Loaded language

{{bronze}}{{logic}}
{{hatnote|Not to be confused with [[Loaded question]].}}
'''Loaded language''' or '''prejudicial language''' is [[language]] intended to produce an emotional response in the mind of the audience, in order to directly affect their views on a topic.

The use of loaded language confers certain qualities to a statement that often amount to an [[emotional appeal]]. "[[Liberal]]", for instance, may be (and often is) used among [[Conservative]]s in the [[United States]] as an insult. [[Independent Baptist|Independent Baptists]] don't even know how loaded they are with the terms, implying that the person so-labeled disregards normal moral standards. The true meaning of such a term often becomes obscured due to the prevalence of the coded meaning. 

When the meaning is intentionally obfuscated in order to disparage a particular minority or belief without raising an alarm among those who would be offended by the meaning, it is sometimes called [[dog whistle politics]], after the idea (often not actually true) that the out-group can't hear the meaning in the hidden message behind the words. Whether or not the out-group gets it, the in-group knows ''exactly'' what is meant by the code. For example, in certain settings in [[United States politics|US politics]], claiming to be "tough on crime" might be intended to subtly convey or take advantage of [[racism]]. Code words and dog whistle politics often use loaded language to convey their meaning to the in-group.

==In politics==
*The "First home buyer's scheme" in [[Australia]] might equally well have been called "The house price support scheme" — reflecting the effect of giving free [[money]] to home buyers with which to buy homes, which is simply that house prices uptick by precisely that amount.
*The [[abortion]] debate invariably evokes emotionally charged language and [[false analogy|questionable analogies]]. Opponents of abortion describe it as "child murder" or "infanticide", and describe themselves as "[[pro-life]]", implying a [[false dichotomy]] in which those who do not agree with them are seen as being opposed to life itself. Similarly, the [[pro-choice]] side couches its language in terms of [[freedom]] in general, a strong element in the American mythos, deflecting as much attention from the ''specific'' freedom of abortion as possible, sometimes referring to opponents as "forced birthers".
*"Class warfare" is another one.  While one might imagine it as a double-sided affair, the reality is much different-meaning; it invokes negative images of filthy, lazy laborers attacking hardworking rich folks. In recent years, especially with the advent of [[OWS]], it's now a cop-out against criticism and [[tax]] hikes for the rich. Many [[conservative]] [[pundit]]s use the term to explain the war against the "job creators", not realizing they are invoking arguments penned by [[Karl Marx]] every time they do.
*"[[States' rights]]" is a loaded term, because it has been used politically to raise race as a [[wedge issue]]. While it's occasionally mentioned by [[libertarian]]s for other reasons, it's still heavily associated with racism elsewhere because the term was originally used to defend [[slavery]] and later to defend [[Jim Crow]].  The irony is that it was also used to undermine the Fugitive Slave Law.
*"[[Affirmative action]]" is also a loaded term, and is frequently used to disparage the achievements of non-whites, e.g. [[Barack Obama]] being referred to as an ''[[Affirmative Action President]]''.
*Everyone's favorite is "[[family values]]", which immediately invokes the feelings of warmth, security, honesty, and support that a family brings, even though the term really means a few vicious pet social issues — [[homophobia|hatred of gays]], being anti-[[abortion]], and [[misogyny|restricting roles for women]]. (See also "[[traditional values]]".)
*"Job creator" is yet another one, and it has begun to see common usage after the [[Great Recession]]. It tells people that companies give them employment, often out of the goodness of their hearts. The term is often [[Euphemism|euphemistically]] used by [[Republican]] politicians in order to fight corporate taxation (mainly because outright praising [[corporation]]s isn't good [[PR]]).
* "Separatist" and "self-determination" evoke negative and positive responses respectively to an independence movement. One suggests "separation", which is linked with relationship difficulties in many people's minds; the other suggests responsibility and fairness. The [[Chinese]] government goes one further and uses the term "splittist" for [[Tibet]]an nationalists.
* Insurgent, freedom fighter, and [[terrorist]] can all be applied to the same group, depending on the speaker's perspective. 
