Political Crossfire Forums

I live/work in the CA Bay Area and I can say I've met and actually worked with an anti-vaxxer. It's hard for me to think of it as truly fringe because I came into contact with it. This person is gone now and was a generally crazy person but I can't relegate it to something that abnormal. I'd admit it's rare but not so rare as to remove my discomfort. This person also didn't use microwaves...because of radiation.

See this:

http://www.eastbaytimes.com/2016/02/07/ ... uper-bowl/

http://www.mercurynews.com/2016/06/30/c ... l-mandate/

http://www.marinij.com/article/zz/20150 ... /150139656

This shit is insane.

John's right on this Spider, it's on the right and the left. This was BT too. Same with GMO fears. When Bill Nye the f**k science guy examined GMOs (because he wasn't entirely convinced either) he came to the same conclusion other sensible people have - it's not an issue. He got vilified by the anti-GMO community after he said that.

Let us now consider the difference in scope.

On the left, this is what you have: anti-vaxxers, homeopaths, anti-nuclear energy, anti-free trade and environmental extremists. Communists and legit socialists (not social democrats). You also have radical identity politics folk, otherwise known as SJWs.

On the right, you have: climate change denialism, anti-vaxxers, anti-feds, racists, fascists, white supremacists, religious extremists, gun nuts, traditional sexists, anti-abortion, anti-Islam, incels, Donald supporters, anti-flouride, flat earthers, creationists.

I would consider all of these positions to be fundamentally illogical, without any basis in science, logic or rationality. They have been consistently disproven and hold no credibility.

My bet is that the right wing has a higher proportion of people who hold one or more of the crazy views above. I strongly suspect that conservatism has a greater appeal to crazy or stupid people because it is more simplistic and easy to grasp, and requires only that you absorb a number of general platitudes.

I'd also wager that at least 75% of Republicans hold at least ONE of those traits, while only around 20-40% of leftists/liberals have one of those traits.

The point being that while dumb people exist on both sides, the GOP has a much higher proportion of dumb people. I think the statistics surrounding educational attainment, wealth and facts testing ("Does the sun rotate the earth?") bear that out.

you want to lump them in there but really "gun nuts" does not fit. instead, "preppers" or "milsim" or "militia-members" should be used.

also us anti-abortion folks do have logic and rationality about it, with plenty of basis in science. as you would agree, the embryo is indeed a separate, living, human being. policy difference is one thing, but you can't say that they are denied science on this. it's why driving down the country you'll see billboards about heartbeats at 18 days or whatever it is. this is science, this isn't magic, but the intent is certainly to play on heartstrings. can't lump it in there as you said it is "without basis in science" and that's just completely false.

and of course there's the rub innit? in order for you to declare that most conservatives are dumb you need stuff like that in there. but i won't stand for this malarkey