angry

2Apr

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

POLITICS

Angry Americans: How political rage helps campaigns but hurts democracy

As the 2020 presidential election draws near, one thing is clear: America is an angry nation. From protests over persistent racial injustice to white nationalist-linked counterprotests, anger is on display across the country. The national ire relates to inequality, the government’s coronavirus response, economic concerns, race and policing. It’s also due, in large part, to deliberate and strategic choices made by American politicians to stoke voter anger for their own electoral advantage. Donald Trump’s attempts to enrage his base are so plentiful that progressive magazine The Nation called him a “merchant of anger.” Meanwhile, his opponent, Joe Biden, elicits anger toward the president, calling Trump a “toxic presence” who has “cloaked America in darkness.” Anger-filled political rheto...

New teachers mistakenly assume Black students are angry

The big idea College students who are training to become teachers are 36% more likely to mistakenly believe that a Black child is angry when that child isn’t making an angry face than if a white child makes the same facial expression, according to our new study. We determined this by having a group of 72 Black and white child actors trained by experts to make specific facial muscle movements. For example, to come across as surprised, the children raised their eyebrows and widened their eyes. To convey anger, the children furrowed their eyebrows and tightened their lips. We designed our study this way to make sure that no one could say maybe the Black children were making angry faces more often than the white children. They absolutely were not. Then we had teachers-in-training watch vide...

Activists angry police who shoot can wait to face questions

Activists decry what they call the special treatment given to police officers who are involved in shootings. Police tape at the perimeter of a suspected blast scene in Austin, Texas [File: Carolyn Van Houten/The Washington Post/Getty Images] After a police officer fatally shoots someone, it can take days or even weeks before the public or his supervisors hear the officer's version of what happened. In many states, that so-called "cooling off period" is carved out in state law or in a police department's contract. That opportunity to take some time before undergoing questioning by investigators angers community activists and others seeking reforms of police departments around the country who believe it gives officers time to reshape their story to justify a...