The Word “Problematic” is a Dog Whistle in Its Own Right

Tulsi Gabbard is being labeled “problematic” by some progressive Dems. What does it mean?

On the most recent FiveThirtyEight Podcast, after the second Dem debates’ second night, correspondent Claire Malone calls Tulsi Gabbard “Problematic.”

This was after Kamala Harris was “brutalized,” by Gabbard during the debates over her record as California Attorney General.

Ben Shapiro, on his own post-debate podcast, put it quite entertainingly:

“[Gabbard] brought the hammer about as hard as I’ve seen someone bring a hammer in a presidential debate since Chris Christie went after Marco Rubio… This is the meme from ‘The Simpsons’: stop, stop, he’s already dead.”

During the episode, FiveThirtyEight cohost Galen Druke picks Gabbard in the fourth round during a “presidential draft.” Malone reacts viscerally.

“Bad pick,” she says, almost before Druke can get the words out. “She is a problematic person and she will not be in a Democratic administration,” she says. The live audience cheers.

Malone does not explain how or why Gabbard is problematic. Perhaps its because she went after Malone’s first-pick candidate, Kamala Harris, in the debates. But more likely it’s because the media accuses Gabbard of making homophobic remarks in 2004, for which Gabbard has since apologized. Or because of her heterodox opinion on Syria, which she formed after visiting closely with both sides of the conflict.

In any case, interpreted Malone’s reaction as a low-level emotional outburst, an observation that I realize is in and of itself “problematic” (which doesn’t make it any less accurate). I was taken aback by such reductiveness on Nate Silver’s podcast because he is known as a cold numbers guy.

In fact, Malone’s reaction may have been not emotional at all. She used “problematic” as shorthand to describe Gabbard crossing a line that no “real” Democrat could accept. To explain everything she meant by “problematic” would take at least a few minutes and derail the podcast. She was being efficient.

The Urban Dictionary definition of problematic is,

“A corporate-academic weasel word used mainly by people who sense that something may be oppressive, but don’t want to do any actual thinking about what the problem is or why it exists. Also frequently used in progressive political settings among White People of a Certain Education to avoid using herd-frightening words like “racist” or “sexist.” Or, presumably, homophobic.

The word stuck in my ear. It sounds authoritarian to me, a coded way to identify thought criminals. It recalls “class enemy” or “rootless cosmopolitan” in from Communist Russia or “degenerate” from Nazi Germany.

Imagine if Malone had said, “Tulsi Gabbard is a degenerate person and she will not be in the People’s administration.” That would fit quite nicely. Replace “problematic” with “degenerate” and there is no change in usage or meaning.

Malone doesn’t have to describe what it means, because the crowd already knows. Gabbard’s 2004 remarks or her complex stance on Syria (if they are what makes her problematic) disqualify her permanently from the good guys’ side.

What Malone is actually saying is “I am a member of the in-crowd, and I speak a language only the in-crowd understands. I am now signaling that we must exclude this person from the in-crowd.” It’s totalitarianism 101.

Speak out of order once, as Gabbard did, and you are an “enemy of the revolution” forever. Forget the apology. Forget that times have changed. Forget that what Gabbard said wasn’t discriminatory. The fact that she made certain wrong utterances means that she has been given that dreaded scarlet letter: “Problematic.” And when a blue check like Clare Malone gives it to you, you’re out of the club for good.

One of the most genius elements of 1984 was its depiction of totalitarianism as word-obsessed. Mind control only works if language itself is re-engineered in service of the oppressive regime. Shorthand and buzzwords are how the authoritarians scare people into compliance.

The Clare Malones of the world recognize this, and they have built a discourse around it. They call it “Dog Whistling.”

Going back to Urban Dictionary, Dog Whistle is defined as,

“a type of strategy of communication that sends a message that the general population will take a certain meaning from, but a certain group that is “in the know” will take away the secret, intended message. Often involves code words.”

This is exactly how Malone uses “problematic.”

Usually, left-wingers accuse right-wingers of using dog whistles like “Welfare Queen” to communicate racism, without actually sounding racist. This type of dog-whistling does exist, although it is far rarer than they would have you believe (one article lists “Tough on Crime,” “War on Terror” and “Law and Order” as dog whistles, which makes absolutely no sense).

However, the regressive left leaves open a hypocrisy hole you could drive a Mack Truck through. “Problematic” is a dog whistle if there ever was one. It’s as fascist as it gets.