* "Indoctrination" or "[[brainwashing]]" in reference to perceived [[liberal bias]] in [[public education]] and higher education institutions. These words have been used by [[right-wing]] groups like [[Eagle Forum]], Campus Reform, [[David Horowitz]] Freedom Center, etc. 
*"Makers and takers": Coined by U.S. Representative and Vice Presidential candidate [[Paul Ryan]] during the 2012 election; "takers" describing people who "get more benefits from the federal government than they pay back in taxes."<ref>[http://www.politifact.com/wisconsin/statements/2013/feb/13/paul-ryan/has-ryan-remained-consistent-talking-about-what-h-/ Has Ryan remained consistent in talking about what he calls society's "takers" and "makers?"] Politifact: 2013.</ref> In 2014, Ryan repudiated his choice of words while nonetheless standing by his overall message.<ref>[http://mediamatters.org/research/2014/08/17/paul-ryan-shuns-conservative-medias-makers-and/200458  Paul Ryan Shuns Conservative Media's "Makers And Takers" Rhetoric, But His Policies Still Rely On Those Myths]</ref> Conservatives have often described [[welfare]] recipients as thieves or such synonyms. For instance, conservative commentator Charles Sykes has written a book titled ''A Nation of Moochers: America's Addiction to Getting Something for Nothing''. Also, common derogatory terms used to describe [[poor]] people, especially recent immigrants, include parasite, leecher, invader, etc.
* "Urban": Republicans have been really bad at attracting [[African Americans]] and speaking on race, so they now have the new strategy of referring to black voters as "urban" voters and then saying the same racist spiel. This gets to hilarious extremes where even Conan O'Brien called [[Paul Ryan]] out for being way too obvious about whom he was talking about.<ref>[http://teamcoco.com/jokes/nov-13-2013-yesterday-paul-ryan-said-president-obama-was-re-elected "Yesterday, Paul Ryan said President Obama was re-elected because of the high turnout of 'urban voters.' Then when he was asked how he liked his coffee, Ryan said, 'No milk, no sugar, just urban.'"- Conan O'Brien @ TeamCoco.com"] This doesn't only apply to African-Americans, but also to Mediterranean Ancestry because they grew up in the urban sprawl. In Illinois, they don't see this as [[prejudice]], but how to coin the urban/suburban sprawl. [[Eric Hovind]] was born in Kankakee, Illinois.</ref>
* "[[Health freedom]]": In the [[anti-vaccine]] arguments, those against vaccines evoke freedom by the right to choose or at least not be forced by [[government]] to vaccinate their [[children]] due to [[Anti-vaccination movement#Thimerosal|unfounded fears of thimerosal]], [[Anti-vaccination movement#Autism|unfounded links to autism]], and [[Anti-vaccination movement#Known side effects|rare complications from vaccines]].
* "Biological male" *: Often, [[TERFs]] and other [[transphobes]] will use the term when referring to trans women, especially on bathroom issues, saying that "biological men" want to use the same bathroom as little girls.

===Legislation===
*The "estate tax", which is only levied on very large bequests, was spun and renamed as the "[[death tax]]", because the listener would assume it was a tax on anyone who died (well, on their survivors), without realizing it only applies to a very small number of filthy rich people.
*The phrase "[[No Child Left Behind]]" emphasizes the innocence of children, and the feeling of isolation at being left behind, rather than the same program which could have been called "Helping students 
pass standardized tests
 succeed in school", the "charter school support act", or simply the "[[public education]] reduction act" — reflecting the main effect of the legislation, which is to penalize and ultimately close schools in poor districts ([[Irony|ironically]] leaving poor children behind), owing to the infamous practice in the USA of financing schools via local property taxes.
*The "[[Defense of Marriage Act]]" intentionally invokes the image that marriage is being attacked, rather than a more straightforward name like "The Marriage for Heterosexual Couples Only For Federal and Interstate Purposes{{efn|The act itself did not prohibit individual states from legalizing same-sex marriage, to be fair. That, and making recognition of same-sex marriage from other states optional.}} Act".
*The "[[USA PATRIOT Act]]" is a (brutally forced) acronym for ''Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act'', but due to the title, it implies that those opposed to the Act are inherently unpatriotic.
**The above case is so galling that President Bush himself wrote in his memoir ''Decision Points'' that he regretted the act's name.

