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The racists emerge
One thing I've been worried about throughout the campaign is the "hidden" racists. I know the AP tried to quantify this a few weeks ago, by saying race cuts something like 6% off of Obama's lead. But I've been worried that the numbers were undercounted; that many "undecided" voters had actually decided, based on race, but were too embarrassed to say so to pollsters. And now some news on that is emerging.
Nicholas Kristof raised the issue over the weekend, with his "Racism without Racists" column, in which he said:
Most of the votes that Mr. Obama actually loses belong to well-meaning whites who believe in racial equality and have no objection to electing a black person as president — yet who discriminate unconsciously.You know these people. They're the ones who act fine around black co-workers, but still worry if there are "too many" black kids in their kids' schools. Or they have no problem idolizing black basketball players, but worry about blacks moving into their neighborhoods. They don't think of themselves as racists, and when they're asked about the election, they say they're undecided, and add things like, "there's just something about Obama that I don't trust..."
And, now, according to Politico, the problem isn't just with the "secret" racists. The public ones are starting to make themselves heard:
An Obama supporter, who canvassed for the candidate in the working-class, white Philadelphia neighborhood of Fishtown recently, sends over an account that, in various forms, I've heard a lot in recent weeks.This remains troubling, in part because this isn't captured by polls. The racist factor may already be factored in, as the AP said. But it may not be, and may still have a real impact at the polls. We've seen working class voters choose Republicans against their own economic self-interest for years now; in this election, they may do so yet again, spurred on by their own racism, even if they never admit it to themselves or others.
"What's crazy is this," he writes. "I was blown away by the outright racism, but these folks are f***ing undecided. They would call him a n----r and mention how they don't know what to do because of the economy."
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Comments (6)
"Most of the votes that Mr. Obama actually loses belong to well-meaning whites who believe in racial equality and have no objection to electing a black person as president — yet who discriminate unconsciously."
They are NOT "well-meaning whites". They RACISTS. Who ever got the idea that racism is confined to the violent, to those who use the "n" word!?
I think whoever wrote that analysis needs to confront HIMSELF for not seeing his projection of his own denial -- his own "well-meaning white" facade covering the fact even from himself that HE is racist.
October 6, 2008 12:34 PM | Reply | Permalink
"You know these people. They're the ones who act fine around black co-workers, but still worry if there are "too many" black kids in their kids' schools. Or they have no problem idolizing black basketball players, but worry about blacks moving into their neighborhoods.
That doesn't sound unconscious to me. Maybe you misunderstood the research.
October 6, 2008 12:40 PM | Reply | Permalink
Unfortunately, for these people "unconscious" -- meaning they do not connect their conscious behavior to the subliminated feelings they harbor about blacks and other minorities -- is an accurate portrayal. I see it and experience it frequently. You might not.
There have been several books and detailed studies -- far more accurate than the recent AP-Yahoo poll -- such as the long-running study done by the University of Michigan's study of quality of life in Detroit, in which respondents undergo detailed personal, probing interviews with the survey takers. Each time the survey is conducted, in addition to the general topics covered, there are in-depth, sharply focused interviews about specific subject. Frequently, they discuss race relations and attitudes. This study is widely recognized as a gold standard when it comes to accurately gauging where various groups stand on these sensitive issues.
These people may have gotten to the stage where they do not mind working in the same firm with minorities, but do not want to socialize with "them" away from work. They are fine shopping in the same stores, but not okay with "them" -- or too many of "them" -- in the same neighborhood. They claim to want great schools for everybody's children, but don't want "them" taking scholarships or college placements away from their kids.
I'm sure you'll belittle what I have to say, but perhaps other readers will find it useful.
October 6, 2008 2:29 PM | Reply | Permalink
"Unfortunately, for these people "unconscious" -- meaning they do not connect their conscious behavior to the subliminated feelings they harbor about blacks and other minorities -- is an accurate portrayal. I see it and experience it frequently. You might not."
No, it is not accurate -- and it is both foolish and contemptuous to believe that.
I'm white, and I see it all the time (and hear it when only whites are present). I also directly confront it. It isn't "unconscious" in any sense of the word; it may be semi-conscious because batted away as embarassing -- revealing to the person that s/he is racist. But the connection -- not only feeling and behavior, but AWARENESS and feeling and behavior -- IS MADE.
The reality is that they are used to playing along with the shared lie "we all" play: that "You may be racist, but I ain't!" That lie relies upon the fiction that racism is something overt, not ALSO something latent yet active. Conscious but outwardly denied.
Face it: EVERY culture is racist. Therefore, EVERYONE born into any culture is inculcated with racism* before learning they should reject it. The question isn't, "Am I racist?" -- that's a given; the correct question is, "How do I/WE deal with it?"
_____
*And against whom? Well, as example, the Japanese view Koreans, Chinese -- all other Asian cultures/peoples -- as inferior "races". You can imagine how they view those not Asian. (And how do those not Asian view Asians?)
It's even closer than that: Northern Chinese view Southern Chinese as an inferior race. Southern Chinese return the "favor".
When members of the same race view others of their race as different "races," then it's no great leap to recognize and accept that racism exists even more manifestly between those of actually-different races.
So no one has a righteous "I ain't no racist!" leg to stand on. What one does have is the opportunity to empower oneself by dealing directly with the issue, in all of us, instead of pretending that only OTHERS are racist, as THAT is the stumbling block; the obstacle to progress.
Heck, the easiest racist to deal with is the overt; it's the one's who "aren't" racist that are the hardest to reach.
October 6, 2008 3:42 PM | Reply | Permalink
My point (and Kristof's) is that there are a lot of people out there with unconscious racist leanings that only come to the fore in specific circumstances, and if they're not confronted with those circumstances, may be able to go through life without having to confront those leanings. Read Kristof's article. He quotes researchers talking about "aversive racists, those who don’t think that they’re racist."
"Faced with a complex decision, he said, aversive racists feel doubts about a black person that they don’t feel about an identical white. 'These doubts tend to be attributed not to the person’s race — because that would be racism — but deflected to other areas that can be talked about, such as lack of experience,' he added."
These are the people who say, "there's just something about Obama..." And in my examples, they're the ones who might comment that their kids' school is "lowering its academic standards" or some such tripe, rather than coming right out and saying they're concerned about the racial mix. I've met plenty of people like that over the years. I never heard the term "aversive racist" before, but that's clearly what they are.
October 6, 2008 1:09 PM | Reply | Permalink
I think that most of these people tend to vote Republican anyway. They tend to think of Democrats as weak and "elitist" often to the detriment of their own self interest.
Here in Tennessee, we had an interesting occurrence in our last senatorial race where Dem. Harold Ford Jr. ran against Repub. Bob Corker. The Ford family has a long, controversial record in TN and the campaign, as many remember, was sleazy beyond all bounds. Ford lost, but by a very slim margin and by much less than was predicted by the polls. It seemed like even in Tennessee, race was less of a factor than people had predicted it would be. - Just food for thought.
October 6, 2008 2:22 PM | Reply | Permalink
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