# Why do we keep insisting that racists are a tiny, insiginificant minority? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [October 25, 2008, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-keep-insisting-that-racists-are-a-tiny-insiginificant-minority/469512 "2008-10-25T15:23:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![brazil84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8491ac/32.png) [@brazil84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brazil84)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2008, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-keep-insisting-that-racists-are-a-tiny-insiginificant-minority/469512/21 "2008-10-25T17:17:59Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > But, I should also add, I’m working from a slightly different definition of “racist” than you are. As far as I’m concerned, what people think is their private business, and if they can work with, socialize with and be cordial to someone regardless of their race, I’m seeing them as not racist. Maybe they are all secretly attending Klan rallies in their hearts (or after hours when I don’t see them) but if I don’t know about it, it doesn’t feed my world view. I think this is an important distinction. Based on my general experience, I would say that for every “Archie Bunker” (somebody who loudly complains about this group or that); there are a thousand people who would cross the street rather than walk through a group of young black men hanging out on the corner, late at night. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2008, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-keep-insisting-that-racists-are-a-tiny-insiginificant-minority/469512/22 "2008-10-25T17:21:48Z")
> [@InvisibleWombat](#): > > I fixed the coding in your links, **monstro**. The quotes were causing all of them to malfunction. > > As for the issue of defining terms, I’ll have to admit that it was the first thing I thought when I saw the thread title. I could easily come up with a definition of racism that includes an overwhelming majority of people, and just as easily come up with one that includes only a tiny minority. I’ve been called a racist for opposing racial quotas at workplaces, and I think it’s the _quotas_ that are racist. I think almost everyone would agree that [David Duke](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Duke) is a racist, but what about [Louis Farrakhan](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Farrakhan)? I have no problem saying that both are racist. As far as institutionalized racism goes, I think that’s more of a gray area. But when the OP wasn’t about policies. It’s about individuals and beliefs. I think most of us can come to agreement about who’s a racist person, even if we have different opinions about AA. > [@](#): > > Some people see racism everywhere they look. Some don’t see it right in front of their faces. I looked at the Obama Bucks and thought, “Yeah, so?” Obama’s a Democrat, so what’s wrong with putting his face on a cartoon donkey body? It wasn’t until I read the comments that I caught the significance of the watermelon and ribs. And I still don’t get the Kool-Aid reference. And my black friends say that KFC isn’t even real fried chicken 😉 Once it was pointed out to me, yeah, I could see it, but some woman cried for 45 minutes over it? I think that’s an overreaction. It is an overreaction, but I can totally dig it. I think for many black people, battle fatigue set in a long time ago. If a guy like Obama can’t escape racial mockery, then you start feeling like, when is it ever going to end? And why shouldn’t I worry about myself, surrounded by all these white folks who don’t really understand why that kind of stuff is hurtful? I have to admit that tears came to my eyes watching the Palin Mob clip, with that scary, lazy-eyed woman yelling in the camera. It makes me afraid that people could be so hateful and angry, while calling themselves Christian. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2008, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-keep-insisting-that-racists-are-a-tiny-insiginificant-minority/469512/23 "2008-10-25T17:24:55Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > Racism still exists but is no longer socially acceptable in most contexts, and is generally hidden as a result where it still exists. Most people AREN’T racist. Bigots ARE tiny minority. Upon reflection, I’d like to deete the word “tiny” from that last sentence. ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2008, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-keep-insisting-that-racists-are-a-tiny-insiginificant-minority/469512/24 "2008-10-25T17:31:50Z")
