There Is No ‘Racial Divide’ On Ferguson Story, Only Stupids Vs. Everyone Else

Posted by | August 20, 2014 17:41 | Filed under: Contributors Opinion Politics Tommy Christopher Top Stories

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The indispensable Pew Research Center is out with a new poll that shows what they call a “racial divide” on perceptions of, and interest in, the story of Mike Brown’s killing by Ferguson, MO police, and the subsequent turmoil. A closer look, however, shows that the only divide is between conservative white people and everyone else:

By about four-to-one (80% to 18%), African Americans say the shooting in Ferguson raises important issues about race that merit discussion. By contrast, whites, by 47% to 37%, say the issue of race is getting more attention than it deserves.

Whites Divided in Views of Police Response to Ferguson ShootingFully 65% of African Americans say the police have gone too far in responding to the shooting’s aftermath. Whites are divided: 33% say the police have gone too far, 32% say the police response has been about right, while 35% offer no response.

Racial Divide in Confidence in Investigations of Brown ShootingWhites also are nearly three times as likely as blacks to express at least a fair amount of confidence in the investigations into the shooting. About half of whites (52%) say they have a great deal or fair amount of confidence in the investigations, compared with just 18% of blacks. Roughly three-quarters of blacks (76%) have little or no confidence in the investigations, with 45% saying they have no confidence at all.

Unfortunately, Pew didn’t publish detailed crosstabs, but if you look at the partisan breakdown that they did include in the report, Democrats’ opinions on these questions hewed pretty closely to those of black respondents, with “independents” characteristically unable to make up their minds, and Republicans in sharp disagreement.

Without detailed crosstabs, it’s impossible to say exactly how many of the white respondents were Democrats and/or left-leaning independents, but if you look at their sample, and apply 2012 presidential exit polling data to it, you find that…READ MORE

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Copyright 2014 Liberaland
By: Tommy Christopher

Tommy Christopher is The Daily Banter's White House Correspondent and Political Analyst. He's been a political reporter and liberal commentator since 2007, and has covered the White House since the beginning of the Obama administration, first for PoliticsDaily, and then for Mediaite. Christopher is a frequent guest on a variety of television, radio, and online programs, and was the villain in the documentaries The Audacity of Democracy and Hating Breitbart. He's also That Guy Who Live-Tweeted His Own Heart Attack, and the only person to have ever received public apologies from both Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck.

25 responses to There Is No ‘Racial Divide’ On Ferguson Story, Only Stupids Vs. Everyone Else

  1. Obewon August 20th, 2014 at 18:02

    Those outraged, are under-represented because this polls sample consists of twice as many repubs as the 23% of voters remaining registered GOP vs the 34% of voters registered as Dems today.

    Most importantly lets hope this tragic execution of an unarmed jaywalker boosts voter turnout in November 4th’s congressional & senate elections.

    Poll respondent Demographics: about 17% of the white people polled on those questions are Democrats (All Dems = 34%), while 30% are Republicans (89% White GOP are 23% of voters), and the rest are basically evenly split between left- and right-leaning independents. That’s because Pew didn’t include Hispanics, who voted for Barack Obama at 71%, in those questions.

    • R.J. Carter August 20th, 2014 at 22:48

      Your hoping for a national turnout in favor of Democrats based on this issue. How about an increased turnout on the local level in Ferguson, from the 12% turnout.

  2. Obewon August 20th, 2014 at 18:02

    Those outraged, are under-represented because this polls sample consists of at lest +50% as many repubs as the 23% of voters remaining registered GOP vs the 34% of voters registered as Dems today.

    Most importantly lets hope this tragic execution of an unarmed jaywalker boosts voter turnout in November 4th’s congressional & senate elections.

    Poll respondent Demographics: about 17% of the white people polled on those questions are Democrats (All Dems = 34%), while 30% are Republicans (89% White GOP are 23% of voters), and the rest are basically evenly split between left- and right-leaning independents. That’s because Pew didn’t include Hispanics, who voted for Barack Obama at 71%, in those questions.

    • R.J. Carter August 20th, 2014 at 22:48

      Your hoping for a national turnout in favor of Democrats based on this issue. How about an increased turnout on the local level in Ferguson, from the 12% turnout.

  3. tiredoftea August 20th, 2014 at 19:21

    This tragedy in Ferguson may be the turning point for race relations and police overreach, as was the televising of the Southern racists denying school entry to young children and Bull Connor’s police force unleashing attack dogs and fire hoses on the marchers of Birmingham in 1963. I hope so, anyway.

