Small Samples
Generalizing from small samples is the hallmark of scientific error. And it is the essence of bigotry. This beleaguered nation is beginning to suffer the side-effects of these kinds of mistakes. A medical event in a man getting the vaccine is translated as cause and effect. An illness in one is seen as a potential for all. A savage attack by a policeman is seen as emblematic of police behavior.
This allows politics to group individuals in groups in defiance of the country's preoccupation with the individual.
This is the thinking of folklore, not science, and a modern and thoughtful community should be able to recognize and correct it with little trouble. But it does not. There are only a couple of reasons that could explain this. One is profound ignorance. The other is insincerity.
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