In art, a figleaf is used to barely cover something one isn’t supposed to show in public. I use the term ‘figleaf’ for utterances (and sometimes pictures, or other things) which barely cover for speech of a sort one isn’t supposed to openly engage in.
When someone says “I’m not a racist but…” and then goes on to say something very racist, they are trying to use this first phrase as a figleaf—to convince the audience that even though they might seem racist they really aren’t. For many people, this figleaf won’t succeed. But for others, it will—convincing them that maybe it isn’t so racist after all. And this is why figleaves are so important and dangerous: they have the potential to shift our standards, helping to normalise what was once beyond the pale.
Donald Trump is a big user of figleaves, and it’s through reflecting on Trump’s speech that I began to understand their workings. However, this is not just a Trump phenomenon.
1. “I’m not a racist”
Two classic figleaves are “I’m not a racist” and “I have a Black friend”. These can be used at the same time as the racist utterance, or later to cover up for it. The reason these work is that many white people subscribe to a very restrictive view of what racism is: they think that a racist must be someone who is proudly and intentionally discriminatory toward all members of the group they take to be biologically inferior—the paradigm case here is something like a hood-wearing Klan member. A person like that surely wouldn’t have a Black friend or deny their racism.
2. “This doesn’t apply to everyone”
Trump launched his campaign with a speech in which he called Mexicans rapists, but added on “and some, I assume, are good people”. For many people, this won’t work at all—it seems like a bad faith addition to obvious racism. For others, it’s not needed: they are happy to see an obviously racist remark. But crucially, there is also a persuadable group: these people don’t want to support a racist, but are willing to be convinced that the utterance isn’t racist. If they are like many white people, they will think that racists must believe in the biological inferiority of racial groups. Someone like that wouldn’t add on the assumption that Mexicans are good people so for this persuadable group, the figleaf works: it makes them think Trump might not be racist after all. And it can even make them think that it’s not racist to call Mexicans rapists.
3. “Only temporarily”
When Trump called for a ban on Muslims entering the United States, he also used a figleaf: he said the ban was meant to be in force only “until our country’s representatives can figure out what is going on”. This is also a figleaf, and it works on those who think that a racist would discriminate against all members of a group forever, rather than calling for a temporary ban. In fact, temporariness is rather an interesting broad-spectrum figleaf. We see Trump using it again, more recently, as he insists that if elected he will only be a dictator for one day. The idea here is that a real dictator would not be satisfied with this.
4. “Others say”
Another broad-spectrum figleaf is to report what “others” have said. This can be a way of introducing racist content without having to be held responsible for it: it’s not necessarily racist to report a racist utterance from somebody else. This can also be used to spread wildly conspiracist claims. A person who would feel hesitant sharing a post asserting that Bill Gates uses vaccines to monitor people’s locations might feel more comfortable sharing posts that merely assert other people are saying he’s doing this.
This technique is nothing new. British fascist Enoch Powell used this technique in his infamous Rivers of Blood Speech, when he described a constituent (a “quite ordinary working man”) saying “In this country in 15 or 20 years’ time the black man will have the whip hand over the white man”. In so doing, Powell placed some of the vilest racist rhetoric from his speech in the mouth of someone else.
5. “I’m only asking”
Another favorite figleaf for conspiracy theorists is to insist that they’re just asking questions. After all, one does not need to know that something is true in order to ask a question about it. And the person who pushes back on this can be accused of not really seeking the truth. Joe Rogan, a prolific user of figleaves, combines several in this utterance (figleaves highlighted):
This doctor was saying Ivermectin is 99 percent effective in treating Covid, but you don’t hear about it because you can’t fund vaccines when it’s an effective treatment,” he says on his podcast. “I don’t know if this guy is right or wrong. I’m just asking questions.”
An insidious all-purpose fig leaf, the standard of evidence required to ask a question is very low, and one doesn’t have to take on responsibility for asserting something. One can “ask questions” about immigrants stealing jobs, or scrounging from the state, or committing crimes. One can “ask questions” about the dangers of trans people. And one can do all of these without having to show that there’s any reason to believe these questions deserve to be entertained.
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“I only want an apology”, is another type of fig leaf, I would argue. Often what the person really wants is something more tangible, such as compensation in some form or other.