As soon as I saw your thread title, **monstro** , I came rushing in here to post about that radio interview. I was flabbergasted. Her logic just made no sense. Even if black people did want to “take over,” how would having Obama in the White House make that possible? The idea that black people are suddenly going to make white people step off the sidewalk is absurd. As are her vague allusions to things getting “nasty out there.” I liked the black guy who spoke after her–“people don’t riot when they’re _happy_!” I’ll bet that there will be some black people who react to the news of an Obama win in a less-than-constructive way. And there will be some white people who do the same. So what? There are jerks in every group. > [@Rick](#): > > I would like to point out that a thread about how you encountered no racists today, yesterday, and for the prior three months would be a very boring thread. I am trying to think of the last time I heard an honest to OG racist comment made in real life Not you tube or whatever. I honestly can’t recall. I said above that I was “flabbergasted” by the comments on the radio. I wasn’t surprised, though. Because a coworker made the same types of comments to me 3 weeks ago. (Fortunately, she’s an ex-coworker now.) She expressed that she was “afraid” of an Obama win because black people would riot and try to take over, and if their attempts to take over the country were quashed, then they’d get _really_ violent. For what it’s worth, she didn’t say that Obama would explicitly support this kind of thing but that the rest of the black people would take it as a license to do what they have been wanting to do all along. As it turns out, she thought I was a Republican. And she was really surprised when I told her that I’ve been working for Obama. > [@InvisibleWombat](#): > > I looked at the Obama Bucks and thought, “Yeah, so?” Obama’s a Democrat, so what’s wrong with putting his face on a cartoon donkey body? It wasn’t until I read the comments that I caught the significance of the watermelon and ribs. And I still don’t get the Kool-Aid reference. And my black friends say that KFC isn’t even real fried chicken 😉 Once it was pointed out to me, yeah, I could see it, but some woman cried for 45 minutes over it? I think that’s an overreaction. Maybe it was an overreaction, but I sympathise. Most of the time I skip through life blithely unaware of the everyday anti-Semitism that still exists. But when it breaks through…it hurts. It really hurts. If there was a wonderful Jewish candidate up for the presidency, and someone distributed a similar type of fake bill…I’d probably cry for 45 minutes too. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2008, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-keep-insisting-that-racists-are-a-tiny-insiginificant-minority/469512/25 "2008-10-25T17:44:21Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > Because I’ve got one racist uncle, and lots and lots that aren’t racist. Okay, it’s a racist sister-in-law, and even the parents that raised her and her two brothers are all not-racist. We’re not sure how she got broken. So, of husband’s family and my family, we’ve got one racist and 20 not racists. Add in the people I hang out with on a regular basis, and we’ve got one racist and 50 not-racists. Add in the peers in my classes, and we’ve got one racist and 90 not racists. Almost nobody I know personally is racist, and so the problem \*does \*appear vanishingly small to me. Her racism stands out in my mind \*because \*it’s so rare in my experience. To me, the fact that you can name three out-of-the-closet racists period suggest that they aren’t really that rare. But we must be using a different definition of “rare”. > [@](#): > > Those reporters are looking for those people who are controversial and will say controversial things. It makes a better story. Newspapers don’t report on common things, they report on \*uncommon \*ones. For every racist on their panel, they questioned and rejected a dozen or more not racist people, I would wager. Just to clarify, this wasn’t a people on the street thing. So it’s not like they interviewed fifty people before they stumbled across this one person. And she’s been on the show before without expressing anything so extreme. > [@](#): > > But, I should also add, I’m working from a slightly different definition of “racist” than you are. As far as I’m concerned, what people think is their private business, and if they can work with, socialize with and be cordial to someone regardless of their race, I’m seeing them as not racist. Maybe they are all secretly attending Klan rallies in their hearts (or after hours when I don’t see them) but if I don’t know about it, it doesn’t feed my world view. I don’t want to brainwash people into thinking “good” thoughts. But I firmly believe it’s impossible to be nice and cordial and _fair_ to someone if you secretly despise them. If I’m trying to get a job, I’d like to trust that I don’t have to worry about my name sounding too “black” for the person hired to cull through the resumes. If I’m interviewing for the job, I’d like to know that the person asking me questions isn’t about to talk shit about the “uppity nigger” the moment I step out of the room. When at least 2.5% of the population is overtly prejudiced (based on the anectdotal reporting you’ve provided **WhyNot** , then it doesn’t seem like a bad idea to be paranoid. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2008, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-keep-insisting-that-racists-are-a-tiny-insiginificant-minority/469512/26 "2008-10-25T17:55:54Z")
