The headline of this five-month-old Gallup Poll is a bit misleading, in my view. “Record-High 86% Approve of Black-White Marriages” doesn’t really focus on what I found most disturbing, which is that 14% of Americans are ignorant racists. That’s about 1 in 7 Americans.
Among the results, there are some telling details.
The most striking to me is the difference between liberals, moderates and conservatives. Liberals are 95% in favor, moderates are 90% in favor, but a whopping 22% of people who identify as conservative are not okay with a white person and a black person getting married. That’s over 1 in 5 people who identify as “conservative,” compared to 1 in 20 liberals and 1 in 10 moderates.
The age breakdown is also quite telling. People aged 18 to 29 are 97% in favor, people 30-49 are 91% in favor, people 50-64 are 88% in favor, but then you get into people over 65, where only 66% approve of black-white interracial couples. Age seems to be an even more likely indicator than political view, as 1 in 3 people over 65 oppose interracial marriage between black people and white people.
Another area that is also worth noting is the disparity between those of differing education levels. Those with a postgraduate degree are 94% in favor, college graduates are 92% in favor, those with some college experience are 91% in favor, but those who dropped out of or only completed high school are only 78% in favor.
Region also seems to play a minor role. Those from the West are 91% in favor, those form the East are 90% in favor, and then you see a marked drop off as you look to the Midwest (86% approval) and the South (79% approval). While this may seem significant, they are noticeably less drastic than age, and slightly less pronounced than education.
Age, education and region are also indicative of political leaning, with those who are young, more educated, and living on the coasts more likely to be liberal, while the old, less educated, and those living in the South and Midwest are more likely to be conservative… and apparently, racist.
There were talking about this on the radio this morning and I was kind of shocked. I mean it's nice to know I'm not completely jaded, but wtf? I guess being a liberal college student from the west coast isn't all too bad today.
ReplyDeleteDon't you see? You're part of the problem... if you would just move to the south, stop educating yourself and never date someone who wasn't of your race, the economy would turn around and 9/11 would have never happened.
Deletehaha I knew I was doing something wrong!
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