Submission: The Harms of Dogwhistling
Submission By Justice Reads
Imagine you are in a classroom, having a conversation about the fatal shooting of Philando Castille, and it seems to be going well. This conversation hits close to home because you are a person of color. A classmate raises their hand and says, “Why did he have a gun in the first place? He was committing a crime, and he should have just cooperated.” It triggers alarm bells in your head. You look around, and no one seems to be phased by the comment, so you disarm your defense mechanisms and try to relax. Something in you, however, continues to be bothered by that one comment.
“On Whiteness and the Racial Imagery”—an essay by Claudia Rankine and Beth Loffreda examining and critiquing the usage of the human imagination adjacent to race, racial identity and history within storytelling—describes the aforementioned phenomenon called “dog-whistling.”
dog whis·tl·ing
noun
noun: dog whistle plural noun: dog whistles
Using a high-pitched whistle used to train dogs, typically having a sound inaudible to humans.
Having the ability to engage in acts of discrimination and/or covert racism. People of color hear these dog whistles, but non people of color are unable to identify them.
Did no one else hear that? You look around, and everyone seems to be unbothered and taking notes. The professor dismisses the comment, saying, “Let’s leave all questions for the end of class.” You look back to your notes, slightly confused, slightly angry. Why does no one else seem to care?
Racism operates best, in our opinion, hidden beneath carefully constructed words. Dogwhistling, a form of covert racism, is difficult to distinguish, which allows it to persist in our homes, workplaces and classrooms. When feeling this experience, because the blade of dog-whistling is concealed, you feel the sting, but it may be hard to feel valid in the pain because it is difficult to pinpoint the weapon. You start to question the reality of this pain, and eventually end up gaslighting yourself, thinking that you’re just crazy. In the moment, it can be hard to hastily analyze the situation from a critical lens.
Now, let’s be real. Despite the previous hypothetical situation, this, in our opinion, is one that is very familiar and has happened to many people of color at least once in their lifetimes. What is even more realistic is that there is no real solution to our given situation. Class probably went along as normal; no one else noticed what you, as a person of color, did. That, at its very core, is why dogwhistling is so dangerous. When unchecked, it can run rampant, damaging everything in its path.
But what if we could call attention to this problem? What if we could share our experiences in solidarity, and acknowledge that reflection and change needs to happen?
