Days to go for the most high-profile election in the universe. As the two candidates enter the final lap of campaigning, the messaging has decidedly gone off-colour. The Kamala Harris campaign recently ran a commercial on Snapchat and Instagram, scripted around the love life of black voters. In the commercial, depicting a speed dating scenario, a man is seen approaching a group of women holding balloons. The young ladies enquire about the man's job, his finances, and his height. They react positively to all his answers. Then they ask him the crucial question: does he plan to vote? He responds, "Nah, not my thing"! The ladies are not impressed and they all pop their balloons, indicating it is a deal-breaker. The commercial generated backlash, with commentators saying it dehumanised and belittled the black community.
The Donald Trump campaign also ran into a controversy because of sexually implicit messaging used in a speech. Shocker. The former US president, now seeking a second term, talked about legendary golfer Arnold Palmer. Nothing wrong with that, you would say. Except that, of all things, he was discussing the size of Palmer's genitalia. This could have been a part of what is being called Trump's 'bro whispering campaign'; a swaggering, alpha-male, no-holds-barred style to reach out to men between the ages of 18-30 years. In 2018, he called a former key White House aide of his a "dog" and a "crazed, crying lowlife". In this campaign, he referred to Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, as "mentally impaired".
Crude messaging and the erosion of decent political discourse has now become a global trend. Ad hominem attacks, targeting the person instead of ideas or policies, is becoming the norm. Racist remarks and misogynistic statements are rampant.
"We Do Not Want To Become A Mixed Race"
In 2022, Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban's comment was straight out of the Nazi playbook when he said, "We are not a mixed race... and we do not want to become a mixed race". Former President of the Philippines, Rodrigo Duterte, on hearing about a journalist's death in 2016, blurted, "Just because you're a journalist you are not exempted from assassination, if you're a son of a bitch". In 2017, Brazil's former President Jair Bolsonaro, crossed the line, "I've got five kids but on the fifth I had a moment of weakness and it came out a woman".
President of Poland, Andrzej Duda, has called LGBTQ rights an ideology more destructive than communism. Former United Kingdom Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, in one of his columns, wrote that women wearing the burqa looked like letter boxes or bank robbers. In 2021, former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan said, "If a woman is wearing very few clothes, it will have an impact on men unless they're robots. It's common sense."
There are countless examples in India. Last year, an MP from the ruling dispensation used communal slurs on the floor of Parliament. The Home Minister, in 2018, termed illegal immigrants as 'termites'. And we remember Prime Minister Modi, with his catcalls of "Didi, O Didi" aimed at West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, during the 2021 assembly elections. Misogyny lost.
Social Media Has Made Us Less Empathetic
One of the significant factors contributing to the lowering of political discourse has been the rise of social media. While it has provided a convenient outlet for people to share their thoughts, these platforms can also foster echo chambers, where individuals are primarily exposed to ideas that align with their own. This can lead to a lack, or limited understanding, of alternative viewpoints. It leads to a decline in empathy and 'otherisation' of opponents, as well as an increased willingness to engage in personal attacks and harassment. Legacy media has also played a part, by prioritising sensationalism and opinion, instead of fact-based reporting.
Would it be fair to say that this is a recent phenomenon in politics? Not by a long shot. In 1931, Winston Churchill described Mahatma Gandhi as a "seditious, half-naked fakir". In the nineteenth century, an American President was vilified as a "liar", "despot", "usurper", "thief", "ignoramus", "swindler", "fiend", "buffoon", "butcher", and a "devil". Even Abraham Lincoln was not spared.
(Additional research: Ayashman Dey)
(Derek O'Brien, MP, leads the Trinamool Congress in the Rajya Sabha)
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