"But what would your friends do?"
Apr. 12th, 2002 11:03 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
yesthattomPeople don't want to admit that they have unpopular opinions. They're racist, homophobic, cheat on their taxes, lie to their boss; but they don't admit it. Well, maybe the obvious asshole racist skin heads and Klan members admit that they are racist in public, but that's their whole thing.
However there is a way to get around that paradox and get to the truth. Ask them how their friends feel about the same thing. For example, in the 90's when people talked about Colin Powell for VP everyone said the same thing: "Oh yeah, I'd vote for him!" That's bullshit. Without knowing his qualifications they immediately swooned and said that they'd vote for him. They just didn't want to admit to the anonymous stranger doing the telephone survey that they are as racist as they know they deep down really are. Once they were alone in the voting booth there is no fucking way 80% of the US would have actually voted for him.
So that's why Colin Powell polled at something like a 80% approval rate. However, they weren't paying attention to the right question.
Ask "...but would your friends vote for him" and the results were nearly zero. In other words, I don't want to admit what a racist I am, but I'll be honest about my racist friends. That's the question the campaign advisers were paying attention to, and that's why nobody actually asked him to be a running mate.
So now Bush II has a super huge approval rating. However, it is important to remember that this has no bearing on his ability to be re-elected. The polling numbers on "would your friends vote to re-elect him?" are very low. Basically, people don't want to admit to an anonymous stranger calling on the phone that they are against the man that is George Orwell's 1984 ideal president. How do you know it's really a pollster and not someone making a list for the big day of reckoning when all unamericans are rounded up and killed. However, they'll gladly rat out their friends.
Just ask.
However there is a way to get around that paradox and get to the truth. Ask them how their friends feel about the same thing. For example, in the 90's when people talked about Colin Powell for VP everyone said the same thing: "Oh yeah, I'd vote for him!" That's bullshit. Without knowing his qualifications they immediately swooned and said that they'd vote for him. They just didn't want to admit to the anonymous stranger doing the telephone survey that they are as racist as they know they deep down really are. Once they were alone in the voting booth there is no fucking way 80% of the US would have actually voted for him.
So that's why Colin Powell polled at something like a 80% approval rate. However, they weren't paying attention to the right question.
Ask "...but would your friends vote for him" and the results were nearly zero. In other words, I don't want to admit what a racist I am, but I'll be honest about my racist friends. That's the question the campaign advisers were paying attention to, and that's why nobody actually asked him to be a running mate.
So now Bush II has a super huge approval rating. However, it is important to remember that this has no bearing on his ability to be re-elected. The polling numbers on "would your friends vote to re-elect him?" are very low. Basically, people don't want to admit to an anonymous stranger calling on the phone that they are against the man that is George Orwell's 1984 ideal president. How do you know it's really a pollster and not someone making a list for the big day of reckoning when all unamericans are rounded up and killed. However, they'll gladly rat out their friends.
Just ask.
