Poll Numbers

From The Social Econ Blog:

This is scary:

NEW YORK A new Gallup poll finds that many Americans -- what it calls "substantial minorities" -- harbor "negative feelings or prejudices against people of the Muslim faith" in this country. Nearly one in four Americans, 22%, say they would not like to have a Muslim as a neighbor.

While Americans tend to disagree with the notion that Muslims living in the United States are sympathetic to al-Qaeda, a significant 34% believe they do back al-Qaeda. And fewer than half -- 49% -- believe U.S. Muslims are loyal to the United States.

Almost four in ten, 39%, advocate that Muslims here should carry special I.D. That same number admit that they do hold some "prejudice" against Muslims. Forty-four percent say their religious views are too "extreme."

In every case, Americans who actually know any Muslims are more sympathethic.

The poll was taken at the end of July and surveyed 1,007 adult Americans.

Some quick comments:

1. Follow the link, and see that the poll is from July. In light of recent events, these numbers are surely higher right now.
2. 40% admit that they hold some "prejudice" against Muslims. What percentage, then, actually do harbor some prejudice against Muslims? On the other hand, "some" prejudice is a pretty low bar, so maybe that number shouldn't be that shocking. Of course, it lines up with the special ID card requirement, which is frightening all on its own.
3. I'd be really interested in a geographic break-down of these numbers. Are these numbers even across the country? Do they follow the "blue/red" divide? Are they split urban/rural? It's not clear to me where these prejudices would be strongest. Either way, Iwouldn't want to be a gay Muslim living in the US right now.
4. This "special ID card" is beyond ridiculous... how would one even go about implementing that?
5. These numbers give you an idea of why the founders made it so dificult to amend the constitituion. At any point in time, a lot of people can believe truly scary things.