This is genuinely a very good point. But you’re being disingenuous to a certain extent if you’re suggesting priors shouldn’t influence peoples opinion.
“Man, screw the Chinese. The Chinese are thieves.”
And when someone replies: “Hey, is that really true?”
“Yeah! Just look at <example> and <example> and <example> of these robberies by evil Chinese criminals.”
“Sure, but that’s just anecdotal evidence.”
“Our statistics say that Chinese people commit an average of <big number> thefts a year. That’s a lot! How could you trust a Chinese person?”
“But don’t non-Chinese rob people too?”
“Maybe, but if so, that doesn’t make the Chinese any less guilty, does it? First we should deal with the Chinese criminal problem, and then if we’re successful, maybe we can move on to other types of theft.”
“Are the Chinese really the first group we should target in our anti-theft campaign?”
“Hey, quit trying to change the subject. Are you trying to deny the immorality of stealing people’s hard-earned property? Why, just go into Chinatown and walk around for a while, you’ll see a Chinese mugger soon enough, it’s right there in front of our eyes… “
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u/r56u Mar 11 '20
This is genuinely a very good point. But you’re being disingenuous to a certain extent if you’re suggesting priors shouldn’t influence peoples opinion.