A new study has fascinating findings that could have big political implications. According to the study, all the widely publicized threats to our very nation and shattering of norms aren't having a cumulative effect but instead are causing people to dull to outrage. In fact, the study shows that people completely tune out by about the fifth threat to our democracy per day.
Doctor Drew Stevenson is an outrage expert who conducted the study. He started his career researching the effects of random electrical shocks on the moods of monkeys, and now does similar research on Twitter and people. "When you have a bunch of people screaming that our country is under threat of being destroyed, that can get people's attention," said Stevenson. "But by the fifth time people start screaming something like that per day, it's basically white noise."
A lot of this is centered around President Trump, and many people seem to confirm how all the outrage eventually cancels itself out. "Yeah, it's like at the start of the day people are 'Look at how Trump is wielding executive power! This is a threat to our democracy!' and you're like, 'Oh. That's bad,'" said Leon Freeman, a plumber and Twitter user. "But it just keeps going all day long. Eventually, they're all like, 'Look what he just tweeted at that reporter! That's an attack on journalism and a threat to our democracy!' and then you're like, 'Just shut up. I don't care anymore.'"
Not everyone agrees with the study, though. "Actually, we're a republic, not a democracy," said some nerd, who was then shoved into a mud puddle for being a nerd.