TGS Live: Woop-Woop! Language Police! Pull Over!

Watch and Call In, Friday, August 29, 6:00 PM EDT

I’m doing my next livestream with my editor Mark Sussman this Friday, August 29 at 6:00 PM EDT, and I’d like to put a topic on the table: the effects, both personal and political, of language policing.

As Democrats scramble to regroup in the wake of last year’s election, politicians, donors, activists, and anyone still willing to append a “D” to their name is trying to come up with a strategy to defeat Trump. Seemingly every idea—from the plausible to the risible—is on the table. Will doubling down on the gerrymandering war do it? Who is the “Trump of the left”? Does progressive populism have broad appeal? Should Democrats be going on more podcasts?

The liberal moderate think tank Third Way believes it may have at least part of the solution: weed out progressive jargon from liberal messaging. In a memo posted on its website, Third Way recommends that Democratic officials and candidates abstain from using niche words and phrases like “othering,” “the unhoused,” “subverting norms,” “triggering,” “othering,” “heteronormative,” and a few dozen others. This language, the memo argues, makes its users “sound like the extreme, divisive, elitist, and obfuscatory enforcers of wokeness.” When Democrats use this language, Third Way says, they come across as “superior, haughty, and arrogant,” like moralistic scolds who demand that everyone within earshot conform to their unbending vision of a radical society. I recommend you read the memo in its entirety, if only for the comic effect of seeing all those buzzwords strung together.

But it got me thinking. Is language the real problem here, as Third Way seems to suggest? Are average Americans really alienated by the words rather than the ideas they represent? Do demands that we use terms like “birthing person” inspire resentment in those of us who see nothing wrong with the term “pregnant woman”? Or is it all “sound and fury, signifying nothing”?

In my book Self-Censorship, I describe the political correctness of the 1980s and ‘90s as a device to determine group belonging through the use of shibboleths, words that those on the “right side” of a debate use to signal their in-group status. I’m wondering how many of you out there have found yourselves on the wrong side of the linguistic fence, catching heat for using allegedly retrograde terminology. I’m also wondering if any of you feel there’s value in the terms Third Way lists, or whether you think that changing language can change votes and minds. And progressives aren’t the only ones who use shibboleths to both attack and defend their positions. Anyone who says otherwise is spouting “FAKE NEWS!!!”

So I encourage everyone to call in this Friday, August 29 at 6:00 P.M. EDT and get in on the conversation. Whether you’re a left-wing radical, a right-wing authoritarian, or something in between, all are welcome. Consider it a “safe space”! You can tune in on Substack, YouTube, StreamYard or X.

You don’t need to be a full subscriber to watch or call. But if you want to watch the video on demand after the stream is over, you will have to become a full subscriber. For $6/month or $50/year, you’ll get video and audio of our livestreams on demand, access to monthly Q&A sessions with John McWhorter and me (and the opportunity to pose questions of your own), early releases of weekly episodes of the The Glenn Show, and our full archives, along with other exclusive benefits. So if you’re not yet a full subscriber, click below to become one. The Glenn Show is supported by its viewers, listeners, and readers. So if you like what you see, throw a few dollars in the hat and help us keep it going.