How to Respond to Conservatives, by George Lakoff: Essential reading!

[Clarkie1]

I just got the link to this from the Clark blog. It is good strategy and reminders for all of us, and I hope many read it and take the suggestions to heart.

George Lakoff is a linguist at U.C. Berkeley and an expert in how to use and reframe language to promote liberalism.

Excerpt:

"I listened to Dr. Lakoff last Friday night on NOW with great interest. I love the use of words and have been consistently puzzled at how the far right has co-opted so many definitions.

So I tried an experiment I wanted to tell you about. I took several examples from the interview; particularly trial vs. public protection lawyer and gay marriage and used those examples all week on AOL’s political chat room. Every time someone would scream about Edwards’s being a trial lawyer, I’d respond with public protection lawyer and how they are the last defense against negligent corporations and professional, and that the opposite of a public protection lawyer is a corporate lawyer who typically makes $400-500/per hr., and we pay that in higher prices for good and services.

Every time someone started screaming about “gay marriage” I’d ask if they want the federal government to tell them who they could marry. I’d go on to explain when challenged that once government has crossed the huge barrier into telling one group of people who they could not marry, it is only a small step to telling other groups, and a smaller yet step to telling people who they had to marry..."

More here:

http://www.rockridgeinstitute.org/research/lakoff/howtorespond

[Liberty Belle]

1. Fascinating. Ok, I'm going to buy the book.

[VioletLake]

2. Great read. Thanks.

:toast:

[CrispyQ]

3. Thanks. I just purchased the book . . .

...along with two others! Joe Conason's "Big Lies" & Thom Hartmann's "What Would Jefferson Do?"

Books: you can't buy just one!

[FormerDittoHead]

4. Should be considered required reading...

[wyldwolf]

5. Also check out the DVD

[Cha]

6. It's about time we had someone to

"reframe the language"! They steal it and we take back.

[Liberal In Texas]

7. Wow, that was good...

bookmarked the site.

Compare that with how Coulter wants the zombies that read her drivel to talk to liberals.