This might be the most depressing thing I’ve read so far in this young week, but an Associated Press poll reports that feelings of racial prejudice have increased since 2008, when Barack Obama was elected to his first term as president.
From the Washington Post:
In all, 51 percent of Americans now express explicit anti-black attitudes, compared with 48 percent in a similar 2008 survey. When measured by an implicit racial attitudes test, the number of Americans with anti-black sentiments jumped to 56 percent, up from 49 percent during the last presidential election. In both tests, the share of Americans expressing pro-black attitudes fell.
“As much as we’d hope the impact of race would decline over time … it appears the impact of anti-black sentiment on voting is about the same as it was four years ago,” said Jon Krosnick, a Stanford University professor who worked with AP to develop the survey.
More than that, anti-Hispanic sentiment has increased as well, according to this poll. The AP reports that, in a 2011 survey, 51% of non-Hispanic whites held negative perceptions of Hispanics. That figure has jumped to 57% in this year’s poll.
How’s that figure to affect this year’s election, you ask? Again, from the Post:
Overall, the survey found that by virtue of racial prejudice, Obama could lose 5 percentage points off his share of the popular vote in his Nov. 6 contest against Republican challenger Mitt Romney. But Obama also stands to benefit from a 3 percentage point gain due to pro-black sentiment, researchers said. Overall, that means an estimated net loss of 2 percentage points due to anti-black attitudes.
These feelings aren’t limited to just one political group, either. The poll found that 64% of Republicans, 55% of Democrats and 49% of independents express negative sentiments toward blacks.
For more on the poll, its possible effects on next week’s election, and the poll’s methodology, see the full story here.
This article appears in Oct 25-31, 2012.
The pie has been shrinking for decades, little by little, at least since Reagan and the fact that it’s not all that difficult or costly to assemble an iPhone, iPad, a dinner, or a what, David Mendez.
I went to the linked article that explained the study’s methodology and found thiis reader’s comment, which I consider well worth passing along:
“Sure racism is alive in America. Indeed it is. But it is at an historic low among whites, close to half of whom voted for a black president and may do so again next month.
“The opposite holds for blacks where racism is now instinctive, unconscious and unashamed. Black voters were almost unanimous in backing Obama and they invariably vote color rather than party or issues, also in local elections when a viable black candidate is in the field. You can call that pride, which it is, but it is also racism.
“Suppose a GOP politician were found to have a close personal friend, mentor and spiritual guide of 20 years who is a member of the KKK, indeed a prominent and outspoken member. His political career as a Republican, for any any office let alone the presidency would be over.
“Yet that was exactly Obama’s situation with respect to his pastor. Jeremiah Wright was exposed as preaching hate of white America and of Jews from his pulpit. In fact the professional black racist, Minister Farrakhan, even received Wright’s life time achievement prize. Obama was excused, the Clinton’s were called racist for bringing those revelations to light, and Wright’s protege was elected president. “
I dunno, Skeptic.
I had a fundamentalist pastor that kept preaching that any “woman that gets raped is asking for it and that if she gets pregnant, it is God’s way of punishing her.”
In no way did I become his “protege.”
From what I’ve seen of President Obama, he’s no protege of Pastor Wright.
The analogy is absurd.
Apparently you do not watch prime time TV. Almost all of the the criminals and “bad guys” are portrayed as either Black, Hispanic, Asian or very wealthy. For the last 50 years or so, American’s attitudes are derived more from TV than any other media form. Now go look at the FBI’s criminal data base and you will find the overwhelming pertentage of violent crime is committed by either Blacks or Hispanics. One of the most disturbing factoids is how much of the crime is against their own communnities. My pastor is Black and the congregation is about 40% Hispanic, not bad for a small white bread town.
Riorican,
Did you attend that fundamentalist pastor’s church for 20 years and tell everyone you regarded him as your spiritual advisor? Not that Romney’s any better about this, but Obama has shown he’s willing to go along to get along, just like most politicians.
nam6870vet,
I don’t watch a lot of prime time TV, but what I’ve seen on fictional cop shows like Law and Order, Bones and CSI seems to over-represent well-to-do whites both as perps and victims. This is probably because it’s believed that audiences find those people more interesting both as perps and victims. Docudramas, on the other hand, such as Cops and 48 Hours, feature the real victims and perps, which are overwhelmingly minorities as is consistent with the violent crime stats you cite. (For the record, many of the real cops on these docudramas are also minorities.) How TV affects public perceptions of minorities and crime will probably depend on which types of shows people watch. Fictional shows, such as where Ice-T plays a cool and convincing tough cop, will encourage more favorable views of minorities and suspicion that well-to-do whites have things to hide. Docudramas showing real perps will have the opposite effect.
skeptic, I find your comment interesting and I do agree several of the fictional shows do portray minorities in positive positions. Thanks for the feedback.