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Opinion Just how racist is the MAGA movement? This survey measures it.

cigaretteman

HR King
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By Jennifer Rubin
Columnist |
September 28, 2022 at 7:45 a.m. EDT

It has long been understood that the MAGA movement is heavily dependent on White grievance and straight-up racism. (Hence Donald Trump’s refusal to disavow racist groups and his statement that there were “very fine people on both sides” in the violent clashes at the white-supremacist rally in Charlottesville.)
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Now, we have numbers to prove it.
The connection between racism and the right-wing movement is apparent in a new poll from the Public Religion Research Institute. The survey asked respondents about 11 statements designed to probe views on racism. For example: “White Americans today are not responsible for discrimination against Black people in the past.” The pollsters then used their answers to quantify a “structural racism index,” which provides a general score from zero to 1 measuring a person’s attitudes on “white supremacy and racial inequality, the impact of discrimination on African American economic mobility, the treatment of African Americans in the criminal justice system, general perceptions of race, and whether racism is still significant problem today.” Higher scores indicate a more receptive attitude to racist beliefs.
The results shouldn’t surprise anyone paying attention to the MAGA crowd’s rhetoric and veneration of the Confederacy. “Among all Americans, the median value on the structural racism index is 0.45, near the center of the scale,” the poll found. “The median score on the structural racism index for Republicans is 0.67, compared with 0.45 for independents and 0.27 for Democrats.” Put differently, Republicans are much more likely to buy into the notion that Whites are victims.

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The poll also found that the religious group that makes up the core of today’s GOP and MAGA movement has the highest structural racism measure among the demographics it surveyed: “White evangelical Protestants have the highest median score, at 0.64, while Latter-day Saints, white Catholics, and white mainline Protestants each have a median of 0.55. By contrast, religiously unaffiliated white Americans score 0.33.” This is true even though Whites report far less discrimination toward them than racial minorities do.
The survey also captured just how popular the “Lost Cause” to rewrite the history of the Civil War and downplay or ignore the evil of slavery is on the right: “Republicans overwhelmingly back efforts to preserve the legacy of the Confederacy (85%), compared with less than half of independents (46%) and only one in four Democrats (26%). The contrast between white Republicans and white Democrats is stark. Nearly nine in 10 white Republicans (87%), compared with 23% of white Democrats, support efforts to preserve the legacy of the Confederacy.”
Americans who fully support reforming Confederate monuments have a much lower structural racism index score, while those who oppose it have a much higher score. The same is true when it comes to renaming schools honoring individuals who supported slavery and racial discrimination or changing racist mascots.
Those who want to keep Confederate monuments and offensive mascots in place might deny that their views have anything to do with bigotry, but then again, they often deny the legacy of racism and paint Whites as victims, too. In general, MAGA forces have one goal when they amplify “replacement theory” or fuss over corporations promoting inclusivity: to maximize White anger and resentment.
Robert P. Jones, who leads PRRI, tells me, “While this result may seem surprising or even shocking to many White Christians, it is because we do not know our own history. If we take a clear-eyed look at our history, we see a widespread, centuries-long Christian defense of white supremacy.” He adds, “For example, every major Protestant Christian denomination split over the issue of slavery in the Civil War, with Methodists, Episcopalians, Presbyterians, and Baptists in the South all breaking fellowship with their Northern brethren.” Given that history, Jones says, “it’s hardly a surprise that a denial of systemic racism is a defining feature of White evangelicalism today.”
The PRRI poll shows the MAGA movement has done a solid job convincing the core of the GOP base that they are victims. And let’s be clear: An aggrieved electoral minority that believes it has been victimized and is ready to deploy violence is a serious threat to an inclusive democracy.

 
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Reynolds is pushing this kind of racism. Her complete support of Trump aside, her new ad is straight up racist.
People like you should not vote. You are smart enough or honest enough to actually investigate and evaluate the issues. You're nothing but a preprogramed liberal who refuses to question anything said by anyone on the blue team. Try listening to Bill Maher, a liberal who at least thinks for himself and isn't afraid to question false orthodoxy.
 
What where all the questions asked because I personally don't think White Americans today are responsible for discrimination of Black Americans in the past.

I'm not responsible for what my great grandparents did.

That doesn't mean there isn't structural racism now or individual racism now.
 
People like you should not vote. You are smart enough or honest enough to actually investigate and evaluate the issues. You're nothing but a preprogramed liberal who refuses to question anything said by anyone on the blue team. Try listening to Bill Maher, a liberal who at least thinks for himself and isn't afraid to question false orthodoxy.
Bill Maher is an entertainer. Why would I listen to him for news?
 
People like you should not vote. You are smart enough or honest enough to actually investigate and evaluate the issues. You're nothing but a preprogramed liberal who refuses to question anything said by anyone on the blue team. Try listening to Bill Maher, a liberal who at least thinks for himself and isn't afraid to question false orthodoxy.
When Maher was calling Trump an ass bag did you rush here to mention him?
 
People like you should not vote. You are smart enough or honest enough to actually investigate and evaluate the issues. You're nothing but a preprogramed liberal who refuses to question anything said by anyone on the blue team. Try listening to Bill Maher, a liberal who at least thinks for himself and isn't afraid to question false orthodoxy.
Investigate and evaluate the issues says the alternative facts supporter and conspiracy theorist.

People question Christianity all the time, so lay off.
 
