The_Piper wrote:

ScholasticSpastic wrote:I would like to be able to read the poll questions. CNN does some really shitty polls and the way you word your questions can give you wildly different sets of responses from the same sample group.

I take CNN polls about as seriously as I take Trump's hair style.

I found it -
"Would you say you are very angry, somewhat angry, not very angry, or not angry at all about the way things are going in the country today? "
It's on page 25 of the document at this link below.
http://edition.cnn.com/2015/12/29/politics/cnn-orc-poll-full-results-obama-approval/index.html

Worded that way, there is a bias toward angry.

It should have been contrasted with a question like "Would you say you are very pleased, somewhat pleased, not very pleased or not pleased at all about the way things are going in the country today." I predict such a question would garner approximately the same number of "pleased" answers as the other one did "angry" answers.

scott1328 wrote:

Scot Dutchy wrote:We know Americans are a lot of things but...

We know that Americans are 321,773,631 different things (i.e. people), despite the prejudiced, bigoted views certain others love to spew.

This is really weird (kinda spooky too) that’s exactly the same number of USA-bashing threads we have on this forum.

Weaver wrote:

The_Piper wrote:

ScholasticSpastic wrote:I would like to be able to read the poll questions. CNN does some really shitty polls and the way you word your questions can give you wildly different sets of responses from the same sample group.

I take CNN polls about as seriously as I take Trump's hair style.

I found it -
"Would you say you are very angry, somewhat angry, not very angry, or not angry at all about the way things are going in the country today? "
It's on page 25 of the document at this link below.
http://edition.cnn.com/2015/12/29/politics/cnn-orc-poll-full-results-obama-approval/index.html

Worded that way, there is a bias toward angry.

It should have been contrasted with a question like "Would you say you are very pleased, somewhat pleased, not very pleased or not pleased at all about the way things are going in the country today." I predict such a question would garner approximately the same number of "pleased" answers as the other one did "angry" answers.

I don't understand how it's biased towards angry. Is it because "not very angry" still counts as angry?
The question right before it was "On the whole, would you say you are satisfied or dissatisfied with how the nation is being governed?" Only 24% said they are satisfied. I wouldn't have been in the satisfied group.

A more unbiased question would have been...
While watching the presidential primary debates, have you at least once:

1) Lost track of the current topic while trying to dig a particular stubborn bit of grit from your belly button.
2) Tried to argue with one of candidates who obviously can't hear you.
3) Kicked your cat.
4) Kicked your baby.

A couple of thoughts/observations on this...

* whatever else is true, it's certainly popular to report when people are ANGRY, and it is certainly not popular to report when people are HAPPY. In fact, after years of people whining on talk shows, and saying how much they wished that there would be a GOD NEWS emphasis show, Ted Turner finally actually launched one. It was in prime time, 6-7 pm, right when people were coming home from work and turning on the telly.

Nobody watched it. Nobody noticed when it ended six months later.

* Polls are always about what people BELIEVE. Never about what is actually true. Some politicians know this well, and so they put a lot of time and effort in to telling people what's good that they've done.

Obama never learned this, apparently. He consistently allowed his opponents, here and abroad, to decide the agenda, and the tone of the information being delivered to the American people about his administration.

* Overall, Americans are constantly told that it's cool to be pissed off. When the Left isn't telling us to be angry about how minorities are being treated, the Right is telling us to be angry about the Left, and when those wings are busy at each others throats, there's always a business person with an ad telling us we're being suckered, or we're losers because we don't have the latest bauble.

And then there's all the more general American propaganda. A lot of it's been re-promoted of late. That we rebelled against the British Crown a while back because we were ANGRY about taxes; that we fought our Civil War because we were ANGRY about injustice; that we "saved the world" from Germany twice, because we were ANGRY about oppression; and that now we have to kill Muslims at home and abroad, because we are ANGRY about terrorism.

* when people are under stress, they tend to be angered easily. Most of us (i.e. not the one-percenters) have had a less than ideal time of things financially of late. Could have something to do with things.

Goddamn bastard fuck prick sons of bitches. You want to see angry? I'll show you fucking angry.

Is it because they're fat?
I'd be angry, if I were fat.

We're hangry.

Mazille wrote:Is it because they're fat?
I'd be angry, if I were fat.

Yes, we're all fat. All of us. Fat and angry. Not the good kind of fat, which is jolly.

I KNEW IT!

That is an epic cartoon CdesignProponentsist

I wonder what the analogue would be for other nationalities....

Here's a good one -

Why does he throw horns?

CdesignProponentsist wrote:

Where'd you get this picture of me? No wait, that's not me. I'd never have one of those yellow bow things.

The_Piper wrote:Here's a good one -

I've always been fond of this one...

Mazille wrote:Why does he throw horns?

I think the artist was trying to draw him giving two fingers, meaning 'eff off'.

don't get me started wrote:

Mazille wrote:Why does he throw horns?

I think the artist was trying to draw him giving two fingers, meaning 'eff off'.

Finger gap is the new thigh gap. Apparently.

Ovweactive amygdalas?

In my job I see a fair number of people who live in my neighborhood.

A good number of them seem quite happy. Many give me evidence of anger about something or other.

The angry ones seem to treat every little thing as an affront: we don't carry this or that brand of soap powder; our computer system isn't up-to-date; why aren't things like the old days?; the music on the public address system is in a genre they don't like; the weather - too hot, too cold, too wet, too dry; too many choices; not enough choices; prices (always too high); too many coupons offered; not enough coupons offered; too many other shoppers; et fucking cetera.

The happy folks just don't seem to take the typical retail environment very personally.



Whether this would seem different in some other nation is impossible for me to tell.