What used to be called “dog whistle” politics became a shrill blast heard around the world this week as American politicians reacted to the Paris terrorist attacks with an anti-refugee backlash that sounded ferocious even by the standards of the 2016 presidential race.
Where once immigration rhetoric came coded in a different frequency – designed to stir the conservative base while remaining inaudible to most – now the tone is unmistakeable, employing language that could scarcely be more offensive, to Muslim ears in particular.
“If there is a rabid dog running around your neighbourhood, you are probably not going to assume something good about that dog and you are probably going to put your children away,” said presidential candidate Ben Carson as he called for a US ban on all Syrian refugees, “rabid” or otherwise.
“By the same token we have to have [better] screening processes in place to determine who the mad dogs are,” added the retired neurosurgeon, who currently lies second in opinion polls for the Republican nomination.
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