Why not go to www.amazon.com type in 'Lakoff' and click on his book 'How not to think of an elephant' and read the reviews?

The title is a good example of why just telling the truth does not always work, especially when your opponents are winning the language game.

Hypothtical: I'm the President of the 'Campaign to eliminate thoughts of elephants because they are obviously designed by committee.'

I gather a group of like-minded people and we suggest how to achieve our aims. Someone suggests we just tell the truth. 'Just tell them straight! Don't think of an elephant! The truth will set them free!'

So we go out and tell people 'Don't think of an elephant!'

We buy billboard space with 'Don't think of an elephant!' printed in huge letters.

We run TV ads telling people 'Don't think of an elephant!'

What have we achieved?

The exact opposite of what we set out to do. Try it yourself, tell someone 'Don't think of an elephant!' and ask if they thought of an elephant.

Richard Nixon as President of the USA stated: 'I am not a crook' so everyone thought he was a crook. Use the word and you evoke the frame, the ideas.

Say, 'I'm not a racist' and people will think? You've just evoked the racist frame.

Non-racists don't go round denying they are racists.

Honest people don't go round trying to convince people they are not crooks.

Christina