    • granpa.usthai August 21st, 2014 at 02:55

      Wasn’t a very peaceful way of doing things back then was it? – then why keep the same old violent ways today?

      Republican Nostalgia?

      Nevada has proven to be a much better, safer and expedient for the protesters way!

      GO WITH IT!

      – unless something better comes along.?

  4. tiredoftea August 20th, 2014 at 19:21

    This tragedy in Ferguson may be the turning point for race relations and police overreach, as was the televising of the Southern racists denying school entry to young children and Bull Connor’s police force unleashing attack dogs and fire hoses on the marchers of Birmingham in 1963. I hope so, anyway.

    • granpa.usthai August 21st, 2014 at 02:55

      Wasn’t a very peaceful way of doing things back then was it? – then why keep the same old violent ways today?

      Republican Nostalgia?

      Nevada has proven to be a much better, safer and expedient for the protesters way!

      GO WITH IT!

      – unless something better comes along.?

  5. Tom Ward August 20th, 2014 at 19:25

    It’s hard to take your article seriously when you make a racist headline for an anti-racism article.

    Anyone who assumed that it was 100% for sure racism or 0% for sure no racism is stupid. Independents who can’t make up their mind are correct. This is because we will never know if Michael Brown was stopped and/or shot just because he was black. We just can’t know what the cop was thinking, unless he said something racist at the time. So, since almost everyone on the internet discussing this has no idea about how much racism actually goes on in Ferguson, you are stupid to make up your mind either way.

    Regardless of the outcome though it’s still important to talk about cops profiling people in general and the militarization of police.

    • tiredoftea August 20th, 2014 at 19:28

      So, I’m guessing that you are in the 47% category?

    • R.J. Carter August 20th, 2014 at 22:45

      That’s Tommy’s “thang.”

    • greenfloyd August 21st, 2014 at 03:38

      It is an unfortunate choice on the title, although the Pew study is an interesting snap-shot that makes clear the lack of trust black people have in the justice system, law enforcement in particular. It also seems to indicate, if you factor in all those indecisive, haven’t made-up their minds yet, types… a majority of Americans conclude the Michael Brown case is important and racial. What the study does not tell us is how to restore, or instill that confidence needed to build a healthy and happy society in places like Ferguson. That requires leadership.

  6. Tom Ward August 20th, 2014 at 19:25

    It’s hard to take your article seriously when you make a racist headline for an anti-racism article.

    Anyone who assumed that it was 100% for sure racism or 0% for sure no racism is stupid. Independents who can’t make up their mind are correct. This is because we will never know if Michael Brown was stopped and/or shot just because he was black. We just can’t know what the cop was thinking, unless he said something racist at the time. So, since almost everyone on the internet discussing this has no idea about how much racism actually goes on in Ferguson, you are stupid to make up your mind either way.

    Regardless of the outcome though it’s still important to talk about cops profiling people in general and the militarization of police.

    • tiredoftea August 20th, 2014 at 19:28

      So, I’m guessing that you are in the 47% category?

    • R.J. Carter August 20th, 2014 at 22:45

      That’s Tommy’s “thang.”

    • granpa.usthai August 21st, 2014 at 02:27

      as strange as it may seem, Tom, the protesters against excessive use of force by Law Enforcement showed America a very successful way to protest without one single arrest being made and not one life lost in Nevada.
      If you’ve been shown a much safer and more successful way of doing things, why attempt to continue policies that have been a failure since the beginning of checking powers of Officers such as ‘GO F*CK YOURSELF’? Got to admit, if the crowd had been pointing like weapons back at him and just as ready to “f*cking kill too” he might have a much better attitude instead of being a ‘badder boy’ -?.

    • floyd[@]greenfloyd.org August 21st, 2014 at 03:38

      It is an unfortunate choice on the title, although the Pew study is an interesting snap-shot that makes clear the lack of trust black people have in the justice system, law enforcement in particular. It also seems to indicate, if you factor in all those indecisive, haven’t made-up their minds yet, types… a majority of Americans conclude the Michael Brown case is important and racial. What the study does not tell us is how to restore, or instill that confidence needed to build a healthy and happy society in places like Ferguson. That requires leadership.

  7. J_W_C_NM August 20th, 2014 at 20:57

    Black cop kills unarmed white kid in Salt Lake City. No outrage or calls for “justice”.

    http://www.wnd.com/2014/08/black-cop-kills-white-man-media-hide-race/

  8. J_W_C_NM August 20th, 2014 at 20:57

    Black cop kills unarmed white kid in Salt Lake City. No outrage or calls for “justice”.

    http://www.wnd.com/2014/08/black-cop-kills-white-man-media-hide-race/

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