Talking Politics

(By Anita Zandstra, guest author) |  Lea la entrada de blog en español “I am rubber and you are glue; whatever you say bounces off me and sticks to you.” – American playground chant Despite the glib tone of the mantra above, words can be extremely harmful. This is true not only on the schoolyard and playground, but also in politics. However, the very act of using this saying reveals a kernel of truth: there are ways to respond to an attack, insult, or slur—often using humor—that can deflect criticism from oneself while making the attacker look bad. This political strategy has been used countless times worldwide, but I focus my discussion here on a recent example from Bolivian right/left politics: the “Croaceños” memes, which circulated among Bolivian social media users in November 2022. Above: Screenshot of a TikTok. The text reads, “You are Bolivian but were born in Santa Cruz, so you have double nationality. Let’s go Croatia, dammit!” Above: In a photo posted to Facebo...