# Why are white people the only large demo group that supports republicans? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [September 6, 2016, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-white-people-the-only-large-demo-group-that-supports-republicans/765211 "2016-09-06T18:46:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2016, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-white-people-the-only-large-demo-group-that-supports-republicans/765211/141 "2016-09-11T22:52:58Z")
Maybe so. Wouldn’t you like to at least find out? Or is some knowledge just not acceptable to know because PC? ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2016, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-white-people-the-only-large-demo-group-that-supports-republicans/765211/142 "2016-09-12T16:39:47Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > I think there is also another, more complex, issue afoot: > > **Conservatives generally want everyone to be treated _as if they are already all equal._ Liberals generally want everyone to be treated _as if they are still unequal._** > > By which I mean, conservatives usually argue against racial affirmative action, saying that it is unequal treatment - why should a Hispanic student be treated differently than a white one? But liberals argue in favor of affirmative action, saying that minorities are still disadvantaged compared to whites, and so minorities need to be given a leg up in order to put them on equal level/footing with whites. > …snip… > > Disclaimer: I’m not white. This is just my observation. White folks, please tell me where I am wrong in my analysis. 😉 I’m white. You’re not wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Damuri\_Ajashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/898d66/32.png) [@Damuri\_Ajashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Damuri_Ajashi)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2016, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-white-people-the-only-large-demo-group-that-supports-republicans/765211/143 "2016-09-12T17:45:02Z")
This whole name business is SUCH bullshit!!! I grew up with an Asian name. People had trouble pronouncing it and spelling it and all sorts of assumptions were made about my ability to speak English or do anything that a HP 12C couldn’t do. I changed my name to one of the top ten most common male names in America and people STILL make all sorts of assumptions about my ability to speak English or do anything that a HP 12C couldn’t do, but now they don’t make those assumptions until they meet me in person and realize I am Asian. But at least they will meet me now. ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2016, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-white-people-the-only-large-demo-group-that-supports-republicans/765211/144 "2016-09-13T12:30:20Z")
The good news is that the racists are dying out and everybody, including white people, are getting more creative with names. By the time my kids are grown, they won’t have to pretend to be something they aren’t just to get their resume looked at. ---
**Author:** ![SmartAlecCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/67e7ee/32.png) [@SmartAlecCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmartAlecCat)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2016, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-white-people-the-only-large-demo-group-that-supports-republicans/765211/145 "2016-09-13T12:30:53Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > **Conservatives generally want everyone to be treated _as if they are already all equal._ Liberals generally want everyone to be treated _as if they are still unequal._** > > By which I mean, conservatives usually argue against racial affirmative action, saying that it is unequal treatment - why should a Hispanic student be treated differently than a white one? But liberals argue in favor of affirmative action, saying that minorities are still disadvantaged compared to whites, and so minorities need to be given a leg up in order to put them on equal level/footing with whites. Reminds me of the cartoon on this page [A concise history of black-white relations in the U.S.A.](https://changefromwithin.org/2014/06/11/throwback-stop-saying-affirmative-action-disadvantages-white-students/) [cartoon](https://jamieutt.files.wordpress.com/2014/06/reverseracismcartoon.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![inscrutable](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/a88e4f/32.png) [@inscrutable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/inscrutable)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2016, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-white-people-the-only-large-demo-group-that-supports-republicans/765211/146 "2016-09-13T13:11:16Z")
> [@SmartAlecCat](#): > > Reminds me of the cartoon on this page [A concise history of black-white relations in the U.S.A.](https://changefromwithin.org/2014/06/11/throwback-stop-saying-affirmative-action-disadvantages-white-students/) [cartoon](https://jamieutt.files.wordpress.com/2014/06/reverseracismcartoon.jpg) When do you suppose we can stop blaming society’s inequalities on slavery? ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2016, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-white-people-the-only-large-demo-group-that-supports-republicans/765211/147 "2016-09-13T13:34:58Z")
