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Dog Whistle Politics: How Coded Racial Appeals Have Reinvented Racism And Wrecked The Middle Class (2014)

by Ian Haney López(Favorite Author)

4.18 of 5 Votes: 1

ISBN

0199964270 (ISBN13: 9780199964277)

languge

English

genre

History & Biography

publisher

Oxford University Press, USA

review 1: I found Dog Whistle Politics utterly fascinating, horrifying and heartbreaking all at the same time. Lopez defines dog whistling as "inaudible and easily denied in one range, yet stimulating strong reactions in another." Lopez dissects how dogwhistling started in the 1960s and let to the Republican party becoming the white man's party. He is even handed though and takes Democrats to take as well.His explanation and analysis of why being "color-blind" is actually harmful is one of the best I've ever read. My biggest take away from this book is what Lopez states repeatedly throughout - racism does not equal malice. It is our narrow, modern day definition of racism as overt words and deeds that have led many to believe that we are living in a post-racial society.In the wake o... moref recent race linked events, like the killing of unarmed suspects by police, this would be an excellent book to recommend to your friends that you would like to educate on what white privilege is and how being color-blind is actually not helpful. I consider myself pretty versed on race issues and I still learned a lot. Highly recommended for everyone.
review 2: Made me think. Most people who have followed electoral politics in recent years knows about the "birthers" who believe President Obama is not a US citizen and therefore is not the legitimate President of the United States. Lopez takes the reader through this and much more, looking at how campaigns use "coded" language to demean people of different skin colors and classes than perhaps the audience that the campaigns are speaking to. The book is a mostly chronological look at campaigns and presidencies, starting with the New Deal. Lopez looks at events like the civil rights movement and looks at more recent events such as the infamous WIllie Horton ad, the suspicions that fell upon Muslims after 9/11, how the recent 2008 and 2012 campaigns dealt with race, etc. While the author openly admits he is liberal in the introduction, he has no problems tackling what he sees as dog whistle politics on the Democratic side, namely Bill Clinton and Barack Obama. However, most of his examples fall on the conservative/Republican side. Although I was somewhat familiar with the term and his examples, I found the book quite interesting in expanding upon and discussing the issues surrounding the discussion of race, class and how and why dog whistle politics is such a problem. I somewhat wish he had expanded upon it in the general media and advertising, but that is not his focus. I also wish he had discussed gender a bit more as well, but again he has a very narrow focus for his book. Overall I thought it was a good read without being over the top, but I would imagine someone of a more conservative bent wouldn't like this book at all. It wouldn't be surprising if this book shows up as required reading as a text for a class on politics, race, etc. I think it would be a handy reference to keep and I am considering buying a copy to have on hand. less

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