In These Primary Numbers, Warnings for the Fall
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{snip}
To some extent, Obama’s problems here stem from Clinton’s special appeal to one segment of this group, white working-class women. And Democratic candidates have been having problems with lunch-bucket whites for a long time. (Just ask John Kerry.) But there is another reason—one that many discuss delicately—why Obama is having difficulty with white working-class voters: race.
Racial attitudes have changed dramatically in the United States over the past several decades, of course, and overtly racist beliefs are much less prevalent among white Americans of all classes today. But a more subtle form of prejudice, which social scientists sometimes call symbolic racism, is still out there—especially among working-class whites.
Symbolic racism means believing that African American poverty and other problems are largely the result of lack of ambition and effort, rather than white racism and discrimination. Who holds symbolically racist beliefs? A relatively large portion of white voters in general and white working-class voters in particular, according to the 2004 American National Election Study, the best data available on this topic. A few answers underscore how widespread these attitudes are:
* Almost 60 percent of white voters agreed with the statement that “blacks should try harder to succeed.” A startling 43 percent of white college graduates nodded at this one, along with 71 percent of whites with no college education.
* Fully 49 percent of white voters disagreed with the statement that “history makes it more difficult for blacks to succeed.” Forty percent of white college graduates disagreed with it, along with 58 percent of whites with no college education.
{snip}
(Posted on May 12, 2008)
Comments
“Almost 60 percent of white voters agreed with the statement that “blacks should try harder to succeed.” A startling 43 percent of white college graduates nodded at this one, along with 71 percent of whites with no college education.”
Colleges are failing us. Everyone knows that the purpose of a college education is to enable one to earn a good income and the means whith which to live as far away from blacks as possible.
Posted by Nordic at 6:20 PM on May 12
More racist white-bashing pigswallow from yet another “white” journalist (I used to put journalist in scare-quotes too, until I realized that was redundant).
Symbolic racism means believing that African American poverty and other problems are largely the result of lack of ambition and effort, rather than white racism and discrimination.
It’s not racist to blame “black failure” (a misnomer beloved of so-called “race-realists,” it seems, more than anyone else these days) on white malfeasance, but it is racist to blame “black failure” on black behavior.
Interesting! Aren’t we all fortunate to have a fellow “white” like this journalist around to explain these revealed mysteries to we the peons of flyover country?
* Almost 60 percent of white voters agreed with the statement that “blacks should try harder to succeed.” A startling 43 percent of white college graduates nodded at this one, along with 71 percent of whites with no college education.
* Fully 49 percent of white voters disagreed with the statement that “history makes it more difficult for blacks to succeed.” Forty percent of white college graduates disagreed with it, along with 58 percent of whites with no college education.
Hmm, on second thought, it seems this journalist is writing a warning (“the anesthetic is wearing off!”) to his fellow “whites,” more than to we the peons.
Posted by Svigor at 6:28 PM on May 12
“Symbolic racism means believing that African American poverty and other problems are largely the result of lack of ambition and effort, rather than white racism and discrimination.”
Blame the Whites when the Blacks can’t measure up. This stuff works on impressionable minds and keeps them cheering on the death of the White race. Afterall, the implied conclusion is that when Whites are neutralized (dead or mixing race), the oppression of non-Whites will stop.
The reality is that oppression is part of the human condition. Jealousy, greed and hunger will drive men of all races towards violent and oppressive behavior at times. All too often, only Whites are criticized for such behavior in the mainstream press though. This suggests a deep hatred of Whites in the minds of those who determine what is and is not to be printed.
If Alan Abramowitz (the writer of the article) isn’t a race mixer himself, then one must wonder what his real motivation for trying to blame Black faliure on White racism is.
Posted by True Resistance at 6:45 PM on May 12
The glib media types never cease to amaze me.
Unless I’m mistaken, a black candidate has done enormously well, in spite of:
- comments by his Reverend
- comments by his wife
- his friend Bill Ayers blowing buildings up
- himself making comments about
- typical white people
- Midwestern people clinging to guns
- Midwestern people hating foreigners
Millions of whites have voted for Obama and we still get all this hocus pocus about supposed white racism?…good grief…this never ends.
Posted by RJS at 6:55 PM on May 12
Almost 60 percent of white voters agreed with the statement that “blacks should try harder to succeed.”