When do you suppose you’ll actually take the effort to understand what racial inequality is actually about in this country? ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2016, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-white-people-the-only-large-demo-group-that-supports-republicans/765211/148 "2016-09-13T13:50:57Z")
> [@inscrutable](#): > > When do you suppose we can stop blaming society’s inequalities on slavery? Who’s blaming slavery? Today’s inequalities are based on things that occurred long after slavery (and some of which still continue). ---
**Author:** ![inscrutable](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/a88e4f/32.png) [@inscrutable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/inscrutable)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2016, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-white-people-the-only-large-demo-group-that-supports-republicans/765211/149 "2016-09-13T15:43:09Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > Who’s blaming slavery? Today’s inequalities are based on things that occurred long after slavery (and some of which still continue). The ball and chain in the cartoon doesn’t imply slavery? ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2016, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-white-people-the-only-large-demo-group-that-supports-republicans/765211/150 "2016-09-13T16:03:51Z")
> [@inscrutable](#): > > The ball and chain in the cartoon doesn’t imply slavery? Yes, but that’s only part of the cartoon (the first part). I’ll amend my remark to “who’s blaming _only_ slavery?” ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2016, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-white-people-the-only-large-demo-group-that-supports-republicans/765211/151 "2016-09-13T17:58:36Z")
> [@inscrutable](#): > > When do you suppose we can stop blaming society’s inequalities on slavery? I dunno–when do you suppose slavery will no longer have severe ramifications on wealth redistribution? If you’d like to stop blaming society’s inequalities on slavery, you should totes support reparations. Otherwise there’s a strong sense of “Forget you, buddy, I got mine.” ---
**Author:** ![inscrutable](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/a88e4f/32.png) [@inscrutable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/inscrutable)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2016, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-white-people-the-only-large-demo-group-that-supports-republicans/765211/152 "2016-09-13T18:31:12Z")
From the article I linked to earlier: "A huge one is Two-Parent Privilege. If you are raised by a father and mother, you enter adulthood with more privileges than anyone else in American society, irrespective of race, ethnicity, or sex. That’s why the poverty rate among two-parent black families is only 7 percent. Compare that witha 22 percent poverty rate among whites in single-parent homes. Obviously the two-parent home is the decisive “privilege.” ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2016, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-white-people-the-only-large-demo-group-that-supports-republicans/765211/153 "2016-09-13T18:39:20Z")
> [@inscrutable](#): > > From the article I linked to earlier: > > "A huge one is Two-Parent Privilege. If you are raised by a father and mother, you enter adulthood with more privileges than anyone else in American society, irrespective of race, ethnicity, or sex. That’s why the poverty rate among two-parent black families is only 7 percent. Compare that witha 22 percent poverty rate among whites in single-parent homes. Obviously the two-parent home is the decisive “privilege.” Congrats – you’ve solved it! A massive complicated issue – who knew that it was all caused by a single thing? Who knew that mid and late 20th century institutional discriminatory practices like Redlining, decreasing the property values in black neighborhoods and preventing black people from purchasing homes, would have had nothing to do with this? Who knew that discriminatory police practices like those in Ferguson, MO, which functioned more like revenue-gathering ticket-givers rather than upholders of the law, overwhelmingly targeting their black residents, would have had nothing to do with this? Who knew that discriminatory hiring practices, such that resumes with stereotypically black names but the same qualifications get fewer call backs than those with stereotypically white names, would have had nothing to do with this? Amazing, and bravo! ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2016, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-white-people-the-only-large-demo-group-that-supports-republicans/765211/154 "2016-09-13T18:45:29Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > Congrats – you’ve solved it! A massive complicated issue – who knew that it was all caused by a single thing? Who knew that mid and late 20th century institutional discriminatory practices like Redlining, decreasing the property values in black neighborhoods and preventing black people from purchasing homes, would have had nothing to do with this? Who knew that discriminatory police practices like those in Ferguson, MO, which functioned more like revenue-gathering ticket-givers rather than upholders of the law, overwhelmingly targeting their black residents, would have had nothing to do with this? Who knew that