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By Tom Ball at Political Strategy02/04/05 http://www.politicalstrategy.org/archives/001126.phpUse words that exude WEAKNESS to describe the opponent (regardless of their true behavior). Do not use words that could be construed in the 'Strict Father' model of morality as strong. This refers specifically to many of the words that progressives use liberally in describing the opposition: Mean, heartless, insensitive, dictatorial, hateful, angry, evil, stubborn, harsh, etc. Unfortunately, although the 'Nurturant Parent' perceives these words as describing a wholly unworthy person, those with the strict father morality activated perceive that same person described by those same words as tough, driven, no-nonsense, in control, and decisive -- in essence, a strict father. In such a case, the strict father's faults are overlooked in favor of his desirable strict father characteristics. Thus, we must instead use words that are degrading in the strict father model. Specifically, we must use words to describe them as weak, confused, and lacking control. In both the progressive and conservative world views, weakness has no value. And, while progressives are tolerant of weakness -- striving even to help those who are most vulnerable, conservatives are unforgivably intolerant of weakness -- finding it immoral... even evil. Therefore, if you truly wish to attack conservatives at their deepest level of meaning, then forget the sissy taunts of, "Oh, you're so mean," or "...so stubborn," or "...so evil!" Instead, label them WEAK and do it in a myriad ways. If a conservative person, or policy, or institution, etc. is effectively framed in this way, he/she/it will instantly lose credibility in conservative circles. It will essentially destroy the person's or thing's standing in the strict father model. To the strict father, weakness is immoral -- something to abhor and punish. To be labeled as such is the ultimate insult to a conservative and one of the few things that really hits home. So, when describing Bush, the GOP, and their policies, drop the adjectives you're most likely using now: mean-spirited, disingenuous, liars, evil, blah, blah, blah -- and step up to the truly effective descriptors -- the ones that rip into the heart of the strict father's core -- those that portray them as weak and lacking control. Of course, I couldn't just leave you with a couple of suggestions, so here's a sampling of…oh, 175 or so useful words: Coward, immoral, wishy-washy, whiny, sniveling, milquetoast, confused, valueless, unprincipled, obtuse, little, self-righteous, doormat, oversensitive, failure, weak, baby, fragile, gutless, spineless, craven, pusillanimous, faint-hearted, lilly-livered, nervous, timid, spiritless, sad, boneheaded, weak-willed, pathetic, feeble, frail, puny, scrawny, timorous, fearful, defenseless, weak-kneed, helpless, dependent, vulnerable, powerless, boneless, invertebrate, dismal, hopeless, wretched, sorry, meager, inadequate, small, paltry, insignificant, miserable, crying, tiny, petite, minor, negligible, inconsequential, trivial, unimportant, trifling, petty, juvenile, minute, wee, scared, frightened, shy, afraid, apprehensive, nervous-nelly, worried, edgy, panicky, paranoid, delicate, sickly, flimsy, slight, dull, cheerless, distressed, uncontrolled, bitter, depressing, gloomy, hysterical, delusional, impaired, oppressed, repressed, browbeaten, downtrodden, subordinated, broken, battered, injured, demoralized, exploited, conquered, loser, dominated, broken down, wreck, disappointment, overpowered, overwhelmed, trounced, dispirited, pessimistic, deflated, dejected, downcast, depraved, destitute, hapless, degenerate, indecisive, boring, namby-pamby, waffling, annoying, bawling, weeping, sobbing, dopey, baffled, bewildered, befuddled, dishonorable, shameful, disgraceful, sleazy, questionable, wimp, easily upset, thin-skinned, hypersensitive, disappointment, frustrated, castrated, cry-baby, mumbling, twit, worthless, ineffective, poor, laughable, ridiculous, absurd, mediocre, embarrassment, unimpressive, incompetent, incapable, defective, deficient, lacking, impoverished, wanting, undisciplined, unfortunate, awkward, tongue-tied, babbling, inept, clumsy, speechless, flailing, humiliated, disgraced, debased See Also: "Every Word Matters: Using 'Keywords' as a Political Tactic" |
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