Is this racist and unreasonable to believe?
Let me give you an example of trying harder.
A couple years ago, there was an article in the Buffalo News about black (and hispanic) truancy.
They reported that at the high school from which I graduated, which is now majority black and hispanic, the truancy rate can be as high as 25%.
Does it seem racist or unreasonable to believe that if blacks (and hispanics) tried harder to attend school on a daily basis that they might do better in school? Is it racist or unreasonable to believe that blacks have some responsibility for their scholastic success or failure?
Blacks need to spend more time looking in the mirror rather than pointing their finger.
Posted by sbuffalonative at 7:00 PM on May 12
[* Almost 60 percent of white voters agreed with the statement that “blacks should try harder to succeed.” A startling 43 percent of white college graduates nodded at this one, along with 71 percent of whites with no college education.]
Why is that “startling” Comrade Abramowitz?
Blacks are largely lazy and want everything handed to them on a silver platter. What’s new?
Posted by at 7:02 PM on May 12
Symbolic racism means believing that African American poverty and other problems are largely the result of lack of ambition and effort, rather than white racism and discrimination. ………This is a Joke right.May I please translate.Thanks to forced integration whites no longer suffer the delusion that the problems in the black community are due to White racism.Does this person actually get paid to write this tripe.
Posted by Tony Soprano at 7:07 PM on May 12
If whites don’t lose the so called guilt created by the racism game that is always played against them, they will eventually lose their safety, their self respect and even their whole nation—big time.
Posted by Bobby at 7:15 PM on May 12
It is evident that Alan Ambramowitz is substituting his own biases in favor of the “poor blacks, they’re always victims” ideology, for what appears to me to be common sense on the part of a lot of White Americans.
That is, he just assumes, as sure as the sun will come up tomorrow, that blacks’ abysmal record in so many areas of achievement is due to “white racism and discrimination,” rather than the evidence that our own eyes and ears leads so many of us to conclude otherwise. That makes us practitioners of “symbolic racism,” in his view. Amazing, isn’t it, how these eastern liberals can go through life with blinders on, never seeing what is so evident to the rest of us?
Posted by Wayne Engle at 7:49 PM on May 12
“Almost 60 percent of white voters agreed with the statement that “blacks should try harder to succeed.” A startling 43 percent of white college graduates nodded at this one, along with 71 percent of whites with no college education.”
Funny how something as inconclusive as a survey like this seems to “startle” these leftist journalists, but they callously bury everyday stories of vicious racial violence committed against Whites.
Posted by ZKR at 7:57 PM on May 12
Well, then mark me as a “symbolic racist” then because it is obvious to me that 95% of the problems that blacks have are caused by a combination of their own shortcomings and the behavior of the other blacks they live among. The worse the black neighborhood the more whites are entirely out of the loop.
Meanwhile, Obama can attend sermons by a racist preacher for 20 years, attend Farrakhan’s million man march, advocate more discrimination against whites (he doesn’t think we have enough affirmative action) and he gets a free pass by the media.
Posted by WR the elder at 8:12 PM on May 12
“Symbolic racism means believing that African American poverty and other problems are largely the result of lack of ambition and effort, rather than white racism and discrimination.”
More inane multicultural gibberish, from the brie and Bordeaux media and “social science” apparatchiks. They just can’t help themselves, it seems.
Never has history demonstrated a civilization ruled by truly hate filled elites, contemptuously favoring racial rivals over their own than is the case of the modern West. In all of recorded history, never has more excuses been made for the failures and other social pathologies by an estranged elite, for such racial rivals either.
It demonstrates a corruption of the mind and decaying of the soul, that is honestly beyond all comprehension.
It never occurs to these arrogant imbeciles, that when blacks vote 90% or more in lockstep for a party that has mollycoddled them for 60 years, that maybe some whites get a hint of reality? Of course, the lower on the white social rungs that they are, the closer in proximity to these poor and “discriminated” against Nubians that they are, that reality becomes all the more prescient and pertinent, in terms of the grand sellout by these so-called elites. Yes, life is differently viewed from a bungalow’s porch or the rented apartment’s balcony, then from a penthouse or the ivory tower.
