364. I refuse to read that pamphlet

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 I quote someone I was talking to, in Spain, referring to El Pais, one of the two main Spanish newspapers. El Pais is a mainstream publication, politically positioned on the centre left (they may not like my saying it, but more centre than left). My interlocutor finds the content of El Pais offensive, to the point of refusing to read it or even touch it. This visceral reaction might be understandable, even if exaggerated, if relating to an extreme, radical publication, but what does it tell us when even moderate, centrist papers elicit this kind of feeling? Carrollian polarisation rabbit holes are clearly going strong. The counterpart to El Pais is El Mundo, a moderate, by contemporary standards, centre right publication which I regularly read. I may not agree with many opinions in it, but their take and interpretation of the same news offer a contrasting viewpoint which helps inform my position. I approach it with a bias, but I approach it, and this is key to keeping the bias at bay

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Location: Hereford, UK

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