Tech Credited With Reducing Nigerian Election Death Toll 58
jfruh writes: Dozens died in the runup to Nigeria's most recent election — a shocking statistic to many Westerners, but a relief in comparison to the much more serious violence that plagued earlier elections. Observers are crediting technology with making the election safer: the use of biometric IDs gave voters more confidence in the results, and social media gave people a chance to blow of anger that might've otherwise results in street brawls.
You do not discharge anger from engaging in it (Score:3)
This is a common misconception. You cannot "get your anger out" by indulging in it. Hitting a pillow or screaming until you're hoarse, or verbally thrashing someone on the internet does not make you act like a gentle person the rest of the day.
If that was the case, you'd see most of our professional athletes; especially hockey players, football players, and boxers, as some of the most gentle, even-keeled people that ever existed.
If anything, this makes us more used to binge angry, as we acclimate to it physiologically and psychologically. Perhaps this is why it seems those above atheletes are prone to excessive and often illegal violence on and off the field.
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Re:You do not discharge anger from engaging in it (Score:4, Informative)
Wrong [mtholyoke.edu].
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Although they don't explicitly state this, it seems that all of this happens over a relatively short period of time. I suspect that when people normally resort to physical release to blow off steam, they isolate themselves from the person or source of their stress. This may not even be measuring how people typically use this type of behavior to manage their anger.
More importantly, the following comes from the description of the study procedure:
If the participant did not rank the punching bag activity first, the experimenter asked if the participant would be willing to hit the punching bag, explaining that ratings were needed for each activity on the list and that more ratings were needed for the punching bag activity.
Participants were told that they should think about their partner while hitting the bag.
Next, participants completed a mood form that measured anger and positive affect. The anger measure consisted of 15 adjectives (e.g., angry, annoyed, furious) from the hostility subscale of the revised Multiple Affect Adjective Checklist (Zuckerman & Lubin, 1985).
So first of
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The experiment excluded a certain class of catharsis theories. Fortunately, it's hardly the only [psychology...eguide.org] such experiment [psychwiki.com]. Catharsis theory has basically no evidence supporting it at this point, and enough evidence against it that it's pretty safe to say that indulging your anger does not "expend it" in any meaningful sense.
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If there are other studies that also support the same claim th
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You don't prove your point by mentioning people who have steroid rage. Normal people can absolutely get their anger out by spending some time with a punching bag.
As I recall from one of my psych classes a few years back, the evidence is that catharsis does not, in fact, help people. However, Wikipedia says there's some debate. Personally I suspect this is BS and that social media intensifies stratification and group formation while discouraging meaningful intergroup norm exchange.
Re:You do not discharge anger from engaging in it (Score:5, Insightful)
Perhaps more accurately, the article could hypothesize that using social media to vent removes the people from venting in the streets - not reducing the anger, per se, but rather creating distance which could reduce actual violence.
Modded flamebait? (Score:2)
Vote fraud happens [rbtaylor.net]. They threw out that particular election but I don't think any of the people who committed fraud were ever charged. And dozens of precincts in Philadelphia haven't had a single vote for a Republican presidential candidate in decades.
Stinson's absentee ballot campaign led to hundreds of improper votes, mostly in the district's Latino and African American neighborhoods. Those improper votes included forgeries and instances in which workers either marked ballots for voters, told them how to vote, or never showed them the ballot that was cast in their names.
But Democrats will tell you there has never been any significant voter fraud (although you might want to look up a guy named Landslide Lyndon) and that there is no need for voters to present an id card.
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How about... they're finally shaking off the shackles of dependency from a legacy of colonialism and learning that self-determination, rule of law and free trade actually make for a better society?
Nigeria stopped being a British colony 55 years ago, in 1960. The majority of present-day Nigerians were not yet born when Nigeria was last under British rule. They've had many, many changes of government since then.
I'm not trying to start a flame war, I'm genuinely curious. What makes you feel that Nigeria's problems are a result of British colonization? What are the specific ways in which the "legacy of colonialism" has affected their recent history?
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What makes you feel that Nigeria's problems are a result of British colonization? What are the specific ways in which the "legacy of colonialism" has affected their recent history?
Good questions. I can sum up the answer in two words: Shell Oil [wikipedia.org].
You see, Nigeria left the commonwealth in 1960, but Big Oil didn't leave Nigeria. Oil is where the money is, and anyone who wanted to rise to power in Nigeria has had to deal with the oil companies. Those who have chosen not to, and have attempted to survive on traditional land-use have had their land polluted or taken by government and the oil industry. Since the 1960's, pretty much all exports from Nigeria other than oil (which is owned b
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Well to be fair, they were probably too busy running away from those (slave) traders, to really pick up anything other than "Holy fuck, these people are not friendlies."
