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“Losers” and the Sub‐Prime Mortgage Crisis
Author(s) -
Cline Andrew R
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
poverty and public policy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.206
H-Index - 4
ISSN - 1944-2858
DOI - 10.2202/1944-2858.1027
Subject(s) - pejorative , stereotype (uml) , unemployment , character (mathematics) , government (linguistics) , morality , prime (order theory) , economics , social psychology , psychology , political science , law , linguistics , philosophy , geometry , mathematics , economic growth , combinatorics
Until early 2009, “loser” was a sympathetic term identifying victims of the 2008‐2009 recession. That use shifted to a derogatory label for people who benefit from government largesse — sub‐prime mortgage borrowers — at the expense of “honest” and “hardworking” Americans. Labels “transform and magnify” behavior into a character failing. Gans (1995) sees a “war of words” in American culture that uses pejorative labels “that stereotype, stigmatize, and harass the poor by questioning their morality and their values.” This essay examines the case of CNBC reporter Rick Santelli's use of “loser” as a pejorative label and the influence of that use on media punditry about the mortgage crisis of 2008‐2009.