Small Indiana county sends more people to prison than San Francisco
It&#x27;s interesting how the exact same facts can be described in so many different ways, in order to imply vastly different conclusions.<p>-----<p><i>&quot;This small Indiana county sends more people to prison than San Francisco&quot;</i><p>Implication - the county&#x27;s law &amp; order apparatus is dysfunctional and is oppressing the local population<p>-----<p><i>&quot;This small Indiana county has more convicted drug dealers than San Francisco&quot;</i><p>Implication - the county has a severe drug problem, and harsh efforts are needed to combat this problem<p>-----<p><i>&quot;This small Indiana county catches more hard-drug-dealers than San Francisco&quot;</i><p>Implication - either other counties are incompetent&#x2F;indifferent in combating the selling of hardcore drugs, or this county is exceptionally good at achieving this goal.<p>-----<p><i>&quot;This small Indiana county leads in the nation in narrowing the racial-incarceration-gap&quot;</i><p>Implication - the county&#x27;s law &amp; order system is tough but fair, and should be a role model for others in pursuing White criminals just as vigorously as Minority criminals.<p>-----<p>The phrasing involved in <i>&quot;sending more people to prison&quot;</i> in particular, sweeps under the rug the fact that the people being sent to prison are dealing hard drugs, and spawning&#x2F;enabling a generation of drug addicts whose lives are going to fall apart as a result. Instead of making the drug dealers the lead actors who initiated the subsequent chain of events, the headline is structured such that the county&#x27;s justice system is portrayed as the lead actor instead. Neither wording is <i>wrong</i>, but they clearly bias the audience in different directions.<p>I trust the NYTimes more than any other American media source, but it&#x27;s hard to deny that they too have their own spin that focuses more on one side of the story, more so than others.