General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsAnyone catch George Lakoff just now?
Trump is smart, don't under estimate him. He did an analysis of trumps tweets and concluded that Trump is very strategic and cunning in content and pacing of his communicatio (Tweets). Lakoff is begging the media is to focus on actual policy elements, not his distractions. Trump is stratically timing his antics to deflect.
enough
(13,259 posts)spanone
(135,830 posts)KewlKat
(5,624 posts)why else does he say the things he does? For bait and switch, control the message. It's worked well for him so far so no need to change his tactic.
chillfactor
(7,575 posts)not so much for the rest of us....we just laugh at him.
Sebasdad22
(68 posts)To haters...
Bernardo de La Paz
(49,001 posts)ginnyinWI
(17,276 posts)Cosmocat
(14,564 posts)People get confused, he doesn't have some grand master plan.
BUT, he is a world class con man. He knows how to bully and manipulate people. It's all instinct, just knows how to constantly keep people stressed, to wear them out and confuse them. Then take advantage of it to his benefit.
KewlKat
(5,624 posts)Bernardo de La Paz
(49,001 posts)yallerdawg
(16,104 posts)is more like Chance the Gardener than anything else.
Half of what he does is a follow up to his own previous insanity.
His speeches are full of lies, as are his tweets. His popularity has tanked to levels not seen by any new president, in less than 30 days!
I'd actually halfway wish there was a method to his madness - but it looks like all we are getting is the madness.
elleng
(130,895 posts)I'm a fan of his, and NOT on TV until PBS/Masterpiece later.
KewlKat
(5,624 posts)Dream Girl
(5,111 posts)elleng
(130,895 posts)KewlKat
(5,624 posts)elleng
(130,895 posts)enough
(13,259 posts)That's it.
Thanks for this post, KewlKat.
KewlKat
(5,624 posts)Bernardo de La Paz
(49,001 posts)17. Language that fits worldviews strengthens them. Using the language of your worldview can strengthen this view in others.
18. Using the opposition's language even to negate it strengthens their worldview. Don't think of an elephant! Be positive. Persist!
P.S. -- Persistence is the best resistance!b
elleng
(130,895 posts)Dream Girl
(5,111 posts)Just sharing, no stratic implications
elleng
(130,895 posts)but rather reflecting my frustration that, over the years Dems/PROFESSIONAL Dems seemed to have done their damnedest to ignore his sound advice.
n2doc
(47,953 posts)Than to be surprised. While Trump Tweets, his henchmen are working to destroy the America we love.
KewlKat
(5,624 posts)He says the Con is a master of Pre-emptive framing and we need to do the same.
First, con is trying to be a dictator about judicial system and many other parts of the government.
The press has a job to report the truth for the sake of the public good and for the sake of democracy.
It's not just a problem about the press but about democracy itself.
He a remarkably effective, very intelligent and always strategic in everything he says and in every tweet.
4 properties of tweets
1. The first to frame an idea (pre-emptive framing)
2. Divert attention from real issues (takes you away from what's going on)
3. Attack the messenger and deflect (critisicm)
4. Test public reaction (he tweets trial balloons to see if public will accept it.)
These are strategic moves, all of them, everything he says, he's selling himself all the time to us and the world and using other peoples brains to do it....constantly using our brains to his advantage. Think of him as really smart, doing something and covering up what he and congress are doing right now.
Avoid using the language of the attacker.
PANEL says
Cover what's he's doing not the side shows and all the short comings, problems, etc., anything that's going wrong with his involvement with ru$$ia
State the Obvious
(842 posts)I thought this interview was fascinating, and had hoped someone was able to record these points. They deserve our attention and study. We all know we are being successfully manipulated (linguistically) by the Trump Organization. Lakoff is making it as clear as possible how we can STAND UP to Trump's damaging and destructive strategy. Lakoff's advice was a gift to all of us. Use it.
Study it and BE AWARE of how their manipulative strategy works.
KewlKat
(5,624 posts)pat_k
(9,313 posts)I just ordered from the library. It's been a long time since I read it, but his analysis provides a framework for understanding what drives political division. I want to refresh my memory on the specifics. As the OP points out, we underestimate Trump and his appeal at our peril.
If memory serves, the thesis in "Moral Politics" is that the people on either side of the political divide hold diametrically opposed models of how things should be. Models grounded in deeply entrenched ideas about what makes a 'good family," models through which we view our understanding how things should be in the larger political/social order.
It's been a long time,but I think he provides some very practical insights into how how we can frame things to 'get through" to the "strict father" people.
On Edit:
Also just ordered his "Minority President." And read the 10 points referenced in the tweet KewlKat posted above. Good stuff:
https://georgelakoff.com/2017/02/10/ten-points-for-democracy-activists/
KewlKat
(5,624 posts)1 To understand the basic issues, read A Minority President: https://georgelakoff.com/2016/11/22/a-minority-president-why-the-polls-failed-and-what-the-majority-can-do
2 Know the difference between framing and propaganda: Frames are mental structures used in thought; every thought uses frames. Every word in every language is defined relative to a mental structure a frame. Frames, in themselves, are unavoidable and neutral. Honest framing is the use of frames you believe and that are used to express truths. Propaganda expresses lies that propagandists know are lies for the sake of political or social advantage.
3 Hold Republicans accountable. Trump is dominating the media, partly to establish his authority, but mainly to divert attention and provide cover to Republican leaders. Keep focused on Republican actions. Minimize publicizing Trump his image, his name, his tweets.
