New Study: Are Whites Discriminated Against in America More Than Minorities?
By Clarence Walker
According to a new study by two prominent professors at the University of Maryland Critical Issues is that almost a third of white Americans said they have seen "a lot more" discrimination against white people in the past five-years, and more than half say they haven't seen a rise in discrimination against Black and Latino citizens.poll-reveals-white-americans-see-an-increase-in-discrimination-
The study was conducted in May 2022, and the final report was released to the media this past July.
Despite whites having a powerful grip on power in this country in practially every facet of life it sounds complicated for whites to feel discriminated against. For example, Whites dominant government, business, finance, technology, banking, Hollywood industry, real estate and every industry or economic development that matters.
So why do white people feel discriminated against when they're in full control of the United States?
The answer is very perplexed.
As politics increasingly revolves around race, more and more confusion dissolves into the obvious: who's discriminating against who, no matter the proof showing which ways it cuts. For instance, a previous national survey reported both blacks and whites believed discrimination against blacks had decinedover the past few decades, yet whites also believed the discrimination against whites was more common than discrimination against blacks.(A similar conclusion reached in the 2022 study). Similar studies showed if whites are reminded that the American population is growing more diverse and that whites would soon be less than half of the population, their concern about anti-white discrimination increases because whites overwhelmingly view increasing diversity as anti-white bias.
A book titled "Dying of Whiteness"--How the Politics of Racial Resentment is Killing America's Heartland-- address how conservative white Americans embraced politicians in election after election to make their lives great again. The book also provides insight into large groups of whites who are anti-immigrant, anti-government, pro-guns, and their idealogy represent nostalgia for imagined greatness that is often very racialized. One ill white man, the book recalls, refused medical treatment from Obamacare, because the gentleman didn't want to be treated by a program that cater to Blacks whom he felt were beneath him.
There is no doubt that Donald Trump's presidency stoked racial tensions among whites and people of color thus giving the majority white voters the chance to hash out their grievances and perceived discrimination by the Obama administration.
This article recap the study that was published online in The Conversation.
University of Maryland Study
The most recent study at the University of Maryland was conducted by Professor of Government and Politics Stella Rouse and Anwar Sadat Professor for Peace and Development Shibley Telhami. Their findings of the stark contrast of discriminatory beliefs against one race or the other they concurred.
"In our view as scholars of public opinion and identity politics, these grievances have been at the heart of conservative GOP politics and at their extreme have played a role in mass shootings such as the one in Buffalo in which 10 Black people were killedd, allegedly by an 18-year-old white supremacist, or the violent assault that occuured on January 6, 2021, at the U.S. Capitol."
Wide Gaps Between Racial Groups
According to the professors in the online article published by the "Conversation" the poll was conducted between May 6 and May 16, 2022, by the polling firm Nielsen Scarborough based on a nationally representative sample of 2,091 respondents, with a margin of error of plus or minus 2.14.
The poll asked questions on how much more discrimination exists now than in the past against different minority groups, and whether different minority groups weaken or strengthen American society.
The results are striking.
There is a clear empathy gap across racial and ethnic groups.
While white Americans say they have seen an increase in discrimination against other whites, they say at the same time that other groups, including Black and Latino Americans, have been less discriminated against.
In stark contrast, Black and Latino Americans say their groups have been discriminated against while also saying that other groups have also been highly discriminated against.
In the case of Latino Americans, they believe that Asians have been discriminated against even more than their own group.
The empathy gap is even larger when viewed through political partisanship, especially among white and Latino Americans.
Dying of Whiteness: Does Healthcare Reform Discriminate?
In an article published in the November issue of Association of American Medical(AAMC), sociologist Jonathan Metzl, MD & PhD, author of the book Dying of Whiteness, said, during an AAMC Annual meeting in Nashville Tennesse. "White people in many parts of America are undercutting their own health to the point of death because they've been convinced that public policies that would help them are actually designed to benefit people of color at their expense." Metzl adds, "There's a disinformation machine that comes to turn people against some proposals to expand government services and protections, as was seen with the Affordable Care Act(ACA)," Metzl stated at the session.dying of whiteness
Metzl further said the disinformation campaign included three messages:
- This is government intrusion into your life
- This is taking away privileges that are meant for you
- Black people are going to cut in front of you in line
Racial Experiences
Professors Stella Rose and Shibley Telhamia examined responses among white, Black and Latino people to the following question: “Compared to five years ago, and based on your own experience, including interactions with others, how much racial/ethnic/religious discrimination, if any, would you say exists against each of the following groups?”
We found that 3 in 10 white respondents – 30.1% – say that white Americans experienced “a lot more” discrimination in the past five years.
In comparison, 28.9% of white respondents said Asian Americans experience “a lot more” discrimination, 21.7% said the same of Jewish Americans, 20.4% about Black Americans, 19.7% about Muslim Americans and 14.7% about Latino Americans.
But over half of Black Americans – 53.2% – say that their group has encountered “a lot more” discrimination in the past five years, compared with 38.9% of Black respondents who said the same about Asian Americans, 33.3% about Latino Americans, 29.3% about Muslim Americans, 23.7% about Jewish Americans and 13% about white Americans.
More Latino people say they saw “a lot more” discrimination against Asian people than against other groups. Nearly 2 in 5 – 38.7% – of Latino respondents said that “a lot more” discrimination exists against Asian Americans than five years ago. That number compares with 41.2% who said the same about Black Americans, 34.5% about Latino Americans, 33.5% about Muslim Americans and 20% about Jewish Americans.
Notably, and unlike white and Black people, Latino Americans say that both Black and Asian people have endured “a lot more” discrimination in the past five years than their own group.
Ethnic Groups Contribution to Society
Both professors also gauged people’s opinions about whether they thought Black Americans, Asian Americans, Latino Americans, Muslim Americans and Jewish Americans strengthened or weakened American society.
The findings show that a majority of white, Black and Latino people believe that all these groups strengthen American society, with one exception.
Only 40.1% of white Americans believe that Muslim Americans strengthen American society.
Slightly more than 20% of white people say that Muslim Americans weaken traditional American values and customs, the highest expression of this negative sentiment for any group.
A lower percentage of white people view Black Americans – 12.4% – and Latino Americans – 9.8% – as weakening American values and customs in comparison with these attitudes about Muslim Americans.
Both Black Americans – 67% – and Latino Americans – 74.1% – view their groups as having the greatest effect in strengthening American society.
Notably, 54.6% of Black Americans view Latinos as strengthening American society, and 61.1% of Latino Americans say the same about Blacks.
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