Lerk's Law of Relative Extremism

[Lerkfish]

Lerk's Law of Relative Extremism

The further one travels to any political extreme, the more every other point appears to move in the opposite direction, even if it doesn't move or is completely balanced

Expanding the law: Only those points of view adjacent to you seem fair and balanced, ONLY because they are equally as skewed as your own viewpoint.
For example: if you have a balanced view on rights for widgets, then pro-widget right advocates would view you as anti-widget, and anti-widget advocates would view you as pro-widget rights. AND, to you, both view would seem extreme, but to themselves they each consider their view balanced.

If you are pretty much to the end of an extreme, then NOTHING is balanced except that which matches your own level. The closer you are to the moderate or balanced position, the easier it is for more moderate views of either end of the spectrum to seem reasonable to you, even if you disagree.

so, the term "bias" does not reflect the actual bias of the report, but the bias of the observer. Hence, the extreme right wing claim of "liberal media". Since to the extreme right wing, EVERYTHING else is liberal.

[ret5hd]

1. so...give us the Lerk's Law of Choice...

what's a "balanced" view of women's right to choose?

[Lerkfish]

2. I'd be the wrong person to ask: I'm extreme on that issue.

I absolutely support the woman's right to choose. Everything else to me seems the wrong idea.

The point of Lerk's Law is just explaining how moving to any extreme colors your perception of an issue.
It may not work for every issue, but it usually works concernging perception of bias on an issue.

[ret5hd]

3. ok...i'm extreme too...

i guess i took your post as a screed against an extreme view on abortion...i mean widget...rights.

[Lerkfish]

4. nope, its supposed to be general and applicable to any issue.

any divisive issue, I suppose.

I'm not saying a "balanced" view is correct. In fact, on many issues, there is no balance. Torture, for one. I'm only saying that your own position on the spectrum colors how you view the relative positions of others.

Personally, I'm an extremist more than a balanced person on most issues. I'm a pacifist, so I tend to be suspicious of ANY justifications of war, for example.

[Stanchetalarooni]

5. Maybe things would go a lot smoother if instead of human brains........

....we were endowed with gerbil brains. Gerbils are so cuddly and curious and they look like they are having a ball playing when they are not sleeping.