4 Focus attention on substance, not sideshows. Trumps attacks on freedom, democracy, and the innocent matter more than his tweets. Positively and strongly reframe his pre-emptive framing (see tweet diagram).
5 Focus on democracy and freedom. In a government by, for, and of the people, there is, or should be, no distinction between the public and the government. The consequences are:
- Empathy: government should care about, and for, the public;
- Transparency: government should inform the public truthfully;
- Freedom and Opportunity: the private depends on public resources, both for private enterprise and private life. For example, if youre not educated, youre not free. If you have no health care, youre not free. If youre impoverished, you lack opportunity.
Republicans are destroying all of these by:
- Removing regulations, which are public protections;
- Imposing gag rules and budget cuts on government agencies removes transparency;
- Privatizing education, protection, communication, infrastructure, nature; etc. are attacks on freedom)
6 Be careful not to spread fake news. Check it out, on the big four non-partisan political fact-checkersPolitifact, Factcheck.org, the Washington Posts Fact Checker, and Snopes.com. Subscribe to real news!
7 Understand the brains politics: All ideas are physical, embodied in neural circuitry. The more the circuitry is activated, the stronger the circuitry gets and the more deeply the ideas are held. Worldviews are complex neural circuits fixed in the brain. People can only understand what fits the neural circuitry in their brains. Real facts can be filtered out by worldviews. Alternative facts are lies falsehoods that follow from ideologies that are fixed, that define ones identity and so are taken as higher truths.
8 Remember: Were the POWERFUL American Majority. No more helpless/hopeless talk. Anger, fear and cynicism benefit Trumps GOP. Remember: Dont think of an elephant! Dont use Republican language, or repeat their positions, even to negate them. Frame using ideas you believe and real facts that are contextualized and morally framed. Avoid isolated facts and numbers. The best resistance is positive persistence.
9- Be positive: frame all issues from a progressive moral viewpoint. Take the viewpoint of the public good, not corporate profiteering. Take the viewpoint of the impoverished and weak, not the rich and powerful. Take the viewpoint of preservation, not the destruction of nature.
10 Join the Citizens Communication Network: until it is officially functioning, you can unofficially join by following me on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/George-Lakoff-Official-165643503477608/) and Twitter (@GeorgeLakoff) for regular thoughts and updates.
pat_k
(9,313 posts)UTUSN
(70,686 posts)KewlKat
(5,624 posts)The cognitive science and linguistics professor joins us to discuss the scientific factors behind the suggestive media messaging used by the Trump administration.
George Lakoff is an author, linguist and cognitive scientist. He is Director of the Center for the Neural Mind and Society at UC Berkeley. He is the Goldman Distinguished Professor of Cognitive Science and Linguistics at UC Berkeley, where he's taught since 1972. His research involves the application of cognitive and neural linguistics to politics, literature, philosophy and mathematics. Lakoff applies his work to analyzing political world views and the framing of issues in public discourse. He is working on a neural theory of thought and language that explains how meaningful ideas can arise from neural circuitry and their connections to the body. George Lakoff's books include Don't Think of an Elephant!, Whose Freedom?, and The Little Blue Book: The Essential Guide to Thinking and Talking Democratic, among others.
24 minute video
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/tavissmiley/interviews/professor-cognitive-science-george-lakoff/#.WKo7fEGX5X1.twitter
TRANSCRIPT
elleng
(130,895 posts)stopbush
(24,396 posts)His supposed strategies are only cunning if the media fails to expose them for the obvious bs they are.
The best thing the media has done so far is to label Trump a pathological liar. You don't really need to cite chapter and verse on policy when you've charactized a person as a liar and that characterization has stuck with the majority of the public, as it has. Once that's established, the rest falls into place.
thbobby
(1,474 posts)Trump is the corporate version of a street thug. He knows how to manipulate and deceive. He knows how to distract from his real goals. But he is self-serving and evil. That makes him easier to predict. I agree with Dream Girl. He should not be underestimated.
pansypoo53219
(20,975 posts)snd turnip has to feed his trools. keep them entertained.
TNNurse
(6,926 posts)So, even though he sounds like an imbecile, I need to accept that he is clever and willing to look like an idiot in public to accomplish his agenda.
This is too hard, too scary and really horrible people are in control.
eniwetok
(1,629 posts)Lakoff who should have known better than to describe our system as a democracy. If we had a democratic system of electing presidents, MSNBC would not be talking about Trump as president.
Cha
(297,190 posts)everything is great 'cause he inherited President Obama's "disaster".
And, what Lakoff said.. I've tried to follow this..
Linguist George Lakoff Explains How the Democrats Helped Elect Trump
snip//
A: When I started teaching framing the first thing I would tell the class is Dont think of an elephant, and of course, they think of an elephant. I wrote a book on it because the point is, if you negate a frame, you have to activate the frame, because you have to know what youre negating. If you use logic against something, youre strengthening it. And that lesson was not understood. So if people think in terms of logic its a mistake thats made every day on MSNBC you go on there and youll get people saying, Well, you know, Trump said this, and some Republicans said that and Jeff Sessions said this and here are the facts that show theyre wrong. You just keep repeating the things that youre negating. And that just strengthens them.
http://www.alternet.org/news-amp-politics/dont-think-rampaging-elephant-linguist-george-lakoff-explains-how-democrats-helped
I don't repeat what he tweets..