===Neologisms===
Nobody is sure exactly what it is, but whatever it is, it sounds bad and needs to be banned.
* "[[Partial-birth abortion]]" — Politicians seem to know more about what this term means than the doctors that perform it.
* "Assault weapon" — Scary-looking [[gun]]s, which may or may not be related to the actual weapons known as assault rifles.

==Snarl words==
A '''snarl word''' is a derogatory label that can be attached to something (or even to people), in order to dismiss their importance or worth, without guilt. When used as snarl words, these words are essentially meaningless; most of them ''can'' be used with meaning, but that seldom happens.

While not actually using the phrase, liberal comedian/[[pundit]]/former U.S. Senator [[Al Franken]] went into great detail about the Vast Right-Wing [[Conspiracy]]'s use of snarl words and other forms of [[emotional appeal]] in his first political work, ''Rush Limbaugh Is A Big Fat Idiot'', specifically referencing the political activities of [[Newt Gingrich]], [[Frank Luntz]], and [[Lee Atwater]] and noting conservative pressure groups' reliance on such tactics to ram through the 1994 [[Contract With America]] program. 

Words frequently perceived and/or used as snarl words include:
{{columns|cols=3|body=<nowiki></nowiki>
*[[Ableism|Ableist]]
*[[Abortion|Abortionist]]
*[[Plagiarism|Academic Cheat]] 
*_____ Agenda
*[[Allopathy]]
*[[Alt Right]]
*_____ [[Apologist]]
*[[Anarchism|Anarchist]]
*[[Antisemitism|Antisemite]]
*[[gun|Assault weapon]]
*[[Astroturf]]er
*[[Atheism|Atheist]]
*[[Authoritarianism|Authoritarian]]
*[[Independent Baptist|Andersonite]]
*[[Bernie Sanders|Bernie Bro]]
*[[Bigot]]
*Boomer
*Bootlicker
*[[Bourgeois]]
*Brocialist
*Brogressive
*[[Cancel culture]]
*[[Capitalism|Capitalist]]
*Cattle
*[[CCP]] 
*[[Censorship]]
*[[Centrism|Centrist]]
*[[No Cussing Club|Censorship Advocate]] (snarl term in [[Florida]]) 
*[[Chinese]]
*[[Child abuse|Child Abuser]]
*[[Christian]]
*[[Christophobia]]
*Coastal Elite
*Collectivist
*[[Communist]]
*[[Conservative]]
*[[Conspiracy theory]] / Conspiratard
*[[Corporate]]
*[[Cuck]]
*[[Young Earth Creationist|Creatard]]
*[[Cult]]
*_____ Culture
*[[Culture war|Culture warrior]]
*[[Cultural Marxism|Cultural Marxist]]
*[[Darwinism]]
*Deadbeat
*[[Deceit|Deceiver]]
*[[DEI]]
*[[Democratic Party|Democrat]]
*[[Denialist]]
*[[DINO]]
*[[Dominionist]]
*[[Dystopia]]
*[[Elitism|Elitist]]
*Emoprog
*[[Entitlement program|Entitlement]]
*[[Evangelical]]
*[[Evolution|Evolutionist/Evotard]]
*[[Fake news]]
*[http://www.fanlore.org Fantard]
*[[Far left]]
*[[Far right]]
*[[Fascist]]<ref>Famously deconstructed in [http://www.orwell.ru/library/articles/As_I_Please/english/efasc this 1944 essay] by [[George Orwell]].</ref>
*[[Feminism|Feminist]]/[[Feminazi]]
*[[Flat Earth|Flattard]]
*[[Flat Earth|Flerf]]
*[[Frankenfood]]
*[[Fundy]]
*[[King James Only|Fuckmanite]]
*[[Gay agenda]]
*[[Ghetto]]
*[[Goy]]/[[Goyim]]
