Why Everyone Is Buzzing About The Words ‘Infest’ And ‘Civility’

A woman and child leave immigration on June 17, 2018 in McAllen, Texas. Image by LOREN ELLIOTT/Getty Images

By Talya Zax June 29, 2018

Language has become a flash point of the political landscape. What did it mean when first lady Melania Trump wore a jacket bearing the words “I really don’t care, do u?” to a detention center for immigrant children? What about when President Trump said immigrants would “infest” the United States, or when pundits responded to press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders being kicked out of a restaurant with calls for “civility?”

Aviya Kushner has answered the two latter questions for the Forward as our resident language columnist, and this week, she spoke about the words “infest” and “civility” on the podcast “Keeping Democracy Alive with Burt Cohen.” Listen to Kushner’s conversation with Cohen, here.

Talya Zax is the Forward’s opinion editor. Contact her at [email protected] or on Twitter, @TalyaZax.

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