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This is something I’ve been mulling for the last several weeks and was prompted to comment on the back of this story in news.com overnight.

I notice in a YouTube ad for the Pittwater by election one of the candidates, Jacqui Scruby, in an endeavour to burnish her credentials and create an impression, says in the voice over,  “I’m a 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐞𝐫 lawyer and a 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐞𝐫 small businesswoman”

Note the word, 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐞𝐫. So why mention it at all?

Maybe she’s a failed lawyer and a failed businesswoman, (maybe she just couldn’t hack it) I don’t know, but I find it rather curious to causally gloss over, build, frame and insert words into your pitch in an endeavour to sell yourself based on something that you admit that 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐭.

Weird uh? Not really. It’s a con.

It’s a linguistic sleight of hand designed to deceive, inveigle, over egg and position herself, to build out and pad her cv.

She might as well say “I’m not a lawyer and I’m not a small businesswoman.

But of course the reason these are casually thrown into the mix is to create an impression and make herself relatable, relevant and experienced.

She also says in her hand outs on T Shirts and signage that she’s an independent.

She’s not.

Everything about her screams Teal, right down to her funding from Climate 200 not to mention the fact that her most recent gig was working as a policy adviser for her twin Teal in the area for the Federal seat of Mackeller, the Hamas supporter, Sophie Scamps.