Third Way identified 45 progressive terms that ordinary Americans find alienating. The terms cluster into categories such as Therapy-Speak (privilege, triggering, body shaming), Seminar Room Language, Organizer Jargon (small "d" democracy, the unhoused, food insecurity), Gender/Orientation Correctness (cisgender, pregnant people, chest feeding), and Shifting Language of Racial Constructs (Latinx, intersectionality, allyship). The guidance asserts that elite, clinical, or jargon-heavy language signals moral superiority, muddles communication about crime and public safety, and contributes to a cultural disconnect that hampers Democratic efforts to win back voters.
WHEN I GET TOGETHER FOR DRINKS with my depressed liberal friends, we play a little game. It goes like this: If someone unwittingly displays an elite tendency - like wincing at the idea of eating at Olive Garden or questioning how anyone can sit through - we shout, "And that's why we lost the election!" In that spirit, I present to you words and phrases that Democrats should retire forthwith if they ever hope to win back the hearts and minds of Americans.
Therapy-Speak. "I'm more empathetic than you, and you are callous to hurting other's feelings": Privilege Violence (as in "environmental violence") Triggering Progressive stack Body shaming Seminar Room Language. "I am smarter and more concerned about important issues than you": Organizer Jargon. "We are beholden to groups, not individuals": Small "d" democracy The unhoused Food insecurity Housing insecurity Gender/Orientation Correctness. "Your views on traditional genders and gender roles are at best quaint": Cisgender Pregnant people Chest feeding Heteronormative
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