Being in the majority opinion on an issue does not make you right

[bluestateguy]

It just means you are in the majority.

I always find it maddening when people use that line of argument that says "well, 64% of the American people agree with me, therefore my position is the correct one".

What a poor technique of argument.

[Orrex]

1. Bill Maher, in one of his "stopped clock" moments, addressed this quite handily:

He noted (I'm paraphrasing) that it must be good to eat shit because "a trillion flies can't be wrong."


And then he lapsed back into his usually pig-headed blowhard routine.

[qb]

2. Badgering her friends into agreeing with her is all it takes for my ex to be right.

I gave up arguing with her.

[Patiod]

3. And just because a book is a best-seller doesn't mean it's good

same with music, movies, etc. I have actually heard that argument used for art - "if it's popular, it's good".

[meow2u3]

4. What's popular isn't always right, and vice versa

Enough said.

[Taverner]

5. Slavery was very popular

If it were left to a popular vote, most states would have kept it

Granted, the only people allowed to vote were the non slaves...

[Dr Morbius]

6. True, but disagreeing with me does mean you're wrong. (nt)

[PassingFair]

18. There are two kinds of people in this world....

People who AGREE with me;



and RAVING LUNATICS.

[Fire Walk With Me]

7. Consensus reality isn't.

[LynneSin]

8. Only that it is my opinion does it mean I am right

:hide:

[madinmaryland]

10. I just pm'ed skittles to order up a LynneSin ass kicking!

:D

[Skittles]

14. no worries; LynneSin is a regular

yes INDEED

[skygazer]

9. You're all wrong

:P

[MajorChode]

11. It's not any worse than all the other red herring fallacies people use

However, I would agree it is more commonly used, especially by GOPhers in relation to their belief in rule by bigotry. They only cry foul when they find themselves on the minority side of an issue.

[stray cat]

12. But it does mean you can't determine the people who get elected

and what they believe and do. It certainly means you have no clout even if you are right. A pure democrat who can't get elected isn't going to sponsor many bills and if they get elected and remain pure they will never get a bill passed sitting by themselves making statements about how right they are.

[Petrushka]

13. Kick

:kick:

One, with God, is always a majority, but many a martyr
has been burned at the stake while the votes were being
counted. ---Thomas B. Reed


That the desires of the majority of people are often
for injustice and inhumanity against the minority,
is demonstrated by every page of the history of the
whole world. ---John Adams

[doc03]

15. The majority of Americans supported the idea

of attacking Iraq. Faux Noise is the highest rated cable (news?) channel.

[alcibiades_mystery]

17. Oh, don't be getting all serious

The OP is merely complaining that soccer is very popular in the rest of the world, which signals the very annoying realizations Americans have to deal with every four years or so: first, that they are not the center of the universe, and, second, that there exists an activity that they're not particularly good at. This, of course, leads to temper tantrums and other nonsense for about a month. They'll get over it.

[Courtesy Flush]

16. On a related note

I was in an online debate with a friend of mine who was defending BP. He made a big deal out of stating that he was taking a stand with an "unpopular opinion." Well, it's an unpopular opinion outside of the oilfield, but as an oilfield enginner, he was only defending his personal interests. I told him it wasn't exactly an act of courage on his part. The argument didn't end well.