3 in 10 Americans Admit to Race Bias - Survey Shows Age, Too, May Affect Election Views

[onehandle]

Source: Washington Post

As Sen. Barack Obama opens his campaign as the first African American on a major party presidential ticket, nearly half of all Americans say race relations in the country are in bad shape and three in 10 acknowledge feelings of racial prejudice, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll. Lingering racial bias affects the public's assessments of the Democrat from Illinois, but offsetting advantages and Sen. John McCain's age could be bigger factors in determining the next occupant of the White House.

Overall, 51 percent call the current state of race relations "excellent" or "good," about the same as said so five years ago. That is a relative thaw from more negative ratings in the 1990s, but the gap between whites and blacks on the issue is now the widest it has been in polls dating to early 1992. More than six in 10 African Americans now rate race relations as "not so good" or "poor," while 53 percent of whites hold more positive views. Opinions are also divided along racial lines, though less so, on whether blacks face discrimination. There is more similarity on feelings of personal racial prejudice: Thirty percent of whites and 34 percent of blacks admit such sentiments.

At the same time, there is an overwhelming public openness to the idea of electing an African American to the presidency. In a Post-ABC News poll last month, nearly nine in 10 whites said they would be comfortable with a black president. While fewer whites, about two-thirds, said they would be "entirely comfortable" with it, that was more than double the percentage of all adults who said they would be so at ease with someone entering office for the first time at age 72, which McCain (R-Ariz.) would do should he prevail in November.

Even so, just over half of whites in the new poll called Obama a "risky" choice for the White House, while two-thirds said McCain is a "safe" pick. Forty-three percent of whites said Obama has sufficient experience to serve effectively as president, and about two in 10 worry he would overrepresent the interests of African Americans.

Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/06/21/AR2008062101825.html

[Crazy Dave]

1. That's only the "hard working whites"

The rest of us are more intelligent, more informed, non-racist and slackers ;-)

[Bandit]

2. I admit I do have some bias

but I work every single day to overcome it. It is how I was raised. Both my parents were from deep south and quite prejudice. I have absolutely no problem with Barack Obama becoming our 44th President and in fact look forward to it, however that doesn't stop me from harboring some lingering bias. I just try and be honest with myself and others..:shrug:

[Oregone]

4. I also have a bias...

But after studying our history and our government, as well as interacting everyday with people of this race, how can I still look upon white people without bias?

I guess the only white people Ive grown to love are my parents, siblings, and children. Everyone else I meet seems to be an asshole.

[Bandit]

6. I suspect your bias has more basis in fact than does mine.

I just hope someday we can all overcome these ideas.

[Oreegone]

13. I know just how you feel

Every time someone asked my husband during the primary who he thought would be president he would say "Well we know its not going to be an old, white, man."
:puke:

[JerseygirlCT]

21. EVERYONE has some biases

maybe race, maybe other things. We're none of us exempt. It's part of the human condition.

Those who are able to face theirs are in a far better position to avoid giving in to them.

[yardwork]

26. I admire your honesty. If you're ready to give up the bias, stop watching TV.

I stopped watching TV entirely during the 2004 election. Since then, I've realized how much TV drives so many of the biases and stereotypes and conventional "truths" that are lies in this country.

[PATRICK]

31. Same experience

The discussion agenda is always driven by TV and news and that in turn is driven by the RW and corporations. So sweeping is this that all the range from liberals pundits to the plain dumb and innocent
are merely part of the aggregate misdirection. Not worth even parsing for the TP's or conspiracies- at least until we are talking about serious indictments. Even ranting about the media hogging the national forum is a first barrier waste of time(as now).

Not one second. Not one ad seen. Not one fad followed. Not one piece of pop culture assimilated into groupthink. Refreshing, but it's still here and all around and not dealt with. The era when most of the nation can blithely go to the polls simply not knowing the true character and record of the false icons presented by the media has to end.

[Gman]

3. The 30% of whites mentioned here correlates well with Bush's approval rating.

This is the famous "30%".

[EFerrari]

17. Exactly. We already knew this. n/t

[Liberal Gramma]

25. That's the 30% we'll never get, no matter who we run

For some of them, that's why they are Republicans--no problem with racism there. Or sexism. Watch them jump all over negative McCain comments as "ageism" though.

[Fire_Medic_Dave]

29. There are plenty of democrats in that mix too.

I work with a bunch of union belonging democrats that are as racist as anyone I've ever met. We'll see what important to them now.

David

[glowing]

5. People are comfortable with Obama.. He's well educated, successful, well spoken..

positive and hopeful.. and is also able to see the problems within society white/ black/ and all other ethnic groups... But let's face it, there is still prejudice against the young man who walks into a store with baggy pants, big shirt, and hat on side-ways....

Also.. Obama is 1/2 white and 1/2 black.. what do you think the reception of America would be if Obama had married a white woman? I doubt he'd be elected dog catcher.. His black 1/2 shows more than the white 1/2.. if he was married to a white woman like Tiger Woods, then I think more bias would show thru.... with black women and with white folk..

[shanti]

24. obama

wouldn't have a snowball's chance in hell if he was married to a white woman. to some, it's bad enough that his own mother was white.

[Midlodemocrat]

7. I'll admit to bias. Stupid bias. A la Bush.

I despise the stupid opportunist that he is.

[JerseygirlCT]

22. Yes, I'm definitely biased against stupid.

Especially stupid that sees no need to change that.

[ensho]

8. 3 out of 10 admit racism, how many didn't admit it?

more then 3 I'll wager

[treestar]

15. Those three in ten are probably aware liberal types, too

Right wing morans never would admit to it.