> [@brazil84](#): > > For one thing, it’s rather silly to argue over the prevalence of “racism” if we both have different, undisclosed definitions of “racism.” > > In any event, the woman you quoted doesn’t appear to be making any judgment about the “worth” of black or white people. So by your definition, she would not be expressing a racist belief. _sigh_ Her comment implies that black people don’t behave like white people. We’ve had white people in power since Heck was a pup and there has not been chaos (although we do seem to be living in chaotic times now). So why in the hell would she expect black people to behave differently with one of “theirs” in power, unless she believed that black people have qualities that white people do not? Why does she think she’ll be pushed off the curb (!) while her black counterparts don’t share the same worry when whites are in power? If you’re really interested in participating in this thread rather than shitting in it, why don’t you offer up your definition of racism? Because it can’t be that different from mine, since we BOTH agree that the woman harbors racist beliefs\*. \*I don’t know why I’m being so polite. The woman is a racist, plain and simple. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2008, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-keep-insisting-that-racists-are-a-tiny-insiginificant-minority/469512/27 "2008-10-25T18:01:36Z")
> [@monstro](#): > > To me, the fact that you can name three out-of-the-closet racists period suggest that they aren’t really that rare. But we must be using a different definition of “rare”. No, one racist. Increasing the pool of people I know, still just the one racist sister in law. So that’s 1.1% of the people I interact with on a social level. > [@](#): > > Just to clarify, this wasn’t a people on the street thing. So it’s not like they interviewed fifty people before they stumbled across this one person. And she’s been on the show before without expressing anything so extreme. Somebody had to talk to her to get her booked. Did they know what she was going to say? Maybe not. But, again, that’s one person, one time. I know for a fact that the jerks are more likely to make it on camera on the nightly news - I’ve done plenty of moderate, reasonable interviews, and the only one that ever made it on air was a woo-woo one about aromatherapy. The angry or incoherent interview done just before or after me always seems to preempt mine. No one’s interested in average. > [@](#): > > I don’t want to brainwash people into thinking “good” thoughts. But I firmly believe it’s impossible to be nice and cordial and _fair_ to someone if you secretly despise them. Well okay. Then I’m more comfortable stating that the people I know aren’t racist. I was willing to give you the benefit of the doubt that my friends might be racist and I’m just not seeing it. > [@](#): > > If I’m trying to get a job, I’d like to trust that I don’t have to worry about my name sounding too “black” for the person hired to cull through the resumes. How 'bout when I got a job interview \*because \*my name sounded black? I guess that was an overt example of racism, now that you mention it. I got the job even when they realized I was white at the interview, though. > [@](#): > > When at least 2.5% of the population is overtly prejudiced (based on the anectdotal reporting you’ve provided **WhyNot** , then it doesn’t seem like a bad idea to be paranoid. 1.1%, actually (1/90). But of course that leads to another question: what, to you, would “tiny, insignificant minority” be? What percent should we aim for, if we agree with **John Mace** that 0% is impossible? Because I would consider even something as high as 2.5% to be tiny, if not entirely insignificant. So you’ll have to define that term for a meaningful discussion, as well. ---
**Author:** ![NinetyWt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/cc9497/32.png) [@NinetyWt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinetyWt)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2008, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-keep-insisting-that-racists-are-a-tiny-insiginificant-minority/469512/28 "2008-10-25T18:09:46Z")
I don’t think racists are a “tiny, insignificant minority” here in MS, but that probably comes as no surprise to anybody. It’s quite annoying to have people think that just because you’re white you’re in agreement with their racist beliefs. They also automatically think you’re a Baptist and a Republican. (I’m 0 for 3 there.) We also have some black folks whom I’d call racist, but the white ones outnumber them significantly (IME). I just dunno if the woman quoted in the OP said something racist or not. Here’s what first struck me about it: she sounds like the kind of person who thinks that everyone acts and reacts just like they do. Since the white majority in the past oppressed the black folks, she thinks that black folks would jump at the chance to do the same. Now, I think she’s wrong, very wrong to think that; because everybody has learned that we need to treat each other a whole lot better than that; and to compare today’s citizens with that old school crowd is naive at best. I just can’t decide if she said it because she thinks black people are that uneducated or whether she thinks they’re all animals. One would be racist thinking and one wouldn’t necessarily (IMO). One think I think about people is that if a person isn’t ranting over-the-top things about their racist beliefs, then they think “that’s not ‘real’ racism”. For example, sending an email with a photo of Obama as a shoe-shine boy, shining Palin’s shoes isn’t racist, it’s ‘funny’ and you’re ‘no fun’ if you don’t like it. People are in denial about their views, **monstro**. They think “He’s a good person, He’s not a racist”. They’re not being honest with themselves. ---
