Look, when Black folks talk about racism, we hear there is almost none left. Yet when white folks SHOW racism, we can't all it that, right? Those folks in West Virginia and Kentucky said things like, "I'm not racist, but I can't vote for a black for President." But if that's not racist, nothing is.
So. The term is racial resentment now. Fine. I will adopt whatever term white people use for their racism. I will use "racial resentment" EXACTLY as I use the word "racism" now.
The White Stuff
A new NEWSWEEK Poll underscores Obama's racial challenge.
Jonathan Darman
Newsweek Web Exclusive
Updated: 7:41 PM ET May 23, 2008
Even as he closes in on the Democratic nomination for the presidency, Sen. Barack Obama is facing lingering problems winning the support of white voters--including some in his own party. In a new NEWSWEEK Poll of registered voters, Obama trails presumptive Republican nominee Sen. John McCain 40 percent to 52 percent among whites. Sen. Hillary Clinton, Obama's challenger for the Democratic nomination, also trails McCain among white voters but by a smaller margin, 44 percent to 48 percent. (For the complete results, click here).
Among voters overall, however, Obama fares better, tying McCain 46 percent to 46 percent in a hypothetical match-up. (That's down slightly, within the margin of error, from the last NEWSWEEK Poll, conducted in late April, in which Obama led McCain 47 percent to 44 percent). In that contest, he is boosted by a strong showing among nonwhites, leading McCain 68 percent to 25 percent (Clinton leads McCain 65 percent to 25 percent among nonwhites). But even this result shows some of the electoral challenges facing Obama in a year when Democrats generally appear to hold an electoral advantage--boasting a 15 point advantage in generic party identification over Republicans, 53 percent to 38 percent. Clinton fares slightly better against McCain: 48 percent to 44 percent (within the margin of error). She enjoys this slight edge even though Obama leads Clinton 50 percent to 42 percent as the choice of registered Democrats for the party's nomination. Clinton's white support is unusually high: at a comparable point in the 2004 election, Democratic nominee John Kerry received the support of 36 percent of white voters, compared to George W. Bush's 48 percent, and in June of 2000, Bush led Al Gore 48 percent to 39 percent.
Obama's race may well explain his difficulty in winning over white voters. In the NEWSWEEK Poll, participants were asked to answer questions on a variety of race-related topics including racial preferences, interracial marriage, attitudes toward social welfare and general attitudes toward African-Americans. Respondents were grouped according to their answers on a "Racial Resentment Index." Among white Democrats with a low Racial Resentment Index rating, Obama beat McCain in a hypothetical match-up 78 percent to 17 percent. That is virtually identical to Clinton's margin in the category, 79 percent to 13 percent. But among white Democrats with high scores on the Racial Resentment Index, the picture was very different: Obama led McCain by only 18 points (51 to 33) while Clinton maintained a much larger 59-point lead (78 to 18).
Who exactly are these high Racial Resentment Index voters? A majority, 61 percent, have less than a four-year college education, many are older (44 percent were over the age of 60 compared to just 18 percent under the age of 40) and nearly half (46 percent) live in the South.
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Academics use racial
Academics use racial resentment in order to differentiate it from traditional racism. Most of them recognize that racism exists, but it helps to distinguish the folks who believe that blacks are genetically inferior from folks who believe that blacks simply don't work hard enough. another synonym that might work better for you and others is "modern day racism" or "color blind racism."
Okay. But as a practical
Okay. But as a practical matter, that difference doesn't distinguish. And every time I hear "I'm not a racist, but," I know I'm talking to a racist...no matter how they explain their position.
yeah i know. i was thinking
yeah i know. i was thinking about the circumstances under which that distinction matters....besides for analytical purposes. in practical organizing i think different strategies are required to deal with folk who believe that blacks are cursed because of Ham, and folk who believe they got shafted because some blacks who don't work stole their jobs.
Do the academics include a
Do the academics include a bold printed footnote highlighting how so-called traditional, genetics centered racism always included a cultural expression/component? Indeed the genetic inferiority arguments were made to make strong arguments about the ability other group X to self-govern and to achieve high culture. When deemed genetically predisposed to neither then the oppressive social order was justified.