[lolly]

34. I agree

I think there's a big chance that many of those who admit to biases are the ones who are trying to overcome it--witness the first few posts here.

OTOH, how many times have you heard somebody introduce an ignorant, racist comment with "Now, I'm no racist, but . . ."

[niceypoo]

9. Everyone pre judges someone or something...

...it is bigotry that we really need to fight. The fact that 9/10 of white Americans would be comfortable with a black president bodes well for Obama. There will always be 10% - 20% who allow their hatred and anger to poison their thinking, my Republican brother among them.

[rashotte]

10. ya the white man...

has done so well. Im so thrilled with how things have turned out with the ''white'' man leading....

Most of the bias is from the religious ''christian'' conservatives....

I was seeing more racism (sexism actually) twards clinton than obama.

I think men would rather vote in a black man than a woman...

MHO. from what we were seeing with votes....this country has a long way to go..SAD.

[grahamhgreen]

11. STOP LETTING THE MSM FRAME AND DRIVE THESE ISSUES - THE REAL ISSUE IS THE MSM

trying to drum up racial tensions, when most people are over it.

WaPo is acting in a disturbing and irresposible manner.

[brindis_desala]

12. What are you suggesting... people will read this and suddenly

realize, "hey, I'm a bigot?"

[grahamhgreen]

14. No. people start talking about race instead of the issues - mission accomplished.

[treestar]

16. I think you are right

This is the M$M drumming up what they think is "controversial" rather than discussing the issues.

[onehandle]

19. What about the part about McCain's age?

Should they be talking about that?

What aspect of that are "most people over?"

[grahamhgreen]

30. No, Mcain's age and Obama's skin color do not educate Americans about the real problems we face.

It's like a shell game getting you to look in the wrong direction while they steal your money.

[Seabiscuit]

18. So 3 out of 10 are honest; 7 out of 10 dishonest?

Pretty much comports with my view of Americans.

[JerseygirlCT]

20. How would someone "overrepresent" the interests of African Americans?

I've heard this before, and I don't understand what that means, practically speaking. Can someone explain that to me?

[yardwork]

27. If we get a president who is not white, how will white people get the lion's share of everything?!

Pay attention! White men have made sure that white men get "their fair share" up until now. Now what will happen!?

[JerseygirlCT]

28. Yeah, that's what I've thought was really being said.

I mean, what would African American people want that anyone else wouldn't?

When did equal rights and worker's rights and all of those things just folks of any background want become a bad thing?

Oh, yes, for the Republicans they are!

[qwlauren35]

32. Ummm... it's a bit weird.

African-Americans are an amazing microcosm of the problems of America. For some reason, we experience them first, but eventually, they do blow up.

Teen pregnancy
Drugs
Unemployment
Gangs

There was a time when all of these things were associated with 'da ghetto'... but not any more.

Obama does have ONE thing on his agenda that I associate with a concern for the African-American community. And that is the assertion of fatherhood rights and fighting for unemployment opportunities for young fathers. It's been a problem in black communities for several generations... but frankly, it's oozing out into the general (white) population now.

In fact, sometimes I think the tendency to associate these issues with African-Americans is fictitious/duplicitous. These issues have existed in poorer white communities for many generations, but "middle-class" white folks didn't want to own it as a national problem.

As the have/have-not gap increases, more of these issues will be less a matter of race, and more a matter of money. I guess it's just a question of who wants to admit that it's happening. As a rule, the POOR African-American community is so SPOTLIGHTED, that you can't miss the problems, even when they aren't as "epidemic" as the media makes them out to be. Heck, the number of African-Americans who are "poor" isn't as big as it used to be, but lots of Americans still aren't ready to deal with that either! The Cosbys were a fictitious couple, right?

I also remember finding out about 20 years ago that when schools were attempting to wrestle with issues brought about by "Affirmative Action", they discovered that it wasn't just black kids who would benefit from some academic "help". And some schools began to offer the "Affirmative Action" assistance programs to anyone who wanted the help.

I could keep going, but I'm going to stop now. "Our" issues, i.e. poor schools, teen pregnancy, AIDS, difficulty with fair housing practices, voter disenfranchisement, unemployment, drugs in the community, and an anti-snitch culture... if you break them down, are American issues. Anyone who wants to believe that these issues are confined to "the inner city/urban environment" hasn't been out and about in a while.

But there are people who want to believe this, in part, because they *don't* want to believe that multitudes of white Americans are being confronted with these issues. They especially don't want to admit that there are white Americans who face prejudice and bias for being poor, "country", etc. Because then the question comes... how did this happen? How did we let it happen...


Republicans prefer to take the view that bad things only happen to bad people. People who were lazy, people who weren't willing to do whatever it took to get a job, people who refused to save money. Republicans try to present the idea that anyone who is poor in America is poor by choice, never from lack of opportunity. And when they want an example, they point to our community.

It's crap. But Americans buy into it.

Heck, keep in mind that we haven't even scratched the surface on the issues of native Americans. A native American presidential candidate would be even more amazing than a black candidate! Our prejudices toward native Americans are far deeper, far more insidious, far less conscious.

Yes, I should stop here.

[JerseygirlCT]

33. That's pretty much what I thought

Those are ALL of our problems, and unless and until we see it that way, they won't get solved.

Thanks for your post.

[Jackpine Radical]

23. I'm kind of afraid of that overrepresentation-of his-own-kind thing too.

I'm concerned that McCain will overrepresent the psychotic, fundamentalist, bigoted, warmongering rich white swine if he gets into power.

[JerseygirlCT]

35. They've been over represented for, I don't know -

forever?