socialist. What started with the Red Scare, or McCarthyism, in the 1940s quickly evolved into the Ku Klux Klan using those terms in the same way they are still used today. We see them used to villainize Democrats who are nowhere near being either. This is particularly successful with many Latino voters.

Now, as pundits and voters alike assess why Democrats lost in elections all across the country, many have seemingly adopted newer, redefined language from far-right influencers, politicians, and political analysts. The argument that many social issues need to be abandoned to succeed based on these redefined terms is problematic and dangerous as it signals an overall shift to the political right across various sectors and demographics in U.S. society.

The danger comes from ignoring issues and portraying them as volatile while neglecting their importance. This opens the door to the oppression and isolation of various marginalized groups.

Woke

The word “woke” has a long history in the Black community. Beginning in 1938, blues singer Lead Belly used the word in a song titled “Scottsboro Boys” that included the lyrics, “In Alabama, be careful and stay woke.” The word meant to be aware of important systemic issues affecting Black people, such as racist policing, extrajudicial murders, and extensive racism in the criminal justice system. Woke became popularized in the 1960s during the Civil Rights era.

It was again made popular after Erykah Badu used it in her widely popular song titled, “Master Teacher.” Several years later, the Black Lives Matter movement used it in its original context to focus on the disproportionate murder of Black people by police. Much like the reactionary nature of the Blue Lives Matter movement, the word began being used out of context by far-right actors and hate groups to water down its meaning.

It wasn’t long after that it was redefined to mean anything the far-right hated. Whether it was discussions about Black history, LGBTQ rights, sexism, and abortion rights, woke is now being used to refer to awareness of broader social inequalities. It has become an all-encompassing term on the far-right, and that redefinition has since been accepted across wider society thus silencing Black voices and issues. For the racists in this country, their mission is accomplished.

DEI

The attacks on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) along with affirmative action are anti-Black in nature and have been added to the “woke” discourse. While the far-right labels DEI as simply a hiring initiative, employing a diverse group of people is arguably the smallest aspect of the initiative. The idea is meant to foster a more accepting work environment based on age, sex, culture, and gender identity.

It’s meant to play on an individual’s strengths rather than focus on their weaknesses. This does not mean hiring people who are unqualified based on race, – as racists and bigots have been broadly suggesting since the civil rights protests in 2020. For example, if you have seniors in your workforce, you focus their employment on what they can do rather than what they cannot do physically. The idea of DEI was about creating a more inclusive and just society.

The far-right narrative has since been embraced, albeit ignorantly, by many self-described liberal voters and pundits alike. The news media has also employed the racist implications of this redefinition while admonishing the idea as yet another reason U.S. voters are shifting to the right. The reality is that the acceptance by more moderate thinkers comes as another victory for the most hateful people in the country.

Immigration

There is no question that immigration has been a flashpoint since Donald Trump came down that escalator in 2015 and villainized Latinos as he described us all as Mexicans. At the time, most of the country used the same terminology when talking about Latino immigrants. Since then, the rhetoric has grown more Latinophobic under the guise of narratives focused on the border and what the media once referred to as undocumented but now calls illegal immigrants.

The shift to using far-right language shows how much racist rhetoric is being normalized. From treating migrants “getting free stuff” as a legitimate argument to buying into “migrant crime” narratives, society overall is ceding ground to David Duke- and Klan-like rhetoric. These narratives have existed since the 1950s and 60s and are as untrue today as they were then.

Despite the vast majority of immigrants who crossed the southern border into the U.S. doing so legally, the news media has now embraced referring to most of them as “illegals.” And because they are always referring to migrants from Latin America and the Caribbean, this drives the public to treat them all as criminals. Latinos, whether born in the U.S. or not, are also getting swept into this broad categorization, creating yet another dangerous and racist environment.

Thus creating yet another win for the racist right.

Antisemitism

There is no question that antisemitism is a problem. There is also no question that racists and neo-Nazis also use Zionism interchangeably when employing antisemitic language. However, this does not mean that everyone questioning the oppressive nature of Zionism or Israel’s actions in Gaza is antisemitic. To silence those speaking out against ethnic cleansing and genocide, many have been pushing efforts to equate Zionism with Semitism which is in itself antisemitic as that is precisely what neo-Nazis do.

These attempts to redefine antisemitism and its overuse by way of false accusations only serve to water down its meaning and put Jewish people at greater risk. It creates an environment where tracking and locating dangerous hate groups is more difficult by placing people focused on humanity and peace alongside those who wish to harm. The vast majority of people speaking out against Israel’s actions are doing so to save lives, not harm Jewish people.

Additionally, equating Jewish people who speak up for Palestinians with neo-Nazis suggests that all Jewish people should think alike with no exception, and that is again, antisemitic. When suggesting any group of people are all the same you are falling into the same far-right bigoted trap that has been prevalent in U.S. society since the beginning. By agreeing that Zionism and Judaism are the same, you are bolstering narratives driven by neo-Nazis.

Conclusion

While this is hardly a comprehensive list of every far-right-driven narrative that is becoming more accepted in society, it covers the most prevalent and the most discussed in our news media ecosystem, social media, and society at large. Many of these are based on efforts to silence dissenting views and opinions that involve creating a more just society for all. In the end, ceding any ground to far-right, fascist actors is dangerous.

If we don’t course correct and take the proper actions to reclaim terminology and its meanings, we are opening the door to a more dire future for various marginalized communities. Openly and willingly allowing these changes in narratives to occur without any pushback shows that the U.S. has not advanced as much as many would like to believe – it’s just more of the same.

Our news media show us this lack of progress more than anything else. Most opinions are derived from the news and analysis they see or read and the language used helps form those opinions. The more the media dehumanizes people by reusing far-right rhetoric and employing far-right values, the less value people see in lives unlike theirs.

We are where we are because of the acceptance of hateful ideologies using normalized hateful language from media pundits across all legacy media platforms and it must stop.

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I’m a freelance journalist. Find my work at Latino Rebels, Unicorn Riot, The Antagonist Magazine, and more. I’m also on TikTok, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Mastodon, and Threads. To support my work, consider becoming a paid subscriber or donate on Venmo, PayPal, or CashApp