*Enlightened Centrist
*[[Environmentalism|Greenie]]
*[[Globalism|Globalist]]
*[[Gun control|Gun-grabber]]
*[[Gun nut]]
*[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hatred Hate]
*[[Heterophobia]]
*[[Gay agenda|Homofascism]]<ref>[http://conwebwatch.tripod.com/stories/2014/unruhlgbt.html Bob Unruh's Anti-Gay Agenda]. Conwebwatch: 2014.</ref>
*[[Illegal immigration|Illegal alien]]
*[[Imperialism|Imperialist]]
*[[Brainwashing|Indoctrination]]
*[[Incels|Incel]]
*[[Infidel]]
*[[Insanity]]
*[[Islamism|Islamist]]
*[[Islamofascism|Islamo-Fascist]]
*[[Islamophobia]]
*[[Jihad|Jihadist]]
*[[Judaism|Jew]]
*Karen
*[[Left-wing|Leftist]] (and its derivatives)
*[[Liberal]] (and its derivatives)
*[[Libtard]]
*Madness
*[[Mainstream media|Mainstream media/MSM]]
*[[Mangina]]
*[[Mansplaining]]
*[[Marxism|Marxist]]
*[[Men's rights movement|Men's rights activist/MRA]]
*Mental illness
*Millennial<ref group=note>No relation to [[Millennialism]]</ref>
*[[Misandry|Misandrist]]
*[[Misogyny|Misogynist]]
*[[Feminism#Modern_feminism|Modern feminism]]
*[[Moonbat]]
*[[Moral relativism|Moral Relativist]]
*[[Nazism|Nazi]]<ref group=note>See also: [[Godwin's Law]]</ref>
*Neckbeard
*[[Neocon]]
*[[Neoliberal]]
*[[Neo-Nazi]]
*[[New Age]]
*[[New Atheist]]
*[[Nihilism|Nihilist]]
*[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NPC NPC]
*Non-[[biblical]]
*[[Oligarch]]
*[[Pagan]]
*[[Paranoia]]/Paranoiac
*[[Patriarchy]]
*[[Pedophilia|Pedo(phile)]]
*[[Ray Comfort|Plagiarizer]]
*[[Plutocracy|Plutocrat]]
*[[Political correctness|Politically Correct]]
*[[Postmodern]]
*[[Privilege]]
*[[Professional victim]]
*[[Progressive]]
*[[Proll]]
*[[Propaganda]]/Propagandist
*[[Pseudoscience]]
*[[Racism|Racist]]
*[[Radicalism|Radical]]
*[[Radicalism|Radical left]]
*[[Radicalism|Radical right]]
*[[Reactionary]]
*[[Regressive left|Regressive]]
*[[Republican Party|Republican]]
*[[Reverse racism|Reverse racist]]
*[[Right-wing]]er
*[[RINO]]
*[[Ruling class]]
*[[Russian]]
*[[Satanism|Satanist]]
*[[Scientism]]
*[[Secular humanist]]
*[[Sexism|Sexist]]
*[[Sheeple]]
*[[Shill gambit|Shill]]
*Simp
*[[Snarl word]]<ref group=note>Yes, "snarl word" is itself used as a snarl word. Never underestimate a public speaker's capacity for linguistic gymnastics.</ref>
*[[Snow|Snowflake]]
*[[Social Darwinism|Social Darwinist/Social Darwinism]]
*[[Social justice warrior|Social justice warrior/SJW]]
*[[Socialist]]
*[[Soy boy]]
*Statist
*[[Tea Party|Teabagger]]
*[[Terrorist]]
*[[Theocracy|Theocrat]]
*Thug
*[[Tinfoil hat]]
*[[Totalitarianism|Totalitarian]]
*Transtrender
*[[Donald Trump|Trumptard]]
*[[Supply side economics|Trickle-Down Economics]]
*[[Troll]]
*[[Uncle Tom]]
*Urban
*[[Utopia|Utopia/Utopian]]
*War on ________
*[[Warmist]]
*[[Welfare queen]]/moocher/taker/leaner/dependency on government
*[[Whiteknighting|White knight]]
*[[Xenophobia|White Nationalist]] 
*[[Wingnut]]
*[[Woke]]
*[[Woo]]
*[[Zionism|Zionist]]
*[[Zombie]]
}}

