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A Tale of Two Twitter Polls on Political Communication Across Partisan-Tribal/Politically Sectarian Boundaries.
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1/n ending in END.
Here is the first:
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1/n ending in END.
Here is the first:
Comments about this poll. Tw-polls have a bad reputation as approaching fake data among the academic methodological twitterati, for good reasons. They are representative of nothing & are usually massively biased by self-selection in who one chooses to follow.
BUT in this case, the Twitterati can ... go do whatever they do. Over 1400 respondents, still self-selected, but for what? For those most likely to be actively engaged on my feed.
Great! I'm in!
Great! I'm in!
I may not always succeed (who does?), but I work hard at cleaving to truth, evidence, facts, as much as possible, regardless of whose ox is being gored.
This has meant Tweeting tons of stuff on:
1. Academia's left distortions (see my "debunking" thread just yesterday)
2. Trump's failures & lies.
3. Danger of the extreme left
4. Danger of the extreme right
(not relitigating any of that here, go thru my tw if you want to do so).
1. Academia's left distortions (see my "debunking" thread just yesterday)
2. Trump's failures & lies.
3. Danger of the extreme left
4. Danger of the extreme right
(not relitigating any of that here, go thru my tw if you want to do so).
Plenty to piss off almost anyone. (And if you hang around here, you have seen all sorts of people pissed off at me for all sorts of stuff; my Tw feed was part of what I was denounced for in my own dept).
And yet? You are still here.
And yet? You are still here.
Conclusion I:
My Tw feed is an existence proof. People across wicked nasty divides can engage in (mostly) civil conversation with each other -- even when it is your ox I'm goring.
We don't usually persuade each other, but, if you are still here? It does mean we hear each other.
My Tw feed is an existence proof. People across wicked nasty divides can engage in (mostly) civil conversation with each other -- even when it is your ox I'm goring.
We don't usually persuade each other, but, if you are still here? It does mean we hear each other.
(And, once in a while, we do persuade each other). Eg, I learned from my rightwing followers that Kamala Harris really did have the most extreme left record in the Senate. This was not rightwing propaganda or hysteria:
https://www.govtrack.us/congress/members/report-cards/2019/senate/ideology
https://www.govtrack.us/congress/members/report-cards/2019/senate/ideology
Although she was more moderate prior to Senate, much of her rhetoric is consistent with her very left Senate voting record. Cartoon on right is from right before Election Day, about addressing inequality in opportunity (I'm in!) to produce=outcomes (a goal w/horrendous record).
Much of academia is left, even when contrarian, and, as you know, I pay close attention to such folks -- any time someone takes an anti-tribal stand, they may still be wrong, but that person gets my attention for scoring both credibility and courage points.
All of which gets me to my other poll, left, shown side-by-side with the politics poll (right, this will be important over the next few tweets):
1500+ votes from my most active followers. "Yes, you abdicated your credibility when denouncing Maga riots if you were silent* on Summer Social Justice riots."
Wins in a f'ing landslide.
*I really wanted the poll to say "or cheered on/denied the violence" but not enuf space.
Wins in a f'ing landslide.
*I really wanted the poll to say "or cheered on/denied the violence" but not enuf space.
56%. 30%-ish of my followers voted Trump. This is not just self-serving Trump supporters.
At least on my feed, *all sorts of people* are pissed off about the hypocrisy.
At least on my feed, *all sorts of people* are pissed off about the hypocrisy.
Reminder:
I was denounced in my own Dept for highlighting the summer violence and for criticizing how academia & MSM were blinded to it and justifying it by their quest for racial justice on my Tw feed AS we were preparing this report (which came out in Sept):
I was denounced in my own Dept for highlighting the summer violence and for criticizing how academia & MSM were blinded to it and justifying it by their quest for racial justice on my Tw feed AS we were preparing this report (which came out in Sept):
For the record, my own view on is a weird blend of outrage at the hypocrisy and "its complicated." I mean, it is hypocritical as all get out.
Yet, if you accept that MSM&academia were not reporting it, its perhaps too harsh to expect people who weren't paying rapt attn to sources like @Quillette, @GlennLoury or @MrAndyNgo to have even been aware of the violence, as articulated here: https://twitter.com/FreeBlckThought/status/1351353631006629888
Also, the MAGA riots were just plain bad, and we really do not want more of that type of thing, so denouncing them really can't be wrong. Even if the denouncer is a two-faced dogmatic ideologue blinded by their hatred for the other side.
I note here that that analysis (dogmatic, delusional but still right) applies just about *identically* to rightwingers denouncing the summer violence while giving a pass to (justifying, saying it was really antifa, etc.) the MAGA riots.*
*Some, but not much, of this on my feed.
*Some, but not much, of this on my feed.
Regardless, I *do* hate the hypocrisy, which (correctly or not, tho I suspect at least *mostly* correctly) I see all around us.
I am grateful most of you do, too.
I am grateful most of you do, too.
Just earlier today I heard W. Va Governer (A Republican) on MSNBC. He was there because WVA has done an amazing job rolling out vaccines, and has vaccinated more ppl/capita than any other state.
Republican Gov. Being lauded on MSNBC.
Republican Gov. Being lauded on MSNBC.
I did not say it was going to be easy. But the best things never are.
And we, in this tiny corner of a completely whacked out world, are doing it.
Glad to have y'all around.
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And we, in this tiny corner of a completely whacked out world, are doing it.
Glad to have y'all around.
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