Views on this have changed in recent years, according to Pew Research Center surveys. In 2019, 57% said people overlooking racial discrimination was the bigger problem, while 42% pointed to people seeing it where it really didn’t exist. That gap has narrowed from 15 to 8 percentage points.
I seriously don’t understand the folks who don’t get this.
First we had slaves.
Well, some say, US slavery ended with the civil war.
Even IF it were reasonable to say that slavery ended and therefore the ripples it sent forward in time aren’t still being felt, there are two things that are true - One: We didn’t root out those who most staunchly refused to relinquish it and enact power structures to encourage equity going forward.
Well, some say, the confederate states were physically and economically destroyed by the end of the war.
And to that I say, “Andrew Johnson.”
Two: We as a nation enacted laws and social norms that turned black folks into a permanent underclass, and have been dogwhistling about it for a century.
Well, some say, No we didn’t.
Yes, we did. Jim Crow, separate but equal, the origin of most controversial confederate monuments and statues, the very existence of Sundown Towns, and The Negro Motorist’s Green Book, the foundation of the State of Oregon, and events such as the Tulsa race massacre, are all factual details about our country.
These inflection points on our nation’s psyche persisted at least through the passage of the civil rights act, and some feel Sundown Towns exist even today. These laws and social norms influenced legislative policy, police and justice department culture, and generations of Americans - both white and black people.
To deny that there is still an impact today seems willfully ignorant.
Why not both?
Edit: Didn’t see that it was also a question of which is the greater problem. Overlooking is the greater problem.
The average MAGA does both.
In surveys like this, I find it most useful to look at what Black people think, you know? Since they’re the ones getting shot by the cops? I’m as interested in white conservatives’ views on racism as the Taliban’s views on feminism.
Words with contested meanings are also really hard to get info on through surveys. Some people are thinking structural racism, and some are thinking “public accommodations are integrated, what more could be needed.” Of course they’re going to answer differently. They’re effectively answering different questions.