==Glittering generalities==
A '''glittering generality''', sometimes called a "virtue word", "purr word", or "{{wpl|Ideograph (rhetoric)|ideograph|"}}, is the opposite of a snarl word. [[Florida]] loves these terms, and God-forbid that you throw the snarl "Florida Cheerful" at them. It's a vague term meant to invoke warm fuzzy feelings, as in some of the examples given above. (Who could be against the children?) Some common glittering generalities:
{{collist|3|
*American values
*[[Balance fallacy|Balanced]]
*Bipartisan
*[[Children]]
*[[Christianity|Christian]]
*[[Common sense]]
*[[Originalism|Constitutionalist]]
*[[Confirmation bias|Decent human being]]
*[[Democracy|Democratic]]
*Enlightened
*Equality
*[[Moral|Ethical]]
*[[Family values]]
*Fairness, or "fair share"
*[[Free speech]]
*Freedom or [[liberty]]
*Gender equality
*[[Grassroots]]
*[[Green]]
*Hard-working
*[[Human rights]]
*Innovation, innovative, or innovator
*[[Integrity]]
*[[Islamic]]
*[[Jewish]]
*Job creators
*[[Judeo-Christian]]
*Liberation
*Middle class
*Moderate
*[[Appeal to novelty|Modern]]
*[[Moral]] or morals
*[[Appeal to nature|Natural]]
*Natural marriage
*Neutral
*Objective
*[[Open mind|Open-minded]]
*[[Organic food|Organic]]
*Paradigm shift
*[[Patriotism|Patriot]] or patriotic
*[[Populism|Populist]]
*Practical
*Principle
*Progress
*Prosperity
*Purity
*[[Rational]]
*Real
*Reform
*[[Religious freedom]]
*Rights
*[[Social justice]]
*[[Sound money]]
*State-of-the-art
*Support the 2<sup>nd</sup> Amendment
*[[Sustainability|Sustainable]]
*The people, or the will of the people.
*[[Traditional values]]
*[[Scotsman fallacy|True]] or [[Bullshit|truth]]
*[[Tolerance]]
*Veterans
*Virtue
*Working families
}}

==See also==
*[[Appeal to emotion]]
*[[Hate speech]]
*[[Inflammatory language]]
*[[Poisoning the well]]
*[[Push poll]]
*[[Leading question]]
*[[The Worst Argument in the World]]

==External links==
*[http://www.logicallyfallacious.com/index.php/logical-fallacies/144-prejudicial-language PREJUDICIAL LANGUAGE], Logically Fallacious

==Notes==
{{reflist|group=note}}

==References==
{{reflist|2|80%}}

{{logfal}}

[[Category:Emotional appeals]]
[[Category:Fallacious arguments]]
[[Category:Internet culture]]
[[Category:Language]]
[[Category:Political terms]]

Categories: Emotional appeals, Fallacious arguments, Internet culture, Language, Political terms