Doyle: Double Hearing & Double Vision for the Doublespeak

Ed Doyle

Doubly confusing? That's what they hope for. Politicians count on the fact that voters are so overwhelmed by all of the political ads and nonsense leading up to a primary or a general election that they cherish the magic of doublespeak.

What is doublespeak you may ask? The dictionary defines doublespeak as often being called "double talk". It is the distortion, changing or switching of words to make an unpleasant, tricky or otherwise negative situation not sound as awful. Here are some examples .

Downsizing. Layman's terms - Firing people!

Doing business. Layman's terms - Going to the bathroom!

Curvy. Layman's terms - Fat!

Now let's take a look at an example of  the doublespeak we have heard thus far in the Rhode Island gubernatorial race. Gina Raimondo. "I helped create a thousand jobs!" Translated. Her firm invested in businesses and because of the money that those businesses received from her firm they were able to create jobs.

Visual double speak is another ploy that is otherwise known as look here not over there. In an Angel Travares ad, the mayor stands on-site, or so he wants you to believe and says the vacant building will "soon" be a $200 million nursing school. It shows images of trucks and other equipment working by the
building and Taveras seems to be reviewing plans with workers. The hand that he does not want you to watch.the visual doublespeak. well the construction company's co-owner says the grounds in the ad are just a staging area for other projects elsewhere.

It's a nasty game and a political house of mirrors to tease and manipulate the senses but we're too smart for that right? By the way have you been craving Narragansett beer lately? So now that you have had a lesson on how to listen twice and look twice before making a decision once, you can crank up the music and sing along to The Who's Won't get fooled again and invite your neighbor to have a 'Gansett.

Hmmm, or will we...

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