**Author:** ![TWDuke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e495f1/32.png) [@TWDuke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TWDuke)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2008, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-keep-insisting-that-racists-are-a-tiny-insiginificant-minority/469512/29 "2008-10-25T18:15:31Z")
> [@monstro](#): > > Throughout this campaign season the media (including YouTube) has provided us numerous glimspes into subtle and not-so-subtle racism. One that packed a wallop for me was this segment about Democratic West Virginians and their reaction to Obama. … Yesterday, I was listening to All Things Considered on NPR, which has been doing a series of conversations on race with voters in York, PA. One of the voters said this: > > \*“I don’t want to sound racist, and I’m not racist,” Moreland says. "But I feel if we put Obama in the White House, there will be chaos. > [@An\_Gadai](#): > > I’ve had Ohio Dems telling me they’d never vote for Obama and a Connecticut industrialist telling me he never hires black people because they steal from him. > [@monstro](#): > > If a guy like Obama can’t escape racial mockery, then you start feeling like, when is it ever going to end? A recent poll indicates that Obama’s support among whites is greater than that of any Democratic presidential candidate of the past 30 years. That certainly doesn’t mean racism isn’t a problem, but I found it interesting. > **[White Support For Obama At Historic Level](http://www.cbsnews.com/news/white-support-for-obama-at-historic-level/?index=1)** > > Politico: Polls Suggest Democratic Nominee Poised To Win Larger Share Of White Vote Than Any Democrat Since 1976 ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2008, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-keep-insisting-that-racists-are-a-tiny-insiginificant-minority/469512/30 "2008-10-25T18:16:08Z")
I imagine everyone who’s posted or lurked on this thread has had at least one encounter with a racist–a fully grown person with some degree of power and influence, possibly having children of their own. Maybe this person was ranting about “niggers and spics” while vacuuming their living rooms. Or maybe they aren’t so blatant, but we still suspect them of having certain leanings. I don’t know what would constitute “tiny, insignificant”. But when everyone’s got a story, and I hear these stories almost every friggin’ day, then I’m not thinking we’re at “tiny, insignificant” levels quite yet. But hey! Maybe I’m just a looney! I’ll tell you who I’m comfortable calling “tiny, insignificant” : American Communists Militia-types Al-Queda sympathizers NAMBLA people Satan worshipers Vampires Flat-Earthers I don’t know anyone who falls in the above groups, though I’m sure they exist. ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2008, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-keep-insisting-that-racists-are-a-tiny-insiginificant-minority/469512/31 "2008-10-25T18:21:11Z")
> [@monstro](#): > > It’s funny you should mention this. I work for a state agency, and it’s not unusual for my coworkers to travel in very remote, rural areas. One of my coworkers (a white guy) was telling me how he went into a gas station once and while he was paying, a “swarthy” guy pulled up in front one of the pumps. The cashier looked him through the window anxiously and mumbled something about “goddamn spics”. Of course, if the guy had stepped into the store, he probably would have been met with a smile and a “Come back real soon!” But behind his back, he was a goddamn spic. > > And it’s also funny you should say that the store keeper would get his ass handed to them. When was the last time you’ve read a thread in the Pit where the OP talks about handing a racist’s ass over to them? 99% of the time, the OP stays silent. > > I once encountered a guy who called all the blacks in my town “niggers who just have sex and do drugs”. I stayed silent too. I was giving him a ride in my car and I couldn’t hand him anything except a shrug. And I’m black! What does that say about me? I don’t know, but I know it sure doesn’t say anything about racism not being a problem. Being a white guy, I should be privy to these comments, but honestly I cannot recall the last time I heard one. I guess that is what I get for letting my membership in the Klan lapse. The ass handed to them comment was directed at if a store keeper said such a racist comment, there is an excellent chance that a TV news crew would be there shortly to film the protest march. Also there could be legal implications of such comments. See protected class. > [@WhyNot](#): > > Because I’ve got one racist uncle, and lots and lots that aren’t racist. Okay, it’s a racist sister-in-law, and even the parents that raised her and her two brothers are all not-racist. We’re not sure how she got broken. So, of husband’s family and my family, we’ve got one racist and 20 not racists. Add in the people I hang out with on a regular basis, and we’ve got one racist and 50 not-racists. Add in the peers in my classes, and we’ve got one racist and 90 not racists. Almost nobody I know personally is racist, and so the problem \*does \*appear vanishingly small to me. Her racism stands out in my mind \*because \*it’s so rare in my experience. > > Those reporters are looking for those people who are controversial and will say controversial things. It makes a better story. Newspapers don’t report on common things, they report on \*uncommon \*ones. For every racist on their panel, they questioned and rejected a dozen or more not racist people, I would wager. > > But, I should also add, I’m working from a slightly different definition of “racist” than you are. As far as I’m concerned, what people think is their private business, and if they