Normally I wouldn't post something like this. Politics quite honestly bores the stuffing out of me.
However this BBC graph entitled How 9/11 Changed America In Statistics is so oddly humorous I thought I'd point it out.
There are very little in the way of conclusions to be drawn by the article (other than perhaps it was a slow news day at the BBC), probably because they aren't warrented by the graphs themselves. Look at each graph by clicking on the tabs above window. Notice how defense spending begins to trend upward before 9/11 and continues after. Notice also how air travel, notwithstanding the blip at 9/11, trends slightly upward throughout the graph.
The couple of graphs that actually say something say only the obvious:
- Bush's popularity rose as he responded to the 9/11 attacks, then dropped slowly back to pre 9/11 levels. Since the beginning of operations in Iraq, Bush's popularity has dropped steadily.
- Hate crimes against Muslims were up in 2001. Yes, and...?
The one thing that did change is that we've had to endure more stories about Bin Laden since Sept 11 2001.
So, it seems to me, the graphs show us that we haven't changed at all. Which is exactly what I was concerned would happen.
No comments:
Post a Comment