“They talk all the time about racists, racists,” said Donald Trump, referring to Democrats and self-described progressives. “The only word they know. They used it on [Mitt] Romney. They used it on everybody. They use it. When they are in trouble they always pull out the ‘racist’ word — and they are in very big trouble.”

And of course he’s right. Everyone who ever utters one word critical of Obama’s policies knows it. Everyone not voting for Hillary Clinton knows they’ll be called a racist. It’s not just because they’re voting for Donald Trump. They were called racists when voting for John McCain, or Mitt Romney. They’d be called racist if Jeb Bush were running in Donald Trump’s place.

Here’s a tip for handling the charge of “racist.” Whenever you’re called that word by a progressive, forget the rational meaning of the word racist. Everyone rational knows that a “racist” is someone who prejudges, or harshly judges, a person solely because of his or her race. That’s not what progressives mean when they call someone racist. When they call you a racist, what they’re really saying is, “I have no answer to what you’re saying. All I know is what you’re saying makes me uncomfortable. Because I don’t like being uncomfortable, and I choose not to disprove your point, I will call you the one name I expect will shut down conversation.”

Progressive leftists and Democrats think that by calling you a racist, you’re in a lose-lose position. Either you try to prove you’re not a racist, which makes you look defensive, and puts you in the logically untenable position of proving a negative; or you ignore the charge altogether, which they’ll seize upon as an excuse to claim, “See? See? You condone racism.”

The best way to respond to a charge of racism is to say, “Please explain where you disagree with my reasoning or my premises, calmly and without calling me a name. And until you do so, I will not be talking with you about this subject.” It won’t happen, of course, because no such arguments are forthcoming. Have you ever heard one? I have not. The typical progressive-leftist feels entitled to hold his or her positions without even having to explain them. Shrieks of “racist! racist!” reveal a profound intellectual insecurity caused by holding positions without rational support.

Remember that Democratic leftism is essentially socialism. Socialism is force. It’s compulsion. Democrats stand for command-and-control edicts over people’s lives from above. (Republicans do too, but Democrats are the real deal.) It means putting you in jail if you don’t pay for the programs (schools, welfare, health care) that progressives demand you fund. On the same premise, it eventually means putting you in jail for refusing to endorse the positions and ideas the progressives support. Yes, the pesky First Amendment still stands in the way of eliminating dissenters. “We have to get rid of the Second Amendment, and then we’ll get to the First Amendment,” think progressives. If you don’t believe me, then watch everything they do, particularly as the electorate gives them a lock on two branches of government, while Congress surrenders the rest.

Calling you a “racist” is a form of intimidation. Intimidation cannot work unless you allow it. It has no power unless you concede the attitude of the person attacking you. That’s the “psychology 101” for dealing with any bully. Progressives are, by and large, psychological bullies. All of the ones in office are, and most of their supporters outside of government are the same. They have nothing but mean-spirited name-calling on their side. It reveals their inherent intellectual weakness and insecurity. Place the onus on them to defend their use of coercion (confiscating guns, confiscating earnings, attacking police, destroying the economy, appeasing violent Muslims), and just ignore their names. Their name-calling stands for weakness, uncertainty and error. They’re like crying children. Remind them that socialism — their ideology, not yours — is force, and make them defend why the coercion of social engineering and wealth redistribution is justified.

Donald Trump, while certainly not right about everything, is (unlike progressives) right about some important things, such as rebuilding the military, Hillary’s corruption, preserving the Second Amendment, cutting taxes/spending, and the need to smash ISIS. He does a pretty good job at pushing back at Democrats who call any and all dissenters “racists” and other horrible names, which is one of the reasons why Democrats and progressives are out of their minds with rage at the mere mention of Trump. A Republican who fights back? Why, that’s beyond uppity.

Never forget: Intimidation and rage are the only tools progressives have. Socialism does not work economically, and it’s morally wrong because it imposes coercion on unwilling victims. Socialism flies in the face of the remnants of individualism, self-reliance, personal responsibility and the other virtues and values that make progressives almost literally insane with rage (arising from fear).

Until Democratic progressives can do what all socialists have always done in the end — rid the culture of free speech — they will keep calling you names. They’re hoping they can scare you into shutting up before forcing you to shut up. My advice? Laugh in their faces and double-down on your positions, support for the First and Second Amendments most of all, because like all bullies they will (sooner or later) have to fold.

In short: Don’t be scared of the Wicked Witch. That Wicked Witch is much more scared than you’ll ever be.