Since you walked in with your eyes closed, I’ll just advise you mind your footing.
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I run into this with the concept of immigration more than everything else. I generally go to “I don’t think it’s necessary to be an asshole to people who are driven out of their country by starvation and murder.” Then I have to listen to shit about cultural infection. Like 'murica isn’t patient zero for every aspect of culture in world culture today.
Then I do my spiel about agribiz, mining, oil services cartels, patents, and how that is what destroys countries to the point of driving migration. When I finish, the subject turns to movies or car customizing.
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Can we get video of that?
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It’s not a dogwhistle exactly but several times I’ve had strangers ask what church my spouse and I attend. It’s more personal than “Where do you work?” and is clearly intended to determine what sort of person I am. And it’s difficult because I don’t attend any church.
Admittedly it’s a slight relief when it’s phrased in the form of a question instead of someone telling me I really should attend their church. And all I want to say in those situations is, “I called you because I needed a plumber, not a priest. Fix the sink and get out of my house. Please.”
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I have always disliked people’s tendencies to vaguely hint at their criticisms of things, or to try manipulating people. One of my skills of often to nail a dogwhistle into a specific question or statement that they are too embarrassed to engage in. From my perspective, the only reason for being so furtive is that they themselves don’t believe they have any compelling argument for their professed position. So it’s an exercise in empty partisanship.
Something about my demeanor really chafes religious conservatives, who often single me out for scrutiny for what reasons I can only imagine. Complete with allusions to even being able to recognize evil (me!) by sight. At my previous job people sometimes confronted me with weird signalling about religion. Some of the most drastic horror was when I explained that because I am clergy, that I refrain from discussing religious matters in the workplace, so as to not be perceived as proselytizing.
When people seem to be dropping hints about the essential Christianity of the US, I sometimes muse along the lines of: “Oh, yeah, that’s that weird middle-eastern cult I have heard about on TV.”, which results first in confusion, and then anger.
Many of my responses are a counter to attitudes of faux-nativism. It sounds like I am agreeing about conservatism and the need to assimilate to American culture - except that it become apparent that I am referring to Native American culture. If those who refuse to adapt should be expected to assimilate or leave, that that just as easily applies to people from Western Europe who fail to adapt to life in the Americas.
For those who seem to be whistling authoritarianism, I often drop suggestions about toddlers and their terrible tantrums. Better do what the spoiled brat says or you are really going to get an earful! Let the big baby dominate! What could go wrong?
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OH, to be a fly on the wall for that! Good show!
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I don’t go to any church, and when asked which one I go to, instead of providing an answer, I always say either “Pfft, none, I’m not superstitious! At least not that way,” or “Why are you asking?” Either one immediately throws a wet blanket on their intrusiveness.
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I’ve had tutoring clients try to get me to attend church with them, even if (or especially if) I say that I’m Jewish.
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What happens if you say you attend the Church of Satan?
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It’s both, really.
If you’re a member of the “wrong”, it’s an invitation to set you down the “right” path…
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Those are both great answers. Once a new guy at work asked me what church I went to and I deflected it with, “That’s a rather personal question.”
To his credit he got very thoughtful then apologized. I never heard him ask that of anyone else. I keep that experience in mind as a reminder that some people need a push and some only need a nudge.
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Funny thing is, I can think of at least three major variants that became lasting, worldwide breakout hits for some reason. Who would have guessed?
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Roman Catholicism, Protestantism, and Baptists?
Because Judaism ain’t a “breakout hit”, demographically speaking. And, on the topic, that’s my own dogwhistle that I hear: people lumping in Judaism in with Christianity and Islam as an “equal”, when we’re essentially demographically irrelevant; there are nearly as many Mormons (14.8 million) as there are Jews (~16 million) at present. It over-represents us, and makes people think that we’re far more potent and omnipresent than we actually are.
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Bonus heaven points for converting Jews!
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LDS counts anyone who hasn’t officially filed their going-to-hell paperwork as a practicing member, it’s only slightly more reliable than Scientology’s rolls.
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