discriminatory hiring practices, such that resumes with stereotypically black names but the same qualifications get fewer call backs than those with stereotypically white names, would have had nothing to do with this? > > Amazing, and bravo! Putting forth a list of preferred grievances rather than looking at the big picture isn’t helping. This is analogous to you claiming that a heart attack patient’s problem is his unhealthy diet while another person claims that it is due to lack of exercise. The truth is that both are issues and that excluding one or the other leaves out the whole picture. Sure, there is discrimination against black people in America - but that does not exclude the fact that a two-parent household is often healthier for the kids than a single-parent upbringing. Your list of grievances doesn’t negate that claim. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2016, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-white-people-the-only-large-demo-group-that-supports-republicans/765211/155 "2016-09-13T18:55:09Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > Putting forth a list of preferred grievances rather than looking at the big picture isn’t helping. > > This is analogous to you claiming that a heart attack patient’s problem is his unhealthy diet while another person claims that it is due to lack of exercise. The truth is that both are issues and that excluding one or the other leaves out the whole picture. > > Sure, there is discrimination against black people in America - but that does not exclude the fact that a two-parent household is often healthier for the kids than a single-parent upbringing. Your list of grievances doesn’t negate that claim. Where did I attempt to negate that claim? ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2016, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-white-people-the-only-large-demo-group-that-supports-republicans/765211/156 "2016-09-13T19:27:41Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > but that does not exclude the fact that a two-parent household is often healthier for the kids than a single-parent upbringing. Do you genuinely believe this? THEN FIGHT FOR SENTENCING REFORM! It would be completely bizarre to look at a prison system that incarcerates such huge quantities of black men, and a world in which many black children don’t live with their dads, and not connect the dots. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2016, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-white-people-the-only-large-demo-group-that-supports-republicans/765211/157 "2016-09-13T19:30:31Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > Do you genuinely believe this? > > THEN FIGHT FOR SENTENCING REFORM! > > It would be completely bizarre to look at a prison system that incarcerates such huge quantities of black men, and a world in which many black children don’t live with their dads, and not connect the dots. Well, yes - I do think America is much too quick to incarcerate. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2016, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-white-people-the-only-large-demo-group-that-supports-republicans/765211/158 "2016-09-13T19:46:19Z")
Do you imagine that single parent families are just some spontaneous phenomenon unconnected to everything else? And how do you know that they’re a cause rather than effect? ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2016, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-white-people-the-only-large-demo-group-that-supports-republicans/765211/159 "2016-09-13T23:36:21Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > Congrats – you’ve solved it! A massive complicated issue – who knew that it was all caused by a single thing? Who knew that mid and late 20th century institutional discriminatory practices like Redlining, decreasing the property values in black neighborhoods and preventing black people from purchasing homes, would have had nothing to do with this? Who knew that discriminatory police practices like those in Ferguson, MO, which functioned more like revenue-gathering ticket-givers rather than upholders of the law, overwhelmingly targeting their black residents, would have had nothing to do with this? Who knew that discriminatory hiring practices, such that resumes with stereotypically black names but the same qualifications get fewer call backs than those with stereotypically white names, would have had nothing to do with this? > > Amazing, and bravo! Actually, wasn’t African-American illegitimacy less of a problem when discrimination was more intense? Didn’t welfare do more than any other single policy to break up the African-American family? ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2016, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-white-people-the-only-large-demo-group-that-supports-republicans/765211/160 "2016-09-14T00:06:27Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > Actually, wasn’t African-American illegitimacy less of a problem when discrimination was more intense? Didn’t welfare do more than any other single policy to break up the African-American family? Seriously, more than incarceration? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-white-people-the-only-large-demo-group-that-supports-republicans/765211.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-white-people-the-only-large-demo-group-that-supports-republicans/765211.md?page=9)