6 ms·

> But now an extremist group, the Alternative for Germany or AfD, may become that nation’s biggest political party, It is is supported by most, it is, by defin

> But now an extremist group, the Alternative for Germany or AfD, may become that nation’s biggest political party, It is is supported by most, it is, by definition, not extremist. The word has a meaning, and it was not "something I happen to dislike"

idle_zealot 1y ago
It's not fringe, but it is extremist. I think you're mixing up definitions.
3nt3 1y ago
it's not supported by most, it has 25% max.
furgot 1y ago
Defining extremists to be "the people with unpopular positions" is defining extremists to be "those with positions most dislike." AfD are extreme because of what their positions are, separate from who does and does not support them.
- badestrand 1y ago
  > AfD are extreme because of what their positions are Then show us their extreme positions! Their official party program is actually quite tame.
  - Erem 1y ago
    a cursory Google search reveals that they deny anthropogenic climate change, reject the idea of women in the workplace, and wish to deny marriage rights to homosexuals
    - badestrand 1y ago
      They are conservative and have a few idiots and extremist people in their ranks yes, but that doesn't make the party as a whole extremist. I never heard about their women-workspace-denial. And being against marriage of homosexuals was the majority opinion from the beginning of time until around 10 years ago so you can hardly count that as extremist.
AndrewDucker 1y ago
"biggest" doesn't not mean most people support it. That's not how most democracies work - they have proportional representation, so they have many parties, and the biggest one may still only (as in this case) have a small percentage of the vote (in this case, 25%[0]) [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opinion_polling_for_the_next_German_federal_election#2025 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opinion_polling_for_the_next_G...
whytaka 1y ago
The word has many interpretations. You've touched upon just one (and the most fallacious: ad populum) of them. The masses can be extreme if they are: - wrong - deviates sharply from historical norms - undergoing mass psychosis

idle_zealot 1y ago

It's not fringe, but it is extremist. I think you're mixing up definitions.

3nt3 1y ago

it's not supported by most, it has 25% max.

furgot 1y ago

Defining extremists to be "the people with unpopular positions" is defining extremists to be "those with positions most dislike." AfD are extreme because of what their positions are, separate from who does and does not support them.

badestrand 1y ago
> AfD are extreme because of what their positions are Then show us their extreme positions! Their official party program is actually quite tame.
- Erem 1y ago
  a cursory Google search reveals that they deny anthropogenic climate change, reject the idea of women in the workplace, and wish to deny marriage rights to homosexuals
  - badestrand 1y ago
    They are conservative and have a few idiots and extremist people in their ranks yes, but that doesn't make the party as a whole extremist. I never heard about their women-workspace-denial. And being against marriage of homosexuals was the majority opinion from the beginning of time until around 10 years ago so you can hardly count that as extremist.

AndrewDucker 1y ago

"biggest" doesn't not mean most people support it. That's not how most democracies work - they have proportional representation, so they have many parties, and the biggest one may still only (as in this case) have a small percentage of the vote (in this case, 25%[0]) [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opinion_polling_for_the_next_German_federal_election#2025 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opinion_polling_for_the_next_G...

whytaka 1y ago

The word has many interpretations. You've touched upon just one (and the most fallacious: ad populum) of them. The masses can be extreme if they are: - wrong - deviates sharply from historical norms - undergoing mass psychosis