this post was submitted on 20 Jul 2024
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Political Memes

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[–] [email protected] 13 points 4 months ago (6 children)

How come they always color the places that don't have anybody there as red?

Why can't blue take it?

[–] homesweethomeMrL 18 points 4 months ago (2 children)

It’s the same reason all around the world: India, China, Australia, Venezuela, Romania, Kenya: Hicks.

Hicks are everywhere. And they vote for regressive authoritarians for any number of reasons, most of them wrong.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 4 months ago

Fear... Humans have an evolutionary and natural fear of the unknown... If you live way out in the middle of nowhere, pretty much everything outside your tiny bubble is unknown, and therefore scary. Then assholes come in and use that fear to their advantage. "Everything you're afraid of IS horrible and out to get you! Vote for me and I'll protect you"

[–] aidan 0 points 4 months ago (1 children)
[–] homesweethomeMrL 1 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Oh there you go bringing class into it again

[–] [email protected] 15 points 4 months ago (1 children)

They are probably coloring whole counties, where the second map just makes a dot for each country proportional to population.

[–] [email protected] -2 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Thank you for actually understanding what the second map says. It's shocking how many people in these comments were so easily fooled into thinking that is where the people live in the second map.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 4 months ago

The other complication is that the second map is so potato you can't see what color the smaller dots are and I think it gives overall a bluer impression than it would at higher quality.

[–] Crowfiend 10 points 4 months ago

Because of the way the US handles elections.

Here's a link to my other comment that explains it as I (a laymen) understand it as I was taught in school.

https://lemmy.world/comment/11291037

[–] [email protected] 10 points 4 months ago

Probably because 40 out of the 50 voters in those counties voted red.

[–] [email protected] -2 points 4 months ago (2 children)

Keep in mind both of these maps are grossly misleading. Or at least one is being presented in a misleading way.

One is just coloring an entire county the way the majority voted. This is why those huge (land) counties are all red, because at least 1 more person in it votes for trump than Biden (presumably, I don't know what the map is actually based on but it's a safe bet). So that's why "the sand" is regularly colored red. Although saying noone lives these is misleading.

Which leads me to the second map is probably a noble effort to show some population scale, by reducing all of the counties to a circle the relative size of their population, but it's being misrepresented here as if that's where all of the people in those counties live, which is certainly false. Just look at the center of the country, it's basically a grid of small dots. Do people honestly think the population is distributed like that?

The most frustrating thing about this is everyone in this thread is complaining about how Republicans are too stupid to understand why the map is colored the way it is...while being absolutely fooled as to why the other map is the way it is.

[–] homesweethomeMrL 1 points 4 months ago (1 children)

The most frustrating thing about this is everyone in this thread is complaining about how Republicans are too stupid to understand why the map is colored the way it is...while being absolutely fooled as to why the other map is the way it is.

Fwiw I don’t think anyone’s “fooled” by the first map. Or (again, imo) that all republiQans are too stupid to understand why sand doesn’t vote.

I do think the first map is regularly used as a right-wing talking point by individuals and corporate news to “explain” how republiQans must be winning elections, and that explanation is false. Presumably many of the individuals and all corporate news organizations know that. Which is why it’s just straight-up propaganda.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 4 months ago (1 children)

My point is that the second map, at least the way it is being framed in this meme, is equally misleading.

What it is presumably showing is dot in the middle of each county (although clearly not in middle for places like the NE that are being pushed apart, but I think it's true for like kansas/nebraska) that is scaled relative to the population of that county. It's not necessarily where the people in that county live.

I get that Republicans use the former map to deceive and spread propaganda. What I'm pointing out is that is exactly what is happening with the way the second map is being framed in this meme. It's pure absurdity for people to fall hook, line, and sinker for it. . .while shitting on the intelligence of people who fell hook, line, and sinker for another map being presented in a misleading way.

[–] homesweethomeMrL 1 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Oh right - well, again fwiw, I doubt people are lead to believe that midwest populations are laid out in perfect order like that.

Hm. That said, most midwest towns are laid out in some kind of grid. But that’s more about transportation than politics.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 4 months ago

Both the title of the submission and the wording on the graph indicates otherwise.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Possibly because unless you have an eight figure trust fund the GOP doesn’t help you, so if you vote Republican you are stupid?

[–] [email protected] 0 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Apparently, hating dumb Republicans doesn't preclude you from being dumb yourself. Imagine that

[–] [email protected] 0 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Oh man, you got me so good. You forgot to tell me how your dad can beat up my dad.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 4 months ago

It's funny because my point was based off of what you actually said, your's was just a mindless childish insult... ironically accusing me of making childish retorts.

It's funny how much you see what you hate about yourself in other people.