“Well,” said the PR man, standing carefully downwind, “ you certainly do have an image problem. But that’s my specialty- making things popular and acceptable. I think we’d better start with your name, after all that’s a negative image in people’s minds - when they hear ‘skunk’, they think ‘bad smell’ ”.
“It’s surprising how much a change of name can do for something. The word “sin”, for instance, that’s one of my recent makeovers, such an unpopular, negative image, don’t you think? And people don’t want to be reminded of the word. So, we decided to let it fall into disuse, never used it , and used other words instead : ‘creative freedom’, ‘doing one’s own thing’, ‘my right to choose’ etc. Remember ‘living in sin’, ‘adultery’, or ‘fornication’? How passe! What a success story! Now even the word ‘wicked’ or 'filth' is slang for ‘exciting and fun’!”
“Or abortion, murder, kill, suicide …. much more acceptable to say ‘rights
over one’s own body’or ‘euthanase’or ‘exit with dignity’. ‘Pro-Choice’ is
better accepted than ‘Pro-abortion’. Everyone likes choices, don't they? Just
don't give any clue that one choice is bad and one is good. 'Pregnancy termination'
doesn't give the feeling there is a baby involved.
‘Fertility practitioner’ is a less negative an image than ‘abortionist’.
'Planned parenthood' sounds more positive than planning to be a mother as
few times as possible or not at all. Do you get my drift? A little
careful wording, and even things with negative images become acceptable.”
"Trouble is", he added a little ruefully, "if pro-lifers continue to welcome
children, while pro-choicers plan actively to have as few as possible, then
eventually the children of prolifers will be more numerous, while pro-choicers
will die out." He shuddered, and shook his head free of the unpleasant thought.
“However, back to ‘skunk’ ”, said the PR man with a devilishly handsome smile, “ how about we focus instead on ‘Stripes’, or even ‘aromatic’, ‘perfumed’, or ‘scent’. Something vaguely fuzzy, something popular, something trendy….. You’re not all that marketable on your own, so we’ll get some movie star to endorse you… A good ad campaign, and your new image will make you the latest craze! The most fashionable pet!”
And so it was for a remarkably long while. “ Scent”, for that was his new name, was incredibly popular, the newest fad, the ideal pet. All seemed rosy. With a new name, people were readily fooled. The same furry little animal they had always avoided was invited into their homes.
But sooner or later nature reveals itself, and for Scent, his habit of
exuding a repulsive aroma when angry was his downfall. Sooner or later, he
was dropped, and hastily avoided to cries of “Phew! SKUNK!”
As for the PR man, who had made a quick buck and been incredibly successful
for a time, well he vanished in a puff of sulphur, to re-enter the popularity
image business in another place.
"The basic tool for the manipulation of reality is the manipulation
of words.
If you can control the meaning of words, you can control the people who
must use the words.
George Orwell made this clear in his novel 1984.
But another way to control the minds of people is to control their perceptions.
If you can get them to see the world as you do, they will think as you
do." SF writer Philip K Dick, in his introduction to "I hope I shall
arrive soon" London, Gollancz,1986.