can work with, socialize with and be cordial to someone regardless of their race, I’m seeing them as not racist. Maybe they are all secretly attending Klan rallies in their hearts (or after hours when I don’t see them) but if I don’t know about it, it doesn’t feed my world view. Thank you for saying that, so much better than I could have. My mother in law is racist, but she is pushing 80 and was raised in the South. Time will cure her racism soon enough. My SIL and her husband, no. My parents were not racist, and my sister for sure isn’t (married outside her race). Neither are my children. All of my cousins, aunts and uncles aren’t to the best of my knowledge. So one racist out of about 30 people is not a huge percentage. However when looking for a story the reporter would go with my MIL rather than the 29 non-racists in my family. Dog bites man is not news, man bites dog is. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2008, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-keep-insisting-that-racists-are-a-tiny-insiginificant-minority/469512/32 "2008-10-25T18:26:03Z")
> [@monstro](#): > > American Communists > Militia-types > Al-Queda sympathizers > NAMBLA people > Satan worshipers > Vampires > Flat-Earthers > > I don’t know anyone who falls in the above groups, though I’m sure they exist. Now _that’s_ funny. I know more than a half dozen members or former members of the Communist Party USA (and way more who have Che Guevara shirts and KNOW who he was and what he stood for). I know 4 actual registered, dues paying members of the Church of Satan and three Vampires. I wasn’t trying to provide a real estimate of racist people in America, by the way. I live in a liberal urban area, and so I’d expect to know fewer racists than \*\*NinetyWt \*\*does. I’ve also chosen not to pursue friendships with people who reveal themselves in word or deed to be racist, so they’re not part of my daily awareness any longer. I was just trying to answer the literal question in your OP: why do I have the impression that racists are a tiny minority? Because, in my life, they are. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2008, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-keep-insisting-that-racists-are-a-tiny-insiginificant-minority/469512/33 "2008-10-25T18:32:54Z")
> [@Rick](#): > > The ass handed to them comment was directed at if a store keeper said such a racist comment, there is an excellent chance that a TV news crew would be there shortly to film the protest march. Also there could be legal implications of such comments. See protected class. And my point to you is that people, even the victims, usually don’t say anything because it’s not worth the trouble. If a black store keeper called you a honkey, would you necessarily call your local news and hold a march? Or would you make a mental note to create a Pit thread about it later and then forget about the whole thing? The thing is people bring suits against businesses all the time for discrimination. And when they do, lots of people automatically assume the plaintiff’s making shit up and side with their beloved restaurant, gas station, or big-box department store. ---
**Author:** ![RaftPeople](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6f9a4e/32.png) [@RaftPeople](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RaftPeople)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2008, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-keep-insisting-that-racists-are-a-tiny-insiginificant-minority/469512/34 "2008-10-25T18:35:24Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Racism is a part of human nature, so it’s very difficult\* to eradicate. We can put lots of social stigma on things that are innately human, but that’s not necessarily going to keep them too far from the surface. So I would say that the nature of racism has changed significantly in my lifetime (I’m about 50), and it is much less dangerous, but it’s never going to go away. > > \*“very difficult” translated from the Japanese means “impossible” Absolutely. This is how our brains work. We’re 100billion neuron pattern matchers and we find patterns and categories everywhere. Whether it’s racism, sexism, or just “you’re from a different neighborhood”-ism, it appears to be the very basis for our brains function (and our success, most likely). The best we can do attempt to limit it through education. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2008, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-keep-insisting-that-racists-are-a-tiny-insiginificant-minority/469512/35 "2008-10-25T18:47:06Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > So, of husband’s family and my family, we’ve got one racist and 20 not racists. > [@Rick](#): > > So one racist out of about 30 people is not a huge percentage. Well…if we’re playing dueling anecdotes… My mother got remarried to a black man in my teens and made the “mistake” of going to her mother’s funeral with him. The reaction from almost all of her aunts, uncles and cousins was ugly in the extreme. I got a foreboding whiff of this, before her wedding, when my mother’s younger sister, after asking whether it bothered me that she was marrying a black man and I said no, admitted that it bothered her deeply and she just couldn’t help but think of blacks as inferior ( she said this in an honest, but slightly distressed and also slightly embarassed tone ). Now these are mostly suburban/exurban Virginians/Marylanders and before this event