Poll: Majority of Americans are racist

Posted at 9:11 AM on October 27, 2012 by Bob Collins

It's a stunning poll that the Associated Press released today on one of the most invisible news days of the week. More than half of all Americans have negative attitudes toward African Americans, it says.

Though it's within the margin of error of a similar poll in 2008, it confirms there is no such thing as post-racial America.

"As much as we'd hope the impact of race would decline over time ... it appears the impact of anti-black sentiment on voting is about the same as it was four years ago," Jon Krosnick, a Stanford University professor, told the AP. He worked with the news organization to develop the survey.

Fifty-one percent of Americans express explicit anti-black attitudes, it says. About 52 percent have anti-Hispanic attitudes.

Professor Krosnick measures "anti-black attitudes" by asking people if they agree with statements such as:

“It’s really a matter of some people just not trying hard enough; if Blacks would only try harder, they could be just as well off as whites.”

If you are white, the correct answer to this question is ... well, there is no correct answer.

For example, only 5% of respondents agree that the term "law-abiding" describes blacks "extremely well" compared to 7% who agree "law-abiding" describes whites "extremely well.

That's racist!