So now we are to believe that a half-African mulatto, that went to Harvard and is now a US Senator, is being “discriminated” against because some “lunch-bucket whites,” do not see him as the second coming and are in the throes of a “madness” called “symbolic racism?”
Give me a bleeding break!
This inept and inexperienced Mau Maoist, is less fit to be the President of the USA than I am and most others here are. That is simply a hard fact of life; if he is compared to the likes of Jared Taylor or dare I say even Walter Williams, this clown isn’t fit to be elected the “hoods’” rat catcher. Yet on he plods, toward the White House as if in a dream and with obvious gushing media favoritism and diabolical political protectionism.
As always, God help us all!
*KRONOS*
Posted by John PM at 8:13 PM on May 12
Well golly Mr. Abramowitz, could it possibly be that, since working class whites actually COME IN CONTACT with blacks typically on a daily basis, they might know something YOU don’t? Your tactic of calling anybody who doesn’t agree with you “racist” is losing its power.
I’m curious, Mr. Abramowitz, what proportion of the neighborhood YOU live in is black? What about the schools YOUR children attend? I’ve worked for several large companies and nowhere did I see bias against blacks. You say there is “white privilege” out there. Show me ONE major company where a white man has the advantage just because he’s white. In today’s business world, whites succeed IN SPITE of being white. Not BECAUSE of it. So step out of your ivory tower and observe the real world.
Posted by jewamongyou at 8:51 PM on May 12
This article is a good example of why so many people are disgusted with liberal elitist attitudes in the mainstream media. Abramowitz uses the condescending term “lunch-bucket whites”. Perhaps many people brown-bag their lunch because they don’t have an expense account, Mr. Abramowitz?
I have a college education and work in a university library, but the modest pay puts me in a position of having to be frugal, so I often pack a lunch. I found his choice of words to be gratuitously snobbish.
Abramowitz also equates a college education with enlightened attitudes, but AR readers know better than that. In colleges today there is too much indoctrination into leftist mindsets that slam the mind shut with inflexible ideology. A true education opens the mind.
The Washington Post isn’t the last word in educated opinion.
Posted by at 8:59 PM on May 12
Here come the ‘Minority Reports’ and thought police. So now our reasoning for lack of Black achievement is our fault because we harbor beliefs that a sector of our society could do better for themselves, and simply choose not to? We, as founding majority of the USA (Whites), do not expect any other race to ‘become’ us so much as to emulate the behaviors demonstrated in community and education that do lead to success (Is anyone for Common Sense anymore? How about Individual Initiative?). Unbelievable. The less-ambitious really do get less in life…how simple should it have to be?
Ponderable:
How is it that Native/First Americans received a far GREATER shafting throughout history than the Blacks, but seem to be the direct inverse of Black complaining and excuse making? As I recall, Blacks were offered ‘forty acres and a mule’ compared to the practice of banishment in pushing ‘Indians’ right onto a questionable reservation? Talk about something worse than segregation/apartheid, is,”Hey, you’re not even human enough to live separated among us”.
Posted by ilovemyfirstamendment at 9:00 PM on May 12
‘symbolic racism’? Ive been on AMREN 3 years now and have never heard that term. I grew up in white guilt ridden Springfield Illinois (we had annual school visits to the Lincoln sites as part of our education) and probably indoctrinated with the ideology that blacks ‘just need a chance’ to prove they are as good as the rest of us…coming to Indianapolis 15 years ago and mixing into their culture opened my eyes. If Alan Abramowittz had walked in my shoes, he wouldn’t have written this.
Posted by toonces at 9:13 PM on May 12
“Symbolic racism means believing that African American poverty and other problems are largely the result of lack of ambition and effort, rather than white racism and discrimination.”
Symbolic racism doesn’t exist, prof, and you would know that if you didn’t have your head where the sun doesn’t shine. And many Americans are around blacks enough to know they’re not bright enough to succeed. You never raised that proven fact, although it has been documented enough times even a liberal geek would know it. It isn’t just lack of effort that holds blacks back. And besides the effort factor and the intelligence factor, blacks have indicated a propensity for crime and violence, which federal statistics verify, so being in jail might have a lot to do with white opinion that black failure is self-induced.
