When politicians and pundits use phrases like “real Americans,” “real voters,” “real people,” “everyone agrees,” or “vast majority,” there are two underlying arguments – if you share the same values you are real, and if you don’t share those values or don’t agree, you are not real.
On the flip side of there are these words – “manufactured, sheeple, robot, and zombie.” All these words are implying the people in question are not real or have no brains.
I’m setting aside the name calling for now and just focusing on the nullification of others.
This nullification works equally well for both the left and right. Example – At the tea party protests the phrase “real Americans” was used by the protesters, implying there were real and unreal Americans. People that disagreed with the protesters views were the unreal ones. When the tea parties were mentioned by politicians and pundits the tea party protesters were referred to as Astroturf.” Astroturf implies that the tea party protesters were fake or unreal.
This pattern of nullification repeats with every contentious issue.
Side 1 – If you don’t agree with us you aren’t real. “Real American”
Side 2 – How dare you say we aren’t real, when clearly you aren’t real? “Astroturf”
Side 1 – Side 2 has the audacity to say side 1 isn’t real. “That is un-American”
The ball bounces back to Side 2 and back and forth until everyone has been nullified.
Nullification allows the luxury of not bringing up or discussing opposing views. How could you have a serious discussion about something that doesn’t exist? Why waste time thinking about the unreal? People don’t have serious debates about the Easter bunny, so why should we bother to think about the opposing unreal views?
So I’ll go between the horns and agree with both sides; I am real and you are not.
