In a very interesting article by Philip Bump arguing that the Clinton-Sanders race is very close, this graphic was interesting:
If we assume that roughly 30 percent are either Democrats or Republicans, with independents comprising the remaining forty percent of the U.S. population, we notice something very disturbing: almost twenty percent of respondents are “very concerned” about “you or a family member being a terror victim.” Over forty percent would be either “very concerned” or “somewhat concerned.”
This is fucking stupid. At this point, one is supposed to don his Wise Pundit Thinkin’ Cap, talk about lizard brains, and note how awful we are at assessing threats.
Well, I’m not going to do that. The Republic is being hamstrung by a bunch of idiot chickenshit cowards who believe ISIS is going capture Ottumwa, Iowa. Or something.
If they were mentally ill, I would urge patience and decency. But unless this is a mass communicable psychotic break, the people who believe this need to be held responsible for this idiocy.
mikethemadbiologist
Interesting. Assume the bar chart is merely a metric of the emotion of “fearfulness” of the respondents, and put aside any actual correlation with a specific threat-likelihood of individual harm by “terror”. The thing that catches my eye is the fear level of the subset with more belief in the efficacy of a powerful central State (D), versus those (R) who typically eschew State power in favor of individual liberty. Why would the liberty-driven individualists be more afraid than the collective-minded less-fearful respondents? Perhaps the collectivist D’s have an as irrational a belief in the efficacy of government power, as the R’s have in their belief that no one can protect them from the boogeymen in life. I would argue that both groups are equally deluded.
Seems more likely that your assumption that D’s are “collectivist” is complete nonsense.
Gotta wonder though, just what are the odds of being killed by a terrorist?
(Click through if you dare – https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2015/11/23/youre-more-likely-to-be-fatally-crushed-by-furniture-than-killed-by-a-terrorist/ )
Reblogged this on Wide Awake But Dreaming and commented:
I’m sending this out because it’s true: fear has turned us into a bunch of chickenshits.
I would like to know how the groups would break down on where the threat comes from.
We do have domestic right-wing terrorists who attack marginalized populations. Given the violence associated with Trump rallies, one might believe that the threats of violence will expand after the election. If a member of a minority group is scared of that, I wouldn’t call it idiocy.
On the other hand, being concerned of an attack by Al-Qaeda on Toad Suck Ferry does fall into the category of stupidity.
I think Conservatives are the victims of their candidates who spend a great deal of time talking about the threat of terrorism, despite the fact that we are all far far more likely die driving to work. More Americans are killed or injured moving their furniture than are killed by terrorists.
Clinton is just as bad on that front.
No one talks about why there is a war on terrorism. Its an utterly ridiculous thing created because it creates a lot of military contracts.
Somehow spending billions of dollars on surveillance and drone bombings is an OK expenditure but we are not willing to spend money on the healthcare system or infrastructure. Both of which impact our lives EVERY DAMN DAY.
On a purely objective scale – fighting Terrorism is a huge boondoggle.
If Walt Whitman had been alive during the Bush administration he would have written “I Hear America Clucking”. I suppose the good thing is that will soon be easier to sing our national anthem, “cluck, cluck, cluck”.
P.S. It is well documented that more fearful people tend to be more politically conservative. There is a biological component.