AP poll: Majority harbor prejudice against blacks

[cali]

Racial attitudes have not improved in the four years since the United States elected its first black president, an Associated Press poll finds, as a slight majority of Americans now express prejudice toward blacks whether they recognize those feelings or not.

<snip>

Racial prejudice has increased slightly since 2008 whether those feelings were measured using questions that explicitly asked respondents about racist attitudes, or through an experimental test that measured implicit views toward race without asking questions about that topic directly.

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.

<snip>

http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/10/27/14740413-ap-poll-majority-harbor-prejudice-against-blacks?lite

[malaise]

1. Those attitudes are promoted by the ReTHUG party

by M$Greedia, in religious and educational institutions and in some homes.

[cali]

3. Yes, by the rethugs, but I don't see the MSM promoting this shit

certainly in some educational institutions. But mostly it's at home.

[ProSense]

13. Really? Pat Buchanan and John Sununu ring a bell?

How many fucking times have people chimed in with: It's not about race?

The racists are scared and coming out of the woodwork.

[malaise]

29. Every single time that racist birther shit was given airplay

even by people we like, it was promoted. You do not repeat lies.

[Cali_Democrat]

41. "I don't see the MSM promoting this shit"

WOW. You are so naive. The MSM gives people like Sununu a platform to spew their racism and you don't think the MSM promotes this shit?

Unreal.

[Kolesar]

2. Anti-black hatred was the norm in Ohio forty years ago

When I was young, my teachers and other leaders would not tolerate nasty comments about black people. However, white males typically told "racist" jokes. It is going to take a long time to extract that attitude from our culture.

Now I recall, the physics teacher once told us a racist jokes.

[DHelix]

4. Change is always about the next generations

Change is never about changing the opinions of adults who've done things a certain way or beleived certain things their whole lives. change and progress is always about the next generation growing up in a world where something previously taboo seems normal.

It's like anti-smoking ads. I have a friend who said to me the other day, "I don't know why they bother with all these gross pictures. I'll still smoke anyway." I told him it wasn't about his generation or people who were already addicted. Society's given up on the idea of changing your attitudes about smoking. It's for the next group of kids thinking about smoking and in that way it HAS worked because younger people smoke less. Same goes for seatbelt PSAs. My grandpa never wore a seatbelt. Same goes for drinking and driving. My grandpa's generation did it all the time. The PSAs aimed at changing each of these things was about the next generation and we have seen progress in each of these areas in many ways. Same goes for women's rights in the workplace. Still a long way to go but people forget what those first trailblazing career women had to put up with. Generation by generation more women have grown up in dual income families and realize that college and work is something they're interested in too.

Jackie Robinson probably made some white baseball fans upset during his era. Racism probably increased then too. But flash forward decades and generation after generation just came to expect and accept black athletes in the game and now kids have posters of them up on their walls.

Change is generational. Kids today are far more environmentally conscious than my generation was. Kids today are far more tolerant towards gays than my generation (and especially my parent's generation was). So, it's important to always remember that these surveys include the types of people who'll never see the light but its their kids and their grandkids who will and that's how change and progress works.

[coldwaterintheface]

5. No shit anybody paying attention at all the last 50 years

knows this already. What a waste of time, money and resources to verfiy common knowledge.

[rsweets]

6. No shit Sherlock ...

we have not been at this long enough to have lost the
visceral response, that lives in all of us, to people that are different
than ourselves. I was 16 when we started fighting for the rights of all
people, And it's not like everyone just bought into it.. hell i still work
at it all the time, but i know my children were not told any race was any better
than any other.
actually I'm surprised as hell that anywhere near 49 percent have open their minds
a percentage point per year ... pretty good, don't you think

[hfojvt]

20. "to people that are different than ourselves"

except that would pretty much be all people. It's not like white people are all the same as me.

The world should be so lucky.

[caraher]

7. And this is a surprise to whom?

What it shows is how slow change is. Note that the results have an uncertainty of 4 percentage points, so although the numbers are worse than 4 years ago, they haven't changed by a statistically significant amount. Which I guess is good news in the face of the cover Tea Party idiocy has given racist attitudes over the past few years - it hasn't yet had a measurable negative large-scale effect.

[Beachy]

8. I have noticed more ugly racism, too

Sadly, in the last few years(since 2008), I have picked up on more rascism(mostly from wealthier, older people in this area--I live in coastal New England). I grew up in New England and never really heard rascist remarks or attitudes growing up.
What has changed? I believe that the GOP and the "Tea Party" have made it acceptable for some.

[TBF]

10. This - some media is very good but then there is FAUX news whipping up

a frenzy. The Trayvon Martin case alone, and the way the story was told on FAUX news probably accounts for the percentage rising a bit.

This is where a decent law comes into play. When news is clearly non-fiction the show should be labeled in some way - stating "for entertainment purposes only and has no basis in reality" - it should be on scrolling on the screen at all times.

[malaise]

30. Fox news may whip it up but since we don't watch Fox the only way we hear their racist shit

is when the likes of GEM$NBComcast et al repeat it over and over.
When you repeat lies you spread them.

[TBF]

36. Good point - somehow it does make it out into the mainstream

and then becomes more legitimized. All the more reason that FOX should come with a warning label. Borowitz and Daily Show, branded as comedians, are more accurate than FOX.

[malaise]

38. I have long wondered why our favorite progressives continue to repeat this shit

and then express surprise when people believe it.

