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You’re probably making incorrect assumptions about your opposing political party


Valin

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Arthur C. Brooks

July 26 2019

“You know what they really want.”

As America slouches toward the 2020 presidential election, candidates and pundits will regularly tell you this about the other political side, followed by a list of its extremist beliefs, twisted motives and wicked desires.

But do you ever stop and ask how much you really know about the other side? Or whether the outrage industry in politics and media is telling you the truth about your fellow Americans who disagree with you politically? These questions are worth asking, because it turns out most of what we “know” about the other side is wrong.

Let’s start with how much Republicans and Democrats actually know about the lives of people on the other side. The authors of a 2017 study in the Journal of Politics revealed that the average Democrat believes that more than 40 percent of Republicans earn more than $250,000 per year. Meanwhile, Republicans believe that nearly 40 percent of Democrats are LGBTQ. How close are these estimates to reality? Not very. Just 2 percent of Republicans are doing that well financially, and just 6 percent of Democrats are LGBTQ. 

Getting basic facts about our neighbors this laughably wrong is pathetic enough. More alarming is the tendency to erroneously attribute extreme views and motives to the other side. The nonprofit organization More in Common recently released a report on the “Perception Gap” — the difference between what we think the “other side” believes and what they actually believe. The study found that average Democrats and Republicans radically overestimate the percentage of the other side that holds “extreme views.” 

(Snip)

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Take the perception Gap Quiz.....interesting.

Lately I have taken to ask on You Tube some small simple questions, of our leftist friends...How Many Republicans/Conservatives do you actually know? Have you ever had a serious conversation with them? How many right of center/conservative media outlet do you read/watch?

I ask the same thing of those on our side.

 

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25 minutes ago, Valin said:
9f888f0a-a995-11e9-86dd-d7f0e60391e9_story.html?utm_term=.362431efad3f

Arthur C. Brooks

July 26 2019

“You know what they really want.”

As America slouches toward the 2020 presidential election, candidates and pundits will regularly tell you this about the other political side, followed by a list of its extremist beliefs, twisted motives and wicked desires.

But do you ever stop and ask how much you really know about the other side? Or whether the outrage industry in politics and media is telling you the truth about your fellow Americans who disagree with you politically? These questions are worth asking, because it turns out most of what we “know” about the other side is wrong.

Let’s start with how much Republicans and Democrats actually know about the lives of people on the other side. The authors of a 2017 study in the Journal of Politics revealed that the average Democrat believes that more than 40 percent of Republicans earn more than $250,000 per year. Meanwhile, Republicans believe that nearly 40 percent of Democrats are LGBTQ. How close are these estimates to reality? Not very. Just 2 percent of Republicans are doing that well financially, and just 6 percent of Democrats are LGBTQ. 

Getting basic facts about our neighbors this laughably wrong is pathetic enough. More alarming is the tendency to erroneously attribute extreme views and motives to the other side. The nonprofit organization More in Common recently released a report on the “Perception Gap” — the difference between what we think the “other side” believes and what they actually believe. The study found that average Democrats and Republicans radically overestimate the percentage of the other side that holds “extreme views.” 

(Snip)

______________________________________________________________________

Take the perception Gap Quiz.....interesting.

Lately I have taken to ask on You Tube some small simple questions, of our leftist friends...How Many Republicans/Conservatives do you actually know? Have you ever had a serious conversation with them? How many right of center/conservative media outlet do you read/watch?

I ask the same thing of those on our side.

 

I really have a hard time believing that Republicans really believe that 40% of Democrats are LGBTQ. Where did they do they survey - San Francisco??

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7 minutes ago, Geee said:

I really have a hard time believing that Republicans really believe that 40% of Democrats are LGBTQ. Where did they do they survey - San Francisco??

Where? don't know. If you take the quiz (as a Republican) you'll see what they say Democrats really believe....Scary enough.

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2 hours ago, Valin said:

Where? don't know. If you take the quiz (as a Republican) you'll see what they say Democrats really believe....Scary enough.

:blink:

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