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Article published In:
Journal of Language Aggression and Conflict
Vol. 11:1 (2023) ► pp.77–100

Metaphors, powerlessness and online aggression

How Wuhan lockdown escapees were dehumanised during the COVID-19 pandemic

ORCID logo | Lingnan University

A lockdown was imposed in Wuhan, China, the alleged epicentre of the COVID-19 outbreak, on 23 January 2020. Rattled by the short notice and severity of the restrictions, many grabbed the last opportunity to escape, an act widely criticised on Weibo, China’s popular microblogging site. This study aims to examine the unsavoury discourse deployed by Weibo users to express impoliteness and discursively construct negative identities of the lockdown escapees. Posts on Weibo criticising, reporting and threatening the escapees were analysed, revealing that the escapees were dehumanised through vivid animal metaphors to highlight their irresponsibility and call for their punishment. Animal metaphors can co-occur with various impoliteness triggers to intensify offensiveness, heightening the hostility of interlocutors towards a target.

This use of metaphors also showcases online users’ anger, distrust, and hatred towards the escapees, their solidarity-seeking behaviour online and their irrationality.

Keywords: COVID-19, lockdown escapees, online aggression, impoliteness, metaphors, social media discourse
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Discourse and power
  • 3.Aggression, impoliteness and metaphor
  • 4.Animal metaphors
  • 5.Data and methodology
  • 6.Results
    • 6.1As shameless and selfish dogs
    • 6.2As horses and rats “harming” others
    • 6.3As disruptive insects
    • 6.4As “nine-headed birds”
  • 7.Discussion and conclusion
  • Acknowledgements
  • Note
  • References
Published online: 2 December 2021
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/jlac.00073.ho
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