Philosophy Now Forum

Or is this story unbalanced and unfair and maybe untruthful? (I suspect the latter - I once heard that the head of a nearby local police department belonged to the KKK):

http://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/8407020

PhilX

You are trying to extrapolate a single thing to a general thing. This is a type of fallacy.
Even if there is a surge of conservatism this alone would not be a representative signal.

Generally there seems to be a polarisation of extreme views, but how much of this is a media phenomenon? The media chose what stories to show and which to ignore. In some respects this can actually encourage groups and individuals to see that its their time to start acting, but it can also have the opposite effect.
On the political side we have Trump who is stirring up the hornets nest with his plan to build a wall, and on the other side we have Bernie Sanders hoping to be more inclusive and make people like Trump pay their fair share.
But never has their been a "socialist" presidential prospect.
Is Bernie Sanders a sign of a surge in conservatism?
No- you have also the problem of selective bias. You've cherry picked this article which ignores the surge to the left.

Hobbes' Choice wrote:You are trying to extrapolate a single thing to a general thing. This is a type of fallacy.
Even if there is a surge of conservatism this alone would not be a representative signal.

Generally there seems to be a polarisation of extreme views, but how much of this is a media phenomenon? The media chose what stories to show and which to ignore. In some respects this can actually encourage groups and individuals to see that its their time to start acting, but it can also have the opposite effect.
On the political side we have Trump who is stirring up the hornets nest with his plan to build a wall, and on the other side we have Bernie Sanders hoping to be more inclusive and make people like Trump pay their fair share.
But never has their been a "socialist" presidential prospect.
Is Bernie Sanders a sign of a surge in conservatism?
No- you have also the problem of selective bias. You've cherry picked this article which ignores the surge to the left.

So a conservative press has only so much sway in the US.

PhilX

Philosophy Explorer wrote:

Hobbes' Choice wrote:You are trying to extrapolate a single thing to a general thing. This is a type of fallacy.
Even if there is a surge of conservatism this alone would not be a representative signal.

Generally there seems to be a polarisation of extreme views, but how much of this is a media phenomenon? The media chose what stories to show and which to ignore. In some respects this can actually encourage groups and individuals to see that its their time to start acting, but it can also have the opposite effect.
On the political side we have Trump who is stirring up the hornets nest with his plan to build a wall, and on the other side we have Bernie Sanders hoping to be more inclusive and make people like Trump pay their fair share.
But never has their been a "socialist" presidential prospect.
Is Bernie Sanders a sign of a surge in conservatism?
No- you have also the problem of selective bias. You've cherry picked this article which ignores the surge to the left.

So a conservative press has only so much sway in the US.

PhilX

Is this an adequate response?