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Generalize much?
Egypt, an African nation, had chariots thousands of years ago. So did Sudan. Sudan, like Egypt, also had a written language based on heiroglyphics. They also had pyramids [wikipedia.org].
Now your fun facts do happen to be true for Nigeria, which despite being a trade hub of the world for thousands of years, never bothered with the wheel or written language. This suggests to me that a) wheels aren't too useful in a large river delta where sledges and barges make more sense, and b) they must have used som
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Reading comprehension fail. Or you're an out and out SJW liar.
Ah; I see... you have some magical point at which skin pigmentation affects people's ability to write and use wheels. Might this be why I not only mentioned Egypt, whose inhabitants some might not consider "black enough" but also Sudan? Is this skin pigmentation [duckduckgo.com] dark enough for you to call "black"?
The entire point of calling out Egypt was to draw parallels with Sudan (the cultures lined up quite well, off by time more than by anything else) as everyone knows about Egypt.
So if you're not actually talking a
Blow OFF anger, not blow of anger. (Score:1)
Resulted, not results.
Come on guys.
over there tech helps reduce violence... (Score:1)
but here in the u.s. a well-connected, socially-networked public just riots [bbc.co.uk], instead.
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American Democrats need to tell the Nigerians that voter IDs are racist.
The difference is that American voting is highly skewed by race and class. Democrats are far more likely to have no valid ID, and also tend to be less motivated to vote, and thus easier to discourage from doing so. Almost any test that involves being a dysfunctional person (illiterate, ex-felon, no mailing address, no valid ID) is going disproportionately disenfranchise Democrats.
Nigeria is different. Their politics are skewed by religion and tribe. There is no inherent reason that requiring an ID would
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What, Democrats don't drive?? And can't be bothered to get the DL-equivalents that every State offers for non-drivers to use as ID?
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every State offers for non-drivers to use as ID?
It also costs money. So, if the primary purpose is voter id and that id costs money then it is equivalent to a voting tax.
This message is brought to you by Boss Tweed.
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What, Democrats don't drive??
Correct. Democrats are less likely to drive, and less likely to own a car.
And can't be bothered to get the DL-equivalents that every State offers for non-drivers to use as ID?
Correct again. Democrats are less likely to get a state issued ID card if they don't drive. Partly this is a lack of motivation, since Democrats rely more on cash and less on credit or banking that require an ID, but part is also because they don't have access to their birth certificate or other proof of eligibility.
You can argue that this is their own fault and they "deserve" to be disenfranchised (and many people will accept that
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That tends to be what happens when you make it harder to commit voter fraud.
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Except that every study seems to show that actual voter fraud is minimal. Voter ID laws are (taken at face value) an attempt to reduce a small number of people from voting illegitimately while keeping a larger number of people from voting legitimately. It's trying to swat a fly by swinging around a sledgehammer. Sure, you might kill that pesky fly, but your walls and furniture won't look really nice afterwards.
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I always hear that claim made, yet every so called 'study' I examine has gaping holes in it's methods as more often then not there is simply not enough data to make an accurate measure as to what level of fraud exists because of the lack of ID requirements.
If I show up to your polling place and claim to be a recently deceased person, someone I know to be on vacation, or not likely to vote... unless the election worker actually knows the
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who needs "election day"? (Score:1)
I understand that technology can help in many cases, but i think this is not one of them (at least not in that way).
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Where do you get this completely idea information from?
Nigeria isn't just about media-reported Boko Haram, you know.
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Where do you get this completely idea information from?
Nigeria isn't just about media-reported Boko Haram, you know.
Well, even from Nigerians themselves... as a Greek a have the privilege to be their first and often permanent host when uninvited introduce their presence to Europe! How many Nigerians (not just Africans, but Nigerians) do you have in your neighborhood?
Never Use Biometrics for Security or Identity (Score:1)
Use of Biometrics enables identity thieves to automate their crimes on an industrial scale. How many times must this be said before it begins to sink in?
Every system of security is eventually compromised. If someone harasses you by calling your phone all the time, you can change your phone number. If someone steals your credit card, you can challenge the charges and your bank can issue you a new card with a different number.
If someone gets hold of your fingerprints, an image of your iris, your facial mea
Why bother? (Score:2)
Nigerian prince (Score:1)
So that Nigerian prince lives? I hope so, he owes me 10 grand.
No Need To ... (Score:2)