this post was submitted on 10 Feb 2026
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[–] OneWomanCreamTeam@sh.itjust.works 0 points 3 days ago (4 children)

Saying something malicious while making it look normal is kinda the whole point of dog whistles. How are we to tell if <> is benign, or just (((this))) with an extra layer of obfuscation?

[–] HK65@sopuli.xyz 4 points 3 days ago (2 children)

Because the benign thing is standard as fuck in many languages, it's also in Unicode as a single character.

[–] OneWomanCreamTeam@sh.itjust.works 0 points 3 days ago (1 children)

A lot of languages sure, but not the language the comic is written in.

I didn't realize it was one character though. I thought it was just double < and > I guess that does make it seem less likely to be an intentional dog whistle.

[–] draco_aeneus@mander.xyz 1 points 2 days ago

They are used in the majority of European languages, including French. You might see them natively in Canadian-English written by the French speaking part.

Furthermore, because they are used in ~41 different languages, someone using a keyboard layout in that language will get that character, even if the key they press is labeled with an " icon.

Lastly, you should know that Breton (the language/culture that Great Britain is named after) uses them. Not actually directly relevant, but it does show a direct lineage of using guillemets in English. (And also it's a neat fact).

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