Chris
07-07-2013, 09:27 AM
Seems apropos all the discussions of it...
When Rasmussen Reports asked some of its polling subjects to conduct an odd exercise in racial stereotyping, the results were counterintuitive, or at least counterstereotypical:
Thirty-seven percent (37%) of American Adults think most black Americans are racist, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey. Just 15% consider most white Americans racist, while 18% say the same of most Hispanic Americans.
Before we dig deeper into the poll's findings, let's note an enormous caveat: The word "racist" has multiple meanings. Merriam-Webster lists two: "1: a belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race," and "2: racial prejudice or discrimination."
A prime reason talk about "racism" tends to be more inflammatory than enlightening is the elision of the very large difference between these two definitions. Thus: The Tea Party opposes the policies of Barack Obama, who is black. Some Tea Party members have said things that offend the racial sensibilities of left-leaning Americans. Thus, the lefties conclude, the Tea Party is driven by prejudice--it is, according to them, "racist" (by definition 2). In the left's imagination, that puts the Tea Party in the same category as the Ku Klux Klan, even though the Klan indisputably was racist by definition 1.
To put it more concisely, much of the "dialogue" about race in America today consists of equating dubiously imputed racial prejudice with white supremacy.
...Rasmussen ignores the first dictionary definition and narrows the second to cover only "discrimination," not mere "prejudice." Arguably one of its alternative definitions of "racism" is itself racist, in the sense of definition 1: The notion that only white people can be racist implies that whites are superior, although it regards the supposed superiority as a moral abomination rather than a birthright.
Even Rasmussen's reciprocal definition--"discrimination by people of one race against another"--is problematic. If we understand racism to mean racial discrimination, what does it matter if the perpetrator is of the same race as the victim?
...All that having been said, let's look at the numbers:
There is a huge ideological difference on this topic. Among conservative Americans, 49% consider most blacks racist, and only 12% see most whites that way. Among liberal voters, 27% see most white Americans as racist, and 21% say the same about black Americans.
From a partisan perspective, 49% of Republicans see most black Americans as racist, along with 36% of unaffiliated adults and 29% of Democrats.
Among black Americans, 31% think most blacks are racist, while 24% consider most whites racist and 15% view most Hispanics that way.
Among white adults, 10% think most white Americans are racist; 38% believe most blacks are racist, and 17% say most Hispanics are racist.
...
@ Who's the Most 'Racist'? What a new poll does and doesn't tell us. (http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324853704578587610461933172.html?m od=WSJ_Opinion_MIDDLETopOpinion)
When Rasmussen Reports asked some of its polling subjects to conduct an odd exercise in racial stereotyping, the results were counterintuitive, or at least counterstereotypical:
Thirty-seven percent (37%) of American Adults think most black Americans are racist, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey. Just 15% consider most white Americans racist, while 18% say the same of most Hispanic Americans.
Before we dig deeper into the poll's findings, let's note an enormous caveat: The word "racist" has multiple meanings. Merriam-Webster lists two: "1: a belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race," and "2: racial prejudice or discrimination."
A prime reason talk about "racism" tends to be more inflammatory than enlightening is the elision of the very large difference between these two definitions. Thus: The Tea Party opposes the policies of Barack Obama, who is black. Some Tea Party members have said things that offend the racial sensibilities of left-leaning Americans. Thus, the lefties conclude, the Tea Party is driven by prejudice--it is, according to them, "racist" (by definition 2). In the left's imagination, that puts the Tea Party in the same category as the Ku Klux Klan, even though the Klan indisputably was racist by definition 1.
To put it more concisely, much of the "dialogue" about race in America today consists of equating dubiously imputed racial prejudice with white supremacy.
...Rasmussen ignores the first dictionary definition and narrows the second to cover only "discrimination," not mere "prejudice." Arguably one of its alternative definitions of "racism" is itself racist, in the sense of definition 1: The notion that only white people can be racist implies that whites are superior, although it regards the supposed superiority as a moral abomination rather than a birthright.
Even Rasmussen's reciprocal definition--"discrimination by people of one race against another"--is problematic. If we understand racism to mean racial discrimination, what does it matter if the perpetrator is of the same race as the victim?
...All that having been said, let's look at the numbers:
There is a huge ideological difference on this topic. Among conservative Americans, 49% consider most blacks racist, and only 12% see most whites that way. Among liberal voters, 27% see most white Americans as racist, and 21% say the same about black Americans.
From a partisan perspective, 49% of Republicans see most black Americans as racist, along with 36% of unaffiliated adults and 29% of Democrats.
Among black Americans, 31% think most blacks are racist, while 24% consider most whites racist and 15% view most Hispanics that way.
Among white adults, 10% think most white Americans are racist; 38% believe most blacks are racist, and 17% say most Hispanics are racist.
...
@ Who's the Most 'Racist'? What a new poll does and doesn't tell us. (http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324853704578587610461933172.html?m od=WSJ_Opinion_MIDDLETopOpinion)