A very useful YouGov poll that tracks public sentiment about Ferguson over time shows that despite the 24/7 racial demagoguery from cable news network’s like CNN and MSNBC, public opinion is moving in the exact opposite direction of what the media is aiming for.
Between August 14-17 a plurality of only 45% believed Ferguson residents reacted unreasonably following the shooting of Michael Brown. Four days later that number jumped to a clear majority of 56%. Those that consider the resident reaction reasonable only increased from 25% to 27%.
Despite a week of heavy and heavily biased reporting, support for the Ferguson police has also jumped. A plurality of 40% now believe the Ferguson police have been “reasonable” in “reaction to the protests.” That’s up from 32% four days ago. The percentage of those who say the police have been unreasonable has stayed the same at 33%.
In both cases, those who had been undecided during the first poll almost all moved against the media position.
The media’s goal to divide Americans among racial lines has, however, succeeded. According to this poll, the percentage of black Americans who believe the police have acted unreasonably jumped from 48% to 63%. Meanwhile support for the police among whites rose from 34% to 45%.
Follow John Nolte on Twitter @NolteNC
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