We live in an era of sensationalist slogans. At every second, a seemingly infinite number of media are vying for our rather finite attention. Given this context, it makes sense from the perspective of someone who is trying to start a sociopolitical movement to plaster campaigns and organizations with short, snappy slogans. After all, such brief yet powerful slogans would intuitively seem to be both approachable due to their small length and mesmerizing due to their shock value. However, this does not seem to be true in practice — the curt nature of modern-day slogans tends to reduce the entire movements behind them to a few choice words, turning away people who disagree with those words in the process.
Though many social movements presumably begin with the intent to be productive, the use of rather provocative and vague language can actually lead to more resistance against them. This is not because describing a movement with strong words is inherently bad, but because those strong words often tend to mischaracterize the movement’s aims. For example, take the slogan “abolish the police.” In the aftermath of George Floyd’s death at the hands of police brutality in May, calls for changing the policing system were abundant. While some were in favor of expanding police training and oversight, many others in liberal circles began heavily considering the defunding or even the abolition of the policing system.
And thus, the slogan “abolish the police” rose to the forefront of modern political vocabulary, as did the more vulgar chant “all cops are bastards,” shortened as “ACAB.” Both of these phrases are making some rather strong claims: The former is pushing for the eradication of an institution that has existed for approximately 200 years, and the latter is dubbing all members of said institution a crude term. However, when looking past these radical statements, it becomes evident that there is a lot to the story that slogans like these do not tell. Nearly all proponents of police abolitionism do not believe in solely the abolition of the police system as a solution to systemic racism — as Georgetown University law professor Christy Lopez has noted, abolishing the police also means reallocating “responsibilities and authority and resources so that public safety can be more effective and fair.” Similarly, the phrase “all cops are bastards” was intended to criticize the entire policing system as opposed to the morals of individual officers.
The issue is that to find out what these movements really entail means looking past the slogan, and that rarely happens in practice. In fact, it is more common for politicians who disagree with the slogan to portray its movement inaccurately in hopes of consolidating power. For instance, the rise of police-critical slogans among liberals in the United States led President Donald Trump to fearmonger about how Democratic candidates will make the country less safe by removing police. Sen. Ted Cruz likewise contorted criticism of the status quo to contend that Democrats in favor of radical police reform do not care about the safety of American families. The fuzzy and provocative nature of sensationalist slogans opens the door for many to misinterpret the movements behind them, with politicians only exacerbating the process.
Some will argue that it is the responsibility of those who are repelled by strong slogans to “educate” themselves. While well-intentioned, this is a form of paradoxical reasoning. If someone already believes they possess the truth, what incentive do they have to go out and search for the truth? Why should someone educate themself if they believe they have already been properly educated? A rambunctious slogan does not invite the repelled to search for the truth, nor does it inspire even the softest spark of self-education within them.
It is worthwhile to reconsider the way that we frame social movements. We should aim not to limit our movements to a few strong, misrepresentative words. This has the opposite of the intended effect of inviting those with differing initial views into the movement, instead allowing them to misconstrue the policy proposals that the movement champions. And while it may sound empowering to pursue a path where those who disagree with reform are disregarded, the truth is that strong majorities are needed to achieve change in this country. As such, we ought to pursue a path that does not worsen our political differences. If we stop the sensationalist slogans, we can take one important step towards bridging the informational divides that afflict this country.
Image Credit: “Abolish the police” by pburka is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0
