Propaganda Design, The Thin Blue Line, Hindu Nationalism and The Alberta Model: Dinner Table Digest № 56
The Dinner Table Digest is an intermittent collection of interesting material from around the internet, curated by Peter Thurley at Dinner Table Don'ts. Subscribe today!
This Digest is packed full with material, this time featuring five stories of varying length. We start off with graphic design principles for propaganda, continue on to the racist origins of the Thin Blue Line Flag, look at some comments on the new social media app Threads, take a look at how Hindu nationalists are borrowing from the Israeli government, and finish with a short overview of the Alberta Model of drug treatment.
Sections: Propaganda Design / Thin Blue Line Flag Origins / Threads Vibes / Hindu Nationalists Appropriate Zionist Tactics / The Alberta Model Is A Charter Violation
Don’t forget to check out the latest edition in my Sunlight in the Best Disinfectant series, which features several pieces from right-wing thinkers who think that their beliefs permit them to attack and vilify those who don’t agree with them:
How is propaganda designed and why is it so effective? - Elvis Hsaio - uxdesign
Good propaganda isn’t only found in the words chosen, but also in how those words are presented to the intended audience. Elvis Hsaio outlines the principles of propaganda design:
The effectiveness of propaganda lies not just in its message, but in its design. The way information is packaged and presented can greatly impact our perception and reception of that information. Though specific tactics may vary based on the medium, audience, and socio-political context, there are distinct and well-defined characteristics of effective propaganda design.
Simplicity
Propaganda messages are typically straightforward and reductionist. They reduce complex issues to binary contrasts, presenting a clear divide between “us” and “them”, “good” and “evil”, or “right” and “wrong”. This simplification makes the message easy to understand, remember, and share.
Emotional Appeal
Propaganda seeks to stir emotions, often resorting to dramatic visuals, poignant narratives, or charged rhetoric. Emotions like fear, pride, anger, or compassion are triggered to bypass logical reasoning and provoke an immediate, visceral response.
Repetition
Repetition is a fundamental principle of propaganda. By constantly repeating a message or a symbol, it becomes ingrained in the audience’s consciousness and is more likely to be accepted as truth.
Symbolism
Propaganda frequently uses potent symbols to convey its messages. These symbols can range from flags, emblems, and colors to images of leaders, enemies, or ordinary people. The right symbol can evoke strong emotions and associations, reinforcing the desired message.
Idealization and Demonization
Propaganda often paints an idealized picture of one’s own group, cause, or leader while demonizing the opposition. Highlighting the virtues of “us” and the vices of “them”, fosters unity and loyalty among the in-group and justifies hostility towards the out-group.
Association
Propaganda exploits the power of association to link ideas, people, or events with certain emotions or perceptions. For example, linking an opposing political figure to negative imagery or concepts can evoke a similar negative perception of that figure.These design principles, while powerful, are not intrinsically harmful. They become a cause for concern when used deceptively or maliciously to manipulate public opinion, spread misinformation, or incite hatred. Recognizing these principles in the information we consume is a critical first step in discerning propaganda and guarding against its influence."
A Flag for Trump's America - Jeff Sharlet - Harpers Magazine
On The Thin Blue Line / Blue Lives Matter
"Chat logs from the Charlottesville organizers reveal that savvier white supremacists know that swastikas undermine the breadth of their appeal. The Thin Blue Line runs less risk of alienating potential supporters; the American flag, filtered through a lens darkly, might send just the right message. For those who display the flag as an angry assertion, in the shape of a skull or emblazoned across the barrel of a handgun, the colors evoke a mixture of menace and patriotism, the peril of a nation under siege by disloyal liberals and salvageable only by what Donald Trump describes as “the power of strength.” That tautology abstracts the desire Trump usually puts in cruder terms, as when he told police on Long Island, New York, about a “rough cookie” on the Chicago force who had assured him that “all the bad ones” could be rounded up in, “if you gave me the authority, a couple of days.” Trump liked that. “You see these thugs being thrown into the back of a paddy wagon—you just see them thrown in, rough—I said, please, don’t be too nice.” In August, not long after that speech, a Trumpist Twitter account began offering free Thin Blue Line flags to its followers."
