So a very pro-Republican on my facebook posted this joke about the Democrats. I include the caps as-written.
Putting aside the crassness of making a joke about mental illness, can you show why in fact the joke here is on the GOP?
-also, I’m being generous and presuming that Independents, Libertarians and undecideds are “sane”.
Presumably the idea is that the 75% of Democrats should be on medication but are not.
The joke is on the GOP, because we should really be worried about Romney’s mental well being., according to his wife.
I’m a liberal Democrat and I suffer from depression. I thought the joke was funny. Can we please not feed into the stereotype of the brittle, easily-offended liberal.
My apologies Alan. I also am left-leaning and suffer from depression. I laughed along with them when I first saw it too. I was merely attempting to be polite in case it * did * offend anyone.
That’s certainly why the Republicans were laughing. But it wasn’t why I began giggling * at * them. Perhaps I should drop a hint that it involves mathematics, and (lies, damn lies, and) statistics?
It doesn’t make any difference whether Republicans are on medication or not. It doesn’t help apparently because, regardless, they just remain Republicans.
Not seeing it. Wanna come out with it–put it in a spoiler if it’s that important? I’m wondering if you’re missing something about stats yourself, honestly. [edit: or missing that the “75%” refers to “of Democrats”]
No problem!
As for the “joke” on the Republicans, is it that 25% of the general population is on medication for mental health?
Yes! Or at least what can be extrapolated from that statistic.
Starting with the joke’s assumption that 25% of Democrats are treated for mental illnesses. The statistic for the general population is the same. One in four people will have at some point (and/or be treated for) a mental illness. Democrats make up 43% of the population, so 25% of that is 10.75% of the whole.
That leaves 14.25% of the rest of the population suffering from mental illness. Making the assumption that those supporting neither party have more sense than the rest, and so are mentally stable. (for the sake of argument), that leaves that 14.25% being Republicans.
The Republicans demographic is 44% of the total population. That means a greater percentage of Republicans suffer from mental illness than Democrats. 32% in fact.
When I mentioned I’d done the math and wrote it out for them, they said I was stupid for not getting it was a joke. When I pointed out I had got it and I was making a joke at them too, they said, making jokes using math is pathetic.
That was the sound of irony wooshing over their heads. . . .Twice!
So, basically, if you baselessly assume that Democrats are no crazier than anybody else, and baselessy assume that people who can’t make up their minds about politics are all entirely sane (both assumptions that Republicans are bound to agree are reasonable), then you can, with a bit of math, show that more Republicans are crazy than Democrats.
Wow, you sure got them good there, buddy! The joke is on them alright. :rolleyes:
I didn’t claim to have got anybody, I just found it mildly amusing that their own (baseless) statistic could be used to argue the opposite point of view. And also amusing that their reaction was to say using math to make a joke was pathetic having done so themselves. The point being, math and statistics can be manipulated to show anything.
As for baseless, if only 25% of the Democrats were being treated, then the other people being treated HAD to come from somewhere else. Even if you DO factor in the undecideds (and well done you for turning a humorous aside, for the sake of simplicity into a deliberate misrepresentation. Good job.) which make up only 11% of the total population, and based on the one-in-four statistic cannot by randomized numbers alone make up more than 3-4% of those treated for mental illness, you still end up with it saying no more about the Democrats than it does about the Republicans.
And for what it’s worth. It was the math that amused me, not beating anybody, as I myself am not a democrat. 
But I guess laughing at oneself is lost on some people.
About as baseless as their assumption that all the remaining Democrats are crazy, for the sake of…humor.
You have very smart friends and you should listen to them. Also, see a doctor if you think a thud makes a wooshing sound.
Yeah, that Mitt’s one crazy dude. Potential serial killer waiting to snap, you can see it in his eyes.
That many unmedicated people running around sounds like a great argument for universal healthcare to me.
Humorous aside? It is absolutely fundamental to your “joke” or “argument” or whatever you think it is. Unless you make your (baseless) assumption that all undecideds are sane (or more likely to be sane than anybody else), then, even granting your (baseless) assumption that Democrats are crazy at the same rate as the general population, you only get Republicans to be crazy at (at most) the same rate as Democrats are.
I am not the one who is misrepresenting you here. You are misrepresenting yourself.
All I’m seeing at the moment is someone who has become more than a little tetchy at what was both by them and I a mere humorous exercize. No one is trying to make a serious disparaging claim about either Democrats or Republicans, there’s really no need to take it personally.
The sound you hear is of you making a joke that only you understand, and which isn’t funny, Sorry, but this is a truly epic humor fail.
The original joke was lame. Yours is nonsensical.
You’ve actually managed to be less funny than right wing glurge. I don’t think humor is really your “thing.”