Forming Oppositional Social Concord to California's Proposition 187 and Squelching Social Discord in the Vernacular Space of CHICLE

Abstract

I examine the vernacular discourse of the CHICLE listserv, an academic site of inquiry that shifted its focus to operate as a site of opposition following California voters’ passage of Proposition 187, which aimed to restrict state services to undocumented immigrants. I identify the micro-level processes involved in forming a stance of opposition and reveal that a vernacular community's discourse tends to mirror the hegemonic characteristics of the dominant discourses it opposes, a tendency reinforced by homogeneous identity and a need to respond in opposition to dominant discourses. I also examine the role of dissent, or discord, among listserv members.