The Thread Vibes Are Off - Anne Helen Peterson
Anne Helen Peterson takes us through a whirlwind tour of what existing social media properties are ‘for,’ and points out the fatal flaw in the new Threads:
Twitter was for thoughts, and Instagram is for vibes — and Threads is trying to pull your Instagram feed into a Twitter format. And I’m here to tell you: THE VIBES ARE OFF.
Hindu Nationalists Using Pro-Israel Playbook - Aparna Gopalan- Jewish Currents
Hindu Nationalists are looking to the Israeli right wing for inspiration in framing criticism of Hindutva as ‘Hinduphobia,’ pulling on the IHRA definition of antisemitism which claims that criticism of the State of Israel qualifies as antisemitism, setting the stage for unquestioned Hindu authoritarianism in India.
"Faced with rising scrutiny over India’s worsening human rights record, Hindu groups have used “the same playbook and even sometimes the same terms” as Israel-advocacy groups, “copy-pasted from the Zionist context,” said Nikhil Mandalaparthy of the anti-Hindutva group Hindus for Human Rights (HfHR). Hindu groups have especially taken note of their Jewish counterparts’ recent efforts to codify a definition of antisemitism—the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) working definition—that places much criticism of Israel out-of-bounds, asserting that claims like “the existence of a State of Israel is a racist endeavor” constitute examples of anti-Jewish bigotry. In April 2021, the Rutgers University chapter of the Hindu Students Council (HSC)—which the RSS has referred to as its “torch bearers abroad”—held a conference to generate a “robust working definition” of the term “Hinduphobia.” (The HSC did not respond to questions.) In an email to Jewish Currents, the HAF’s Shukla wrote that the effort was “similar to members of the Jewish community coalescing around the IHRA working definition of antisemitism.” The resulting definition refers to Hinduphobia as “a set of antagonistic, destructive, and derogatory attitudes and behaviors towards Sanatana Dharma (Hinduism) and Hindus that may manifest as prejudice, fear, or hatred.” Its examples of Hinduphobic speech—which were reiterated at an event in December by HAF managing director Samir Kalra—include “calling for the destruction and dissolution of Hinduism” and using ethnic slurs (Kalra cited examples like “cow-piss drinker,” “dothead,” and “heathen”). Although the definition never names India or the political project of Hindutva, its examples also include “accusing those who organize around or speak about Hinduphobia . . . of being agents or pawns of violent, oppressive political agendas”—a characterization that is regularly applied to efforts to call out Hindu nationalist activity, such as the Teaneck Democrats’ resolution."
The Alberta Model is a Charter Violation - Emmett Macfarlane
University of Waterloo Political Science prof and expert on the Canadian Constitution and the Charter, Emmett Macfarlane, points out that not only would the so-called “Alberta Model” of drug treatment program violate the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, but it would take us back to the dark days of forced medical treatments ‘for society’s sake,’ something that belongs in the trash-heap of history.
"Poilievre has repeatedly attacked harm reduction as perpetuating addiction and safe supply “by woke Liberal and NDP governments” as designed to “flood our streets with easy access to these poisons.” His attack is doubly ignorant, if not intentionally misleading: anyone following the opioid crisis knows the ‘streets’ have been flooded for years now. The goal of safe supply is to replace the vastly less safe, often literally poisoned, supply currently dominating the landscape.
Smith meanwhile has raised the idea of forcing people into treatment, a policy most experts condemn not only as cruel but also as counter the very goals these politicians claim to be seeking: forced treatment has been found to increase the risk of bad outcomes like overdoses, while demonstrating none of the claimed benefits.
Most importantly, by reducing harm reduction services and holding back on safe supply, governments actively engage in harm and therefore arguably violate the rights of those suffering from addiction. The leading Charter case on this remains the Supreme Court’s 2011 ruling in PHS Community Services Society, where a unanimous Court found that the federal minister of health’s decision to refuse to extend an exemption under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act to Insite, Vancouver’s safe injection facility, was both arbitrary and caused grossly disproportionate harm to the right to life, liberty and security of the person of Insite’s clients."
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