What Went Down On Night 3 Of The RNC

Speakers at the RNC who have mentioned Kamala Harris by name have routinely mispronounced her first name, which is properly pronounced “comma-la.” Intentional mispronunciation is far from harmless, but that’s what conservative voices like Tucker Carlson have encouraged. Recently on his show, Carlson asked rhetorically whether mispronouncing Harris’s first name was disrespectful and ended dismissively by saying “whatever.” Psychologists argue that actions like routine mispronunciation are microaggressions that particularly affect people of color, and can take a mental toll on them. And such mispronunciations are also an example of what is known as “hyperforeignization” to “other” people or things. In this case, we’re talking about a sitting, notable U.S. senator who is now the vice-presidential nominee of a major political party. It’s not hard to see disrespect in the consistent mispronunciation.

Yeah, Chris, my overall impression of tonight so far has been … it hasn’t made an impression. It’s been more notable for what has been missing — i.e., references to Jacob Blake or Hurricane Laura.

So far tonight’s RNC has not really changed the shape of conversation on social media in any major way. Suggest that it hasn’t had a breakthrough moment.