An initial, rather ineffective way of dealing with the results of a poll like this one:
Assume respondents heard the question or misunderstood it. They had to think it meant something else, right?
A second, somewhat better way to deal with it:
Reflect on the possibility that Joe Strummer saw something like this in his day.
We've been told, to keep the strangers out
We don't like them, starting to hang around
We don't like them all over town
Across the wrold we're gonna blow them down.
Assume respondents heard the question or misunderstood it. They had to think it meant something else, right?
A second, somewhat better way to deal with it:
Reflect on the possibility that Joe Strummer saw something like this in his day.
We've been told, to keep the strangers out
We don't like them, starting to hang around
We don't like them all over town
Across the wrold we're gonna blow them down.
Mistrust a group enough and you can buy cruelty toward them as heroic.
2 comments:
Neither of us believes those results either. As Jer said, if election results can be manipulated, how easy would it be to fix a poll?
I'm pretty sure Joe Strummer saw a lot of stuff and saw a lot more coming.
Polls are abstractions of abstractions. My rule is to not make assumptions about masses of people I haven't met. This means not being pessimistic or optimistic.
Strummer was pretty on the ball his whole life. I bet your're right.
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