[Harriety]

9. I think it is the younger generations that will lead the way to truth an justice in this country.

These polls are mostly done on land line phones not cell phones. I can't think of anyone under 40 who uses those anymore. Therefore, most of these polls are irrelevant. As a 62 year old woman looking to the younger generations, I hope you stay strong and true to just causes. Many people from my generation traded their ideals for personal gain. The hippies who claimed to be anti war and pro equality became yuppies obsessed with making money.

[eallen]

11. That includes many of us, here. Knowing or unknowing.

For that matter, it includes many blacks.

Americans of my generation grew up in a culture that imbued racism against blacks into our bones, in the same way that it imbued patriotism, love of Halloween and Christmas, and football. No matter how much we consciously reject that and work against it, some of it still lurks.

That's not a sin. We can't change the culture of the past, or how it affected us as children, or what remnants that leaves in our subconscious. The sin is the pretense otherwise, which says we can ignore its current effects and stop fighting those.

[Suji to Seoul]

12. Filed in the "it took a poll to figure this crap out?" file

Talk about fucking denial of reality. Americans are more in the closet about their racism, but as a people, we are still an extremely racism, xenophobic, jingoistic, sexist, bigoted society.

[ProSense]

15. There is massive racism, but I also

think the AP number is high.

That test showed a majority of both Democrats and Republicans held anti-black feelings (55 percent of Democrats and 64 percent of Republicans), as did about half of political independents (49 percent).

Obama faced a similar situation in 2008, the survey then found.

http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/10/27/14740413-ap-poll-majority-harbor-prejudice-against-blacks

Oh my! Racist in the Democratic Party? Where have I heard that before?

[highplainsdem]

14. RW media and RW websites encourage this, making bigotry seem more "acceptable" in

those forums.

[msanthrope]

16. I'm surprised it's that low. nt

[HipChick]

17. Did we really need a poll for this? Just go ask any black male or female

in the US, and they will tell you what they go through on an on-going basis..

[cali]

34. Uh, yes. IN the face of the massive denial of racism, a poll is helpful

[uponit7771]

18. The increase is due to GOP and PUNK ASS'D media

[rock]

19. Yep, it's obvious

Mitt has absolutely nothing to offer the American voter, except he is white.

[Zax2me]

23. wow.

Now I believe this survey.
Seems prejudice is applied to whites as well.

[TwilightGardener]

28. ?? How is the poster above you wrong?

[Zax2me]

21. This is the same United States that elected President Obama?

So racial attitudes have gone the wrong way since he was elected?
I don't think this is how things were supposed to happen.
What went wrong.
Rwing talk radio has been around for decades.

[RomneyLies]

22. The difference between 2008 and this year is four years of the N*****ization of Barack Obama

The racist bastards in the GOP have one everything to inflame overt racism.

And I'll say it, both Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan are overt racists in my humble opinion. At least John McCain was taken aback with the crap in 2008.

[Jennicut]

25. Yeah, Mccain seemed shocked by someone at a rally that called Obama an Arab.

That was in 2008.

Mittens makes jokes about birth certificates.

[ProSense]

27. Yup, a lot of

people like to pretend that racism isn't a big part of Mitt's campaign.

Sununu Did EXACTLY What Romney Wanted: To BLACKEN Powell & Obama
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10021644202

[win_in_06]

24. Often prejudice comes in well-meaning expressions. As an African-American, it rubs me the wrong way

when it is said that Voter ID laws particularly impact the black vote. The inferrence is that blacks find it more difficult to acquire an ID than other groups. Fact is, it will impact the votes of many.

[Odin2005]

26. The testing of implicit racist attitudes is the kicker.

Most people, including most white liberals, will show racist attitudes on the implicit test even if they consciously insist they are not racist.

[YoungDemCA]

33. This is important to note

White liberals are generally more aware of racism than white conservatives, but that doesn't mean they don't have (unconscious/subconscious) racist attitudes.

[gollygee]

31. Duh

I'm always baffled when people say that there obviously is no racism anymore since we have a black president. It's like, "Do you have eyes and/or ears? What world are you living in?"

[Brickbat]

32. I am positive I would register on the "implicit views" part of the test. I have had to check myself

many times throughout my life about feelings, thoughts or actions that are irrational reactions based on race.

[sadbear]

35. I wonder if they asked questions concerning whites.

I suspect I, as a white person, would be prejudiced against whites.

[Zax2me]

37. So, this country's prejudiced against blacks majority - in 2008 elected Obama by a majority?

Okay...

[SweetieD]

39. This isn't news to me. Nothing has really changed.

[etherealtruth]

40. Sadly, this falls into the "No shit" realm

Thank you Tea-Baggers for bringing out the worst in my country

[toddmiller]

42. The is Total Hogwash

The story is not valid because the reporters apparently never read the actual research report. As a researcher, I was surprised to find that every point made in the article was completely false. The sample was biased toward groups that are more racist including Birthers, older people and conservatives. Given the sample, one could never infer whether Americans or more or less prejudice now. The study also claimed the changes occurred over 4 years but the research report said two years and that no changes within the margin of sampling error occurred. THAT IS THE RESEARCHERS SAID PREJUDICE HADN'T INCREASE. Except the did find that over four year it had increased among self-identified republicans. The measure reported is invalid for a number of reasons and has been criticized by other researchers. You can read about all the problems in three places

https://www.impartial-review.com/stories/racism-increased-among-republicans-in-the-past-two-years-press-misreports-story

http://www.buzzfeed.com/theimpartialreviewnews/how-a-false-news-story-spreads-across-the-main-str-7wch


http://my.firedoglake.com/toddq/2012/11/03/three-hundred-misleading-media-stories-about-american-racism-thanks-to-the-ap/