16/35/11 – Cyberspace

Political group Duh!Mocracy created a domino effect last week when it published a set of statistics highlighting racial, social and economic inequity in the United States.

The statistics were posted in chart form on the organization’s website alongside an article admonishing the extension of the Bush tax cuts. The words “astonished,” “indefensible,” “liberty,” “democracy,” “American people” and “demonstrable” appeared multiple times throughout the article.

In the hours after the publication of the statistics hundreds of thousands of social media users posted the chart on their Facebook and Twitter pages.

Exclamatory comments such as “is this democracy?” and “the truth, kids…” often accompanied the chart, as did the occasional Dadaist quip, i.e. “Why does Stephen Hawking talk like a speak and spell?”

Nelson Scott, head researcher at Duh!Mocracy, was intrigued by the proliferation of the chart on Facebook, particularly the related commentary.

“I was honestly, like, really sort of amazed by how many peopled shared the chart, you know? Especially with all of these comments like ‘Oh my god! The government is evil!’ So I decided to do some follow-up research,” said Scott via telephone interview.

The researcher sent out a questionnaire to those who posted the chart along with said commentary. The responses to these questionnaires lead to another set of statistics showing that 88 percent of posters identified as white, 97 percent as upper middle class, 81 percent as over educated and 3 percent as dumb as a box of rocks.

Three days after the publication of the initial statistics, Duh!Mocracy posted these new statistics on its webpage. Again, a rash of social media users posted the chart and again Scott was surprised.

“Well this time it was like, ‘Who the hell is posting this?’ So I sent out another survey. Especially with all the accompanying, like, totally sardonic comments like 'Apparently Yale doesn't teach reality' and 'ha!', you know?”

The second survey showed that 65 percent of those posting the second chart identified as African American, Latin American, American Indian, Alaskan Native, Samoan, Siberian Husky or Other and 97 percent as working class or lower.

Responses to the question “Why did you post this chart?” ranged from “Can’t stand me some ignant-ass crackas” (interestingly written by an individual self-identified as “White”) and “Welcome to the jungle.”

Taking all of this information into account, Scott decided to take a third approach to the presentation of information.

“It occurred to me that the information presented by the first set of statistics, which showed racial, social, gender-based and economic iniquity, was only shocking because it was taken out of historical context.”

To rectify the situation, Scott created a line graph charting the treatment and social progress of the socially, racially, ethnically, sexually and otherwise oppressed peoples. The graph is more or less a straight line, despite minor fluctuations.

“Well, I looked at all societies, all periods in history, all types of oppression and exclusion, and that’s basically what it looked like,” said Scott.

The new chart, entitled “Blacks, Women, Jews, Gays, the Poor and More: Fucked in the Ass Since of the Advent of Human Society,” is available for download from Duh!Mocracy.