I _never_ heard any of them express any racist thought at all. But it turns out that much of this ( numerous ) side of my family are in fact racist when it comes "miscegenation."I would never have known this if not for that funeral. Now my father’s side of the family I just don’t know - I suspect it is mild and unconscious if it exists as they just don’t have much contact with black folks, being from lily-white parts of Western Pennsylvania. My immediate family of course is not at all ( both of my step-brothers are in interracial marriages ), my friends are not and I live in liberal-town U.S.A. where racists are much less common and more circumspect ( but I’ve met some here, nonetheless ). But my own unfortunate anecdotal experience leads me to question just how rare racism is in the United States. I do believe it is declining and has certainly improved in my lifetime. But is it rare? I dunno. I believe it was Nate Silver that said that 6% of the voting populace has indicated they won’t for Obama based on race. Does 6% count as _rare_ or just uncommon? ---
**Author:** ![Ensign\_Edison](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7ab992/32.png) [@Ensign\_Edison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ensign_Edison)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2008, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-keep-insisting-that-racists-are-a-tiny-insiginificant-minority/469512/36 "2008-10-25T18:48:24Z")
If six percent of black people said they would not vote for a white candidate, how many people here would stop to measure rarity before crying racism? And don’t forget, that’s just how many people you can get to admit it. Most of the rampant, dangerous racism now is not intentional, which is why we’re in such a sticky situation. White people get upset because they were taught that racist is one of the worst things to be, and because they genuinely don’t harbor conscious bias against other races. All their racial insecurities, resentments and nightmares come barreling out whenever _any_ white person is accused of racism as a result. Everybody else gets upset because white people get away with denying the reality of their daily experiences while (mostly) still having the best intentions, and just being blinded by privilege. ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2008, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-keep-insisting-that-racists-are-a-tiny-insiginificant-minority/469512/37 "2008-10-25T18:55:51Z")
> [@xenophon41](#): > > One observation supporting the counterassertion is how common those popular truisms are that emphasize behavioral differences between ethnic groups. I see these truisms used at least as much by members of minority groups as by the majority, but I think in both cases it’s a natural reaction to the extreme social segregation we still see in this country. Ever notice how White people talk about racism like this, but Black people talk about racism like _this_? ---
**Author:** ![TWDuke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e495f1/32.png) [@TWDuke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TWDuke)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2008, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-keep-insisting-that-racists-are-a-tiny-insiginificant-minority/469512/38 "2008-10-25T19:34:07Z")
> [@Tamerlane](#): > > I believe it was Nate Silver that said that 6% of the voting populace has indicated they won’t for Obama based on race. [Nate Silver](http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/2008/09/on-race-based-voting.html) actually took issue with that figure. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2008, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-keep-insisting-that-racists-are-a-tiny-insiginificant-minority/469512/39 "2008-10-25T19:50:17Z")
> [@RaftPeople](#): > > Absolutely. This is how our brains work. We’re 100billion neuron pattern matchers and we find patterns and categories everywhere. Whether it’s racism, sexism, or just “you’re from a different neighborhood”-ism, it appears to be the very basis for our brains function (and our success, most likely). > > The best we can do attempt to limit it through education. Yeah, it’s not racism, per se, that is innate but “groupism”. Racism is just one form of in-group/out-group categorizing that is simply part of the way we think as social animals. Fortunately, our brains are also capable of tempering those natural tendencies, although I’d be very suspect of the idea that we can eliminate them. ---
**Author:** ![Knorf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/58956e/32.png) [@Knorf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knorf)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2008, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-keep-insisting-that-racists-are-a-tiny-insiginificant-minority/469512/40 "2008-10-25T19:53:16Z")
I actually agree with a lot of what John Mace is saying here. There is some tendency in human nature that can lead to racism, and short of changing human nature, racism is probably here to stay. This election season in 2008 has proven that racism is a minority, but a minority that can still have a sadly significant political effect. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-keep-insisting-that-racists-are-a-tiny-insiginificant-minority/469512.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-keep-insisting-that-racists-are-a-tiny-insiginificant-minority/469512.md?page=3)