MAGA Decoded: #1

Photo by David Trinks on Unsplash

As MAGA continues to try to weasel their way back into civil society relatively unscathed from and unaccountable for their abhorrent behavior, I feel compelled, as a person who grew up with extended family that spewed the same MAGA dog whistles for decades, to point out and explain as many of these coded words and phrases as I can so that people who aren’t as familiar will be able to spot the bullshit, read between the lines, and be able to identify the true meanings behind these seemingly benign and sometimes even vaguely somewhat agreeable-sounding expressions.

The truth is, a lot of the buzzwords that MAGA uses are coded language that they employ to communicate to two groups of people. The ones that know the language’s true meaning and the ones that the surface meaning will apply to, knowing that the first group will not object to such things and the second group will not take the time or effort to think them through or do any real research. And I don’t mean Google’s AI Overview or Instagram and TikTok. I mean actual research and evidence: peer-reviewed studies, verified reports, reputable sources, statistics, etc.

Due to the fact that the list of this MAGA code language gets more extensive almost daily, I’ve decided to do a series of articles to make the whole thing an easier and faster read. So, for our first MAGA code phrase, let’s start at the heart of their hatred and bigotry and dive right in.

Image credit: Instagram @annoyingorange

​“American Culture”

American Culture is a phrase that I have heard my whole life. What gets me the most is that all the people who say this seem to have a deep misunderstanding as to what American culture really is. To know, believe in, and love our culture is to understand diversity as a maximum strength and an ultimate net positive for everyone. MAGA people certainly do not feel this way.

What they say:

· Immigrants are destroying American culture because they refuse to live the American way.
· They come here; they don’t want to learn or speak English; they want to enact Sharia Law and fly their flags.
· They take from social programs and get free everything through our welfare programs. They are destroying our way of life with their customs, religions, and clothes. Moving into our communities and trying to force their way of life on the rest of us.
· And if their country is so great and they are so proud of their heritage, then why do they want to leave so badly and come here?
· If they want to come here, they need to do things the right way, the American way.

When it’s used:

This is often used as a retort to left-leaning immigration arguments. It is particularly and almost exclusively aimed at immigrants who are not white. And while they think that by wrapping their racism and fear in “American culture” it makes them look patriotic, the truth is that denying immigrants the opportunity that our founders and all who followed had is the exact opposite of what being a true patriotic American is all about.

How it sounds:

On the surface, they very generally try to make it seem that immigrants bringing their native culture to our shores is damaging to our citizens, completely ignoring all the benefits they take for granted on a daily basis that can directly be linked to immigrants, both white and non-white. The most popular areas this is used in involve arguments over speaking English and practicing religion.

What it means:

Beneath those claims lies their very strong, deeply held belief that America is inherently a white, Christian nation. So, when they say “American culture,” what they mean is white Christian culture. This can be seen in their arguments claiming immigrants are unwilling to assimilate into American culture. What MAGA supporters view as an unwillingness to assimilate is immigrants wearing their native clothing, eating their native cuisine, practicing their chosen or native religion, continuing their native cultural traditions, and speaking their native language.

When they bring up the languages immigrants speak, they back themselves up with the ridiculous notion that English is the national language of the United States, denying the fact that this country has never claimed an official national language. While Trump has signed an Executive Order proclaiming English as the national language, Congress has not, leaving Trump’s EO as a fantastical, delusional proclamation rather than the intended edict because, no matter how badly he wants to be, Trump is not now, and will never be, a king.

These people somehow think we have set strict national cultural norms for the people who live here. These notions of norms include, but are not limited to, that Caucasian is the national majority race and always should be, English is the national language, Christianity is the national religion, and nobody should be practicing any minority religion or speaking any other language, even in the privacy of their own homes.

Furthermore, you may hear claims of such immigrants being criminals, rapists, dirty, rude, smelly, ignorant, or disgusting. None of which are true. MAGA is threatened by anything and anyone they see as different. It’s driven by fear, hate, and anger born of ignorance. It’s driven by the idea that they’ll somehow lose their status as the powerful and privileged majority.

This behavior and belief system does not project strength, patriotism, or real Christian values. It exposes their profound insecurity and weakness, exacerbated by their incredible and undeniable fear of any kind of change, all heaped together to form the basis of everything that follows: their racism and bigotry.

The hypocrisy:

This country is now, and has always been, with the exception of Indigenous peoples (Native Americans), a country of immigrants and a melting pot of cultures. The sheer amount of diversity in this country is the heart of the success of this nation that we have enjoyed and taken for granted for far too long. The idea that any one language, culture, religion, etc., other than democracy, is nationally or automatically assigned to the inhabitants of this country is antithetical to the fundamental ideals this country was founded on. Our founding fathers fled the rule of the king because they were being persecuted for their beliefs and preferred way of life, then revolted over tyrannical overreach that extended across the Atlantic Ocean to control our founders’ economy, religion, government, and lives.
Furthermore, no matter how MAGA wants to twist it, our Constitution is written to completely separate the powers of church and state. The First Amendment guarantees freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and the right to peaceably assemble in protest against the government to redress grievances. By definition, this amendment, which was so fundamentally important to our founders that it was the first set of rights to be declared by the Constitution, outlaws any national religion or language, and therefore, by extension, any national race or culture.

The Bottom Line:

“American culture” is a greasy and underhanded attempt at a soft, slick, patriotic-sounding way to say white Christian culture. A phrase to say to those in the know and who agree, “hey, I’m racist too, I got your back,” and to those not in the know, “hey, we just want to preserve the things we love and enjoy and are immensely proud of, the things that built this nation and made us the best country in the world,” conveniently leaving out that that includes ethnic cleansing and genocide, racism, slavery, segregation, Jim Crowe, lynchings, red-lining, denial of basic human rights and dignity, denying any minority equal rights and opportunities, subjugating women and non-white people, abusing children, and the forever expansion of the wealth and power of the few and select elite. So, the next time you hear a MAGA moron spout, “American culture,” just know that they mean “white, Christian culture” and nothing more.


Thanks for reading! More articles decoding MAGA coming soon!
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