One more thing, prof. You split every hair you could think of to point out something that might have to do with white racism, but neglected entirely to mention that blacks support Obama 92%, and in other instances they have always voted for a black candidate over a white one when they had a choice, unless the black candidate is someone who believes they should quit whining and start working. Any reason you can give us that you seem to be blind in those areas?
Posted by Ranger at 9:52 PM on May 12
Mr. Abramowitz has given us his definition of a rascist which is really nothing more than a recitation of his left wing politics. My definition of a rascist is someone who blames whites for the failures of blacks that are instead a result of black deficiencies in character and intelligence.
Posted by mikeh at 9:56 PM on May 12
Anyone who believes blacks are underachievers because of the inherent nature of their race has a firm grasp of the obvious!
Posted by Vlad The Emailer at 10:05 PM on May 12
Most all this is pure hyperbole, however it is nearly impossible to overlook race, when one race is constantly reminding everyone of their ancestry, and the color of their skin. You will be hardpressed to listen to any so called “minority” whiner for more than a minute, without hearing this grim reminder. Plus education does not make one smarter, just more educated.
Posted by THE OLD SAGE at 10:41 PM on May 12
What many of us whites have realized is: blacks have had many advantages handed to them via affirmative action, school integration, and so on. For what, forty years or more? That’s at least two generations.
Yet they STILL remain, as a general group, more likely to end up as a criminal statistic or breeding illegitimate children. Despite forty years of special priveleges and federal laws designed to give them an advantage.
Now with a black man running for the highest office in our land, they are STILL crying about racism??? It isn’t really racism, to notice tendencies within certain groups of people. I could make lots of generalizations about whites, or men, or women, or whatever, and most of them, in a very general way, would probably be spot on.
That’s not an “ism”…that’s what my eyes see.
Posted by LJ at 10:50 PM on May 12
I’m eager to read what John PM has to say about this one. But in the end who cares what their problems are? I thought this was one site at least dedicated to white folks.
Posted by at 11:27 PM on May 12
*Symbolic racism means believing that African American poverty and other problems are largely the result of lack of ambition and effort, rather than white racism and discrimination.*
So - even with *billions* spent on bussing, forced integration, Section 8 housing, Affirmative Action, black-only scholarships, welfare etc blacks are *still* economically behind Whitey?
Yes, it’s that nasty ol’ *Vast White Conspiracy* again to hold the “superior African-Americans” down!
Posted by Obscuratus at 12:02 AM on May 13
There are two absolute certainties about the fall election:
(1) If Obama becomes president, hate crimes against whites will increase.
(2) If Obama fails to become president, hate crimes against whites will increase.
They’ll likely be called something else, though…
Posted by Kevin at 1:22 AM on May 13
As a white African I can only look at what is happening in the US with a sense of shock and utter surprise. Real Americans, the descendants of the founders of what was once the greatest superpower on earth, still have a chance of turning things around and telling the leeches to go back where they came from, but seem truly unable to grasp the seriousness of the threat it will be facing in the near future.
I believe that it stems from a complete lack of knowledge of the enemy.
When will you start resisting ? Only when you are, like in South Africa, 10% of the population but still responsible for nearly all the taxes ?
Posted by Commando at 1:35 AM on May 13
Healthy Whites are tired of Blacks. We’re tired of being told to ignore the evidence of our own eyes, or the statistical evidence we can look up. They are a blight on the nation, a drain on our resources, a cultural poison, and a genetic pollutant. We’re tired of hearing that recognizing these facts means that there’s something wrong with us. It’s the “social scientists”, huddled in their upscale non-Black, non-Hispanic neighborhoods and pointing fingers at everyone else that are suffering from mental abnormalities, not us.
Posted by Schoolteacher at 2:29 AM on May 13
* Almost 60 percent of white voters agreed with the statement that “blacks should try harder to succeed.” A startling 43 percent of white college graduates nodded at this one, along with 71 percent of whites with no college education.
“Startling” because 43% were not indoctrinated in college to accept multicultural and white guilt drivel? Or perhaps the obvious, 71% of whites with no indoctrination see it as it is.
Posted by NewarkBeef at 8:56 AM on May 13
White people are not going to answer truthfully to surveys or questions about black people.
My hunch is close to 100% of white people think black people should try harder to succeed.
