Here, Boy!

I heard a new dog whistle yesterday, from my seven-year-old son. Apparently they had a presidential election at school and he told me that he voted for John McCain. He asked me who I'm voting for and I told him Barack Obama.

My son said that someone at school said that Obama was going to come in a trash the place.

"Come in and trash the place."

There it is, folks, the Dog Whistle of Racism 2008™. There goes the neighborhood. Did you see what moved in next door? They're going to come in and trash the place.

I told my son that what he'd been told isn't true. My son asked me why I wasn't going to vote for John McCain. I tried to think of a reason he could understand using language appropriate for a child. I settled on "John McCain is a selfish man. He only cares about himself. Barack Obama cares about you and me."

What bothers me is that this dog whistle has so permeated the conversation that it has filtered down to second graders. That, dear children, is some effective marketing.