Tory Shepherd: The phrase that’s being used to silence debate

Lazy, empty sloganeering is being used to shut down vital but difficult discussions. It’s a tactic that stifles voices who are striving for equality and need to be heard, writes Tory Shepherd.

Next time you hear someone use the phrase “identity politics”, look around to spot who they’re trying to silence.

People are learning you can’t just tell women to shut up anymore. Or, more specifically, that you might get in trouble if you do.

You are also not meant to tell those whingeing fringe groups to shut their pie holes.

Call it political correctness (I prefer to call it “not being an arsehole”). But more of those in power are learning they can’t just say whatever they like without copping it themselves.

It puts pressure on a person, this “not being an arsehole” thing. That pressure can build until they have to let out just a bit of arseholery, and out it comes with a little “parp”.

Instead of “shut up”, now, they have a range of silencing parps. Calling anything women say about their treatment “playing the gender card” has been around for a while. Calling anything said in support of the vulnerable “virtue signalling” is how those without any signals of virtue try to disparage those who do.

MORE FROM TORY SHEPHERD: Gender-neutral language isn’t a ban on anything

Lately, “identity politics” is the catchcry of those bereft of the ability to engage in rational debate. They just want to make the pesky people — who are generally calling for equality: Shut. Up.

Boris Johnson has recently spoken about how debate is being silenced or derailed. Picture: Paul Faith/AFP

These silencing phrases get thrown down like the proverbial dead cat on the table.

Not to be confused with the “dead cat bounce”, “deadcatting” is a stinking sort of red herring. Verbose British pollie Boris Johnson reportedly said:

“There is one thing that is absolutely certain about throwing a dead cat on the dining room table — and I don’t mean that people will be outraged, alarmed, disgusted. That is true, but irrelevant. The key point is that everyone will shout, ‘Jeez, mate, there’s a dead cat on the table!’ In other words, they will be talking about the dead cat — the thing you want them to talk about — and they will not be talking about the issue that has been causing you so much grief.”

Got a pesky women problem in your party that’s turning off female voters and giving your opposition plenty of ammunition?

Call it identity politics, with a shudder. You can dress up the dead cat with a bit of “feminism has gone too far”, and serve it with a side salad of “the pendulum has swung the other way”, thus ignoring the women problem entirely.

MORE FROM TORY SHEPHERD: Gender pay gap is a crisis we can no longer ignore

Monday’s Q&A on the ABC was littered with the phrase: No surprise when you have Jordan Peterson, a Canadian specialist in dressing straw men up in pseudo-intellectual bow ties, on the panel. Identity politics is “unbelievably dangerous”, he intoned ominously, and vaguely.

The key word there is “vaguely”. No one throwing the phrase identity politics around takes the time to properly explain what it is. According to dictionary definitions it’s when groups with a particular identity — racial, religious, social, etc — form groups to promote their interests without taking into account society’s broader concerns.

Jordan Peterson, Canadian clinical psychologist, appeared on ABC’s Q&A this week. Picture: Hollie Adams

According to that definition we might be talking about feminist groups, or people pushing for better health outcomes for Aboriginal people, or for more support for gay communities.

There are also a range of groups out there lobbying for retirees — how’s that for identity politics? Farmers’ groups have been calling out for more help. Flat earthers are talking about a flat Earth, twitchers are twitching, refugees are crying out for help.

Decrying “identity politics” is meaningless. It’s lazy, empty sloganeering to steer conversation away from whatever makes people feel uncomfortable — almost exclusively used by people in positions of power to silence people who are striving for equality.

Another fundamental flaw in the flabby line is that somehow normal politics is grinding to a halt because identity politics is drowning out collective policy making. It’s just not happening.

You can agitate for equality and then some at the same time. In fact inequality is part and parcel of designing policies around housing, education, taxes and transport.

Next time you hear someone use the phrase identity politics remember they are deadcatting. In other words: being a pussy.

Tory Shepherd is the state editor for the Adelaide Advertiser.

@ToryShepherd