Fear of messing up may cause whites to avoid blacks (McCain, accuse)

[Prince of Lombards]

Now a provocative new study from Northwestern University suggests that whites who are particularly worried about appearing racist seem to suffer from anxiety that instinctively may cause them to avoid interaction with blacks in the first place.

In this case, study participants, 15 white college students, indicated that they were motivated to respond in non-prejudiced ways toward blacks primarily for appearance’s sake because of concern about social disapproval -- rather than because of their internal values.

Interesting. More details on the study here:

Fear of messing up may cause whites to avoid blacks | Science Blog

[Tricky D]

People who are afraid to mess up should never leave their bedroom.

I'm quite aware that my opinions might offend others, but this doesn't necessarily have to do with me or my opinion.
Some people already feel slighted because others do not agree with them and / or their opinion.

[Pimpy]

Is it a surprise to anyone that so many white people -- justifiably -- feel this way? Look at the reaction that people draw when they utter one negative word about Barack Hussein Obama, even if it has nothing to do with race. There is no easier way to elicit a response to the effect of, "well I guess you just aren't ready to have a black man as President."

Seriously, every time I've been in a conversation with at least five other people, and have expressed my dislike for Obama, at least one person in the group has played the race card on me. EVERY time.

Funny how no one is ever accused of being anti-white for not supporting John McCain.

[Tin Knocker]

I think its more widespread than just white people being afraid of speaking freely about black people.
It seems that everything we read or hear is softened to reflect political correctness & avoid offending anyone.
I'm offended that they think I cant handle the truth & I tend to speak my mind. If it offends someone thats their problem. Thats life & reality, if your alive you will get offended. Get over it.

[MissShona]

Originally Posted by Pimpy

Seriously, every time I've been in a conversation with at least five other people, and have expressed my dislike for Obama, at least one person in the group has played the race card on me. EVERY time.

Funny how no one is ever accused of being anti-white for not supporting John McCain.

Ok first of all, the people in that group are simply not educated on the issues. That's all that is. That's the majority of Americans really. These same people that pull "the race card" probably could not tell you why they are supporting Obama either. So that's circular logic right there.

And as far as the "anti-white" statement....please. If some one was "anti-white" and they live in this country, they probably wouldn't even bother participating in the political process anyway. In America, "White" is the default....so I don't understand your reasoning there either...

[TriMT7]

Originally Posted by Tin Knocker

I think its more widespread than just white people being afraid of speaking freely about black people.
It seems that everything we read or hear is softened to reflect political correctness & avoid offending anyone.
I'm offended that they think I cant handle the truth & I tend to speak my mind. If it offends someone thats their problem. Thats life & reality, if your alive you will get offended. Get over it.

People that bully others to be politically correct are spinning their wheels, really. It's all fake facade, and I guess that's good enough for some, but the problem is that even though people are politically correct on the outside, the "inside" remains the same.

When back in the company of their "own," people of any color, creed, etc. will talk smack about "the other." No matter how many "friends" they have of "the other."

[Kereczr]

Originally Posted by Pimpy

Is it a surprise to anyone that so many white people -- justifiably -- feel this way? Look at the reaction that people draw when they utter one negative word about Barack Hussein Obama, even if it has nothing to do with race. There is no easier way to elicit a response to the effect of, "well I guess you just aren't ready to have a black man as President."

Seriously, every time I've been in a conversation with at least five other people, and have expressed my dislike for Obama, at least one person in the group has played the race card on me. EVERY time.

Funny how no one is ever accused of being anti-white for not supporting John McCain.

I remember in one of my sociology classes the topic of race was brought up. My prof gave out some paper detailing a list of all the little inconveniences that come along with being black, for instance; Finding a hair stylist that can actually work on your hair. I made the comment, to the class, that the crap on the list had nothing to do with race but everything to do with capitalism. For instance if there were a larger marker for hair stylists for the black community in our area, there would be more options. Given that our community has a low black populace there aren't going to be many businesses catering to them. Same way for ANY minority in a town. After I said that two black girls refused to talk to me and called me a racist....

[What!]

Yeah, it is true today black people are quick to pull the race card. I think some need to relax. But recently I've been reading some books about segregation era America and I was surprised how white people could jump to conclusions on issues of race. In a book called "Black Like Me" a white man goes through dermatology surgery to change his skin black. Even though it was set in 1967, when segregation was going down in many places across America, there was still a lot of racism in New Orleans and other parts of the "deep South". It addressed such things as how a black man was not allowed to look at a poster of a white woman or he might face a lynching.

But the subtle racism was also important. Subtle things like being glared at for walking into some place that said, "whites only"; if you looked at a white person too long you were considered "being sassy"; black people were also considered sassy if they walked with their head too high among white people; and a whole mess of other things.

Even though today many people say America has come far, a lot of racism including subtle racism does exist. I have friends who will quickly lock their car if they see a black man in the parking lot, tightly clutch their purse around a black man, or cover their wallet, and then they might smile and say, "Hi" when he walks past. That subtle racism is something we all display but I guess black people feel uncertain when you smile at them on the one hand but then clutch your purse around them on the other hand.

[mackinac81]

Funny, I used to be this way. I deliberately avoided black people so as to avoid any awkward situations. Then during college I had to do a pre-internship in a racially mixed school district, which helped overcome a lot of worries. After I graduated I did most of my subbing in another district that was half black, and I loved it. Now I feel totally comfortable around black people in general, and have no problem interacting with them.

So I can totally see why whites would avoid blacks for that reason, but I simply say...get to know black people and, like most things, those dividing issues can easily disappear.

[macmeal]

Originally Posted by What!

Yeah, it is true today black people are quick to pull the race card. I think some need to relax. But recently I've been reading some books about segregation era America and I was surprised how white people could jump to conclusions on issues of race. In a book called "Black Like Me" a white man goes through dermatology surgery to change his skin black. Even though it was set in 1967, when segregation was going down in many places across America, there was still a lot of racism in New Orleans and other parts of the "deep South". It addressed such things as how a black man was not allowed to look at a poster of a white woman or he might face a lynching.

But the subtle racism was also important. Subtle things like being glared at for walking into some place that said, "whites only"; if you looked at a white person too long you were considered "being sassy"; black people were also considered sassy if they walked with their head too high among white people; and a whole mess of other things.

Even though today many people say America has come far, a lot of racism including subtle racism does exist. I have friends who will quickly lock their car if they see a black man in the parking lot, tightly clutch their purse around a black man, or cover their wallet, and then they might smile and say, "Hi" when he walks past. That subtle racism is something we all display but I guess black people feel uncertain when you smile at them on the one hand but then clutch your purse around them on the other hand.

"Black Like Me" was a CLASSIC.....I have a copy around the house somewhere. That was "my" era....and it was a real eye-opener. Weird 'experiment', but quite interesting......and, of course for us 'old guys', this stuff is disturbingly RECENT. (I'm a Viet Nam Navy vet...'came of age' in the mid-60's).

I think "Black Like Me" was even 'required reading' in some college sociology courses.