People like you should not vote. You are smart enough or honest enough to actually investigate and evaluate the issues. You're nothing but a preprogramed liberal who refuses to question anything said by anyone on the blue team. Try listening to Bill Maher, a liberal who at least thinks for himself and isn't afraid to question false orthodoxy.
Reynolds pretended that another black woman was her opponent over a racial issue in which she lied about what her black opponent even said. If you can't see the racist tint of that, then that's on you.
 
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What where all the questions asked because I personally don't think White Americans today are responsible for discrimination of Black Americans in the past.

I'm not responsible for what my great grandparents did.

That doesn't mean there isn't structural racism now or individual racism now.
What some white Americans are doing today stands on its own. Were you asleep during Charlottesville and after when Trump defended "his people" to his inner circle? Did you miss the confederate flags that were paraded around the capitol on 1/6? The Nazi flags that appear at Trump rallies and right wing gatherings? Are you going to pretend the Klan is a thing of the past?

It's at the core of Trumpism and using these people for his benefit was his plan from the start. To deny this or play dumb is just ridiculous at this point


 
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By Jennifer Rubin
Columnist |
September 28, 2022 at 7:45 a.m. EDT

It has long been understood that the MAGA movement is heavily dependent on White grievance and straight-up racism. (Hence Donald Trump’s refusal to disavow racist groups and his statement that there were “very fine people on both sides” in the violent clashes at the white-supremacist rally in Charlottesville.)
Sign up for a weekly roundup of thought-provoking ideas and debates
Now, we have numbers to prove it.
The connection between racism and the right-wing movement is apparent in a new poll from the Public Religion Research Institute. The survey asked respondents about 11 statements designed to probe views on racism. For example: “White Americans today are not responsible for discrimination against Black people in the past.” The pollsters then used their answers to quantify a “structural racism index,” which provides a general score from zero to 1 measuring a person’s attitudes on “white supremacy and racial inequality, the impact of discrimination on African American economic mobility, the treatment of African Americans in the criminal justice system, general perceptions of race, and whether racism is still significant problem today.” Higher scores indicate a more receptive attitude to racist beliefs.
The results shouldn’t surprise anyone paying attention to the MAGA crowd’s rhetoric and veneration of the Confederacy. “Among all Americans, the median value on the structural racism index is 0.45, near the center of the scale,” the poll found. “The median score on the structural racism index for Republicans is 0.67, compared with 0.45 for independents and 0.27 for Democrats.” Put differently, Republicans are much more likely to buy into the notion that Whites are victims.

Follow Jennifer Rubin's opinionsFollow

The poll also found that the religious group that makes up the core of today’s GOP and MAGA movement has the highest structural racism measure among the demographics it surveyed: “White evangelical Protestants have the highest median score, at 0.64, while Latter-day Saints, white Catholics, and white mainline Protestants each have a median of 0.55. By contrast, religiously unaffiliated white Americans score 0.33.” This is true even though Whites report far less discrimination toward them than racial minorities do.
The survey also captured just how popular the “Lost Cause” to rewrite the history of the Civil War and downplay or ignore the evil of slavery is on the right: “Republicans overwhelmingly back efforts to preserve the legacy of the Confederacy (85%), compared with less than half of independents (46%) and only one in four Democrats (26%). The contrast between white Republicans and white Democrats is stark. Nearly nine in 10 white Republicans (87%), compared with 23% of white Democrats, support efforts to preserve the legacy of the Confederacy.”
Americans who fully support reforming Confederate monuments have a much lower structural racism index score, while those who oppose it have a much higher score. The same is true when it comes to renaming schools honoring individuals who supported slavery and racial discrimination or changing racist mascots.
Those who want to keep Confederate monuments and offensive mascots in place might deny that their views have anything to do with bigotry, but then again, they often deny the legacy of racism and paint Whites as victims, too. In general, MAGA forces have one goal when they amplify “replacement theory” or fuss over corporations promoting inclusivity: to maximize White anger and resentment.
Robert P. Jones, who leads PRRI, tells me, “While this result may seem surprising or even shocking to many White Christians, it is because we do not know our own history. If we take a clear-eyed look at our history, we see a widespread, centuries-long Christian defense of white supremacy.” He adds, “For example, every major Protestant Christian denomination split over the issue of slavery in the Civil War, with Methodists, Episcopalians, Presbyterians, and Baptists in the South all breaking fellowship with their Northern brethren.” Given that history, Jones says, “it’s hardly a surprise that a denial of systemic racism is a defining feature of White evangelicalism today.”
The PRRI poll shows the MAGA movement has done a solid job convincing the core of the GOP base that they are victims. And let’s be clear: An aggrieved electoral minority that believes it has been victimized and is ready to deploy violence is a serious threat to an inclusive democracy.

Jennifer Rubin? LMAO

She’s a shill for the Washington Compost!
 
What some white Americans are doing today stands on its own. Were you asleep during Charlottesville and after when Trump defended "his people" to his inner circle? Did you miss the confederate flags that were paraded around the capitol on 1/6? The Nazi flags that appear at Trump rallies and right wing gatherings? Are you going to pretend the Klan is a thing of the past?
It's at the core of Trumpism and using these people for his benefit was his plan from the start. To deny this is just delusional



I certainly am aware of those things and detest them. But what does that have to do with the question of if we are responsible for what our great grandparents did??

They only listed in the article one question that they used and that question was if white people today are responsible for what white people in the past did. The answer is no.

They are certainly responsible for what they do however.
 
When Maher was calling Trump an ass bag did you rush here to mention him?

The wingnuts love to quote Maher when he mentions, or evens hints at a problem he has with a liberal issue. After all, when your positions are built on dumb, ridiculous, lies and foolish idiocies as are the right-wing's, you will do anything to find something better than your own.
 
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