Polarization in the U.S. didn’t rise gradually. A new machine-learning study shows it surged after 2008- but why?

Polarization in the U.S. didn’t rise gradually. A new machine-learning study shows it surged after 2008- but why?

  • I_Jedi@lemmy.todayEnglish
    211·
    3 days ago

    Lots of reasons 2008 would do this.

    • First black president
    • People losing their houses and jobs due to financial crash
    • Proliferation of smartphones and the Internet (remember dial-up?)
    • CharlesDarwin@lemmy.worldEnglish
      72·
      3 days ago

      I’m thinking so much of it was the first one.

      And when we say “polarization”, I’m sure that’s a bothsiderist way to say: “Republicans/conservatives getting even more crazy”.

      • I_Jedi@lemmy.todayEnglish
        6·
        3 days ago

        The effect of economic turmoil should not be underestimated. “That guy over there took my house” would boost polarization for sure.

    • 1dalm@lemmings.world
      7·
      3 days ago

      I think you should also include the Iraq War. Evangelicals set a lot of their identity in their belief that the War on Terror would be the final Holy War that would bring about the Kingdom of Christ (with them at the top, of course). But instead their holy war turned into an undeniable catastrophe in front of their eyes.

      And also Jesus didn’t come back like he was supposed to.

      • fodor@lemmy.zip
        1·
        3 days ago

        And it’s really hard to overstate the significance of that war. The vast majority of Washington politicians and the vast majority of mainstream media outlets explicitly endorsed it as being just, they were all proven as liars before it even started and certainly after the fact, and very few of them apologized for the massive amounts of deaths that they caused. They never will apologize, they can’t deal with that, their pride won’t let them.