In most usage, they plural affords the same convenience as the other pronoun groups – shorthand for a known group after already identified. “The Jeffersons went on vacation. They saw the Grand Canyon and flew into Las Vegas. They said it was the trip of a lifetime!” No issues here, sounds like fun.
But what happens when “they” is unspecified? In a society, there are many groups, and different groups can refer to each other as “they” without issue provided the reference is clear. But the ambiguous they? Without specifics, the audience might be assuming references to wildly different groups under the same banner – it becomes an ink blot test. It can be any group you want.
In this way, “they” is inflammatory, it is incendiary, it is divisive, and it is subtle
Politicians in particular utilize they tactically in stump speeches to build alignment in the abstract when the specifics might be too inconvenient. “They’re all criminals” could mean ex-convicts to one audience member, all people of a race to another. And the speaker is fine with the unspoken confusion so long as both heads nod and eventually donate.
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