What a new poll does and doesn’t tell us.
The Wall Street Journal:
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.”
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All that having been said, let’s look at the numbers:
1. 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.
2. From a partisan perspective, 49% of Republicans see most black Americans as racist, along with 36% of unaffiliated adults and 29% of Democrats.
3. Among black Americans, 31% think most blacks are racist, while 24% consider most whites racist and 15% view most Hispanics that way.
4. Among white adults, 10% think most white Americans are racist; 38% believe most blacks are racist, and 17% say most Hispanics are racist.
I can comprehend why “European Americans” consider “African Americans” as being more racist. That’s about the same as saying Jews are more racist than Germans.
Let’s take this a step further; African Americans should be identified as African Americans as opposed to being identified as just a color (the blacks). If an African American seeks to correct this identification blunder he/she will be labeled as racist.