DISCRIMINATION VIEWS FROM INSIDE THE U.S.

HOW WE AMERICANS

VIEW DISCRIMINATION

Brookings Institute wondered too...

First of all, who is this Brookings Institute and why should anyone pay attention to what they have to say?

The Brookings Institution is a nonprofit organization devoted to independent research and policy solutions. Its mission is to conduct high-quality, independent research and, based on that research, to provide innovative, practical recommendations for policymakers and the public. The conclusions and recommendations of any Brookings publication are solely those of its author(s), and do not reflect the views of the Institution, its management, or its other scholars.

The key definitions are: 1. Non-profit and 2. independent research. Brookings has no ties to any political party or institution. Their work is fact finding and exploration of social issues.

If you are not a professional graph reader, let me try to show you the breakdown of the

different social entity's views regarding discrimination.

But perceptions of discrimination vary strikingly by party identification. Democrats (80 percent), for example, are significantly more likely than Republicans (46 percent) and Tea Party members (44 percent) to say blacks face a lot of discrimination in the United States today. Democrats (68 percent) are also much more likely than Republicans (42 percent) and Tea Party members (41 percent) to say Hispanics currently face a great deal of discrimination. But when it comes to discrimination against whites, the pattern is completely reversed—Republicans (36 percent) and Tea Party members (45 percent) are more than twice as likely as Democrats (16 percent) to say there is a lot of discrimination against whites in the America today.
Attitudes on the amount of discrimination faced by another prominent minority group in America—gay and lesbian people—are also, unsurprisingly, divided along party lines. More than eight in ten (82 percent) Democrats believe that there is a great deal of discrimination against gay and lesbian people in America today. Only about half of Republicans (55 percent) and Tea Party members (49 percent) say the same.

1. All Americans: 12% believe there is no discrimination. 20% believe there's some. 26% believe a few groups face discrimination. 41% believe most groups face discrimination.
2. Democrats: 5% no discrimination. 12% some. 26% a few. 55% most.
3. Independent: 14% no. 24% some. 25% a few. 37% most.
4. Republican: 20% no. 27% some. 28% a few. 25% most.
5. Tea Party: 21% no. 29% some. 24% a few. 25% most.

The partisan contrast on this scale is significant: only five percent of Democrats believe that none of these groups face a lot of discrimination in the United States today. In contrast, Republicans (20 percent) and Tea Party members (21 percent) are four times as likely