But what does that mean when a “startling” 43% of white college graduates think blacks should try harder? Does that mean the other 57% think blacks are fine the way they are?
Posted by Dennis at 9:54 AM on May 13
Since Abramowitz accepts “symbolic racism”, he no doubt also accepts the assertion of “institutional racism”. It does exist, but in the very institutions he would most likely praise for their diversity and multiculturalism. The Washington Post is one.
This manifests itself in stereotyping and judgmentalism of Whites. It is a bitter, self-righteous ideology which, at the same time, views Blacks as incapable of success without compassionate assistance from the enlightened.
This is an attitude of unabiding contempt for those of us who fail to see “reality”.
“The difference between reality and perception is that you can always change reality.” (unknown source)
Posted by George at 10:50 AM on May 13
“Symbolic racism” would involve symbols to express negative racial attitudes. E.g., a poster for “Birth of a Nation” or maybe a picture of a noose or maybe a picture of a guy holding an M-16 with the caption “By any means necessary”. Mr. Abramowitz should use some other term for the opinions he happens not to approve of. He should also be more forthright in stating his underlying premise: that if everyone shared his opinions, everthing would be just peachy.
Posted by larry k at 11:11 AM on May 13
My idea of symbolic racism is to be the strongest, smartest, most clever White male I can be, who holds his head up and loves other White people.
Posted by Lars at 11:46 AM on May 13
Professor Abramowitz, fresh from indoctrinating young minds on the campus of Emory University where endowments and taxpayers subsuduze his life of leisurely musings, is shocked, shocked I tell you, at the ignorance of the working class and their symbolic racisim.
Perhaps he could symbolically remove his head from his posterior and get a real job.
Posted by Rupert at 2:26 PM on May 13
“Symbolic racism”. Well, okay then, what is the fact that 90+% of blacks vote for Obama? Overt racism? Explicit racism? Non-symbolic racism?
Posted by Bill Black at 2:31 PM on May 13
As everyone should have figured out by now, the purpose of “Civil Rights” is not to raise up the blacks, but to tear down White Civilization to the black level. Mr. Abramowitz is simply expressing his dismay that more and more of the victims are waking up.
Posted by at 2:58 PM on May 13
So, the people that live among blacks don’t know anything about them, and the people that don’t, know it all.
Nothing new to see here. Move along.
Posted by at 3:19 PM on May 13
Funny how white racism never affects achievement levels of other races. East and Central Asians somehow seem to overcome white racism and prosper and even excel. Jews, though white enough, seem to shrug off anti-Semitism and succeed at levels far beyond the white population at large.
Blacks, however, manage to fail even where there are very few whites around. All of sub-Sahara Africa is pretty much a case in point, where black failure and apparent incapacity become rife as soon as white rule and supervision are supplanted by black government.
A keen a judicious observer may, just may, be able to discern an emerging pattern here.
Posted by john at 3:25 PM on May 13
I think racism is natural but I hate how they portray it as a White working class thing only. You can’t tell me that the upper class racism against blacks that was so prevalent even 10 years ago has simply vanished. My boss took us to a country club for his retirement party. Keep in mind this is in SC, a heavy black state. Not a single black face in sight other than a couple of employees who went with us.
Posted by at 9:54 PM on May 13
“Symbolic racism means believing that African American poverty and other problems are largely the result of lack of ambition and effort, rather than white racism and discrimination. Who holds symbolically racist beliefs? A relatively large portion of white voters in general and white working-class voters in particular…”
“Symbolic racism,” another LMSM conjured-up phrase with which to club anyone over the head anyone holding a different opinion.
If a “large portion of white voters believe that African American poverty and other problems are largely the result of lack of ambition and effort,” isn’t it a more likely explanation of this opinion that it arose out of genuine life experience, and that it is therefore valid?
Isn’t Mr. Abramowitz really trying to con us into not believing our own eyes?
Posted by Gary at 1:39 PM on May 14
Notice how Al conveniently does not cite the “social scientists? His abstract “symbolic racism” is obviously a smokescreen for a lack of real discernible racism but instead amounts to a racist smearing of Whites. His articles elsewhere display his obvious support for Obama. It’s sad to think that Al’s psychological distortion of reality probably will reinforce those predisposed with a masochistic mind like his.
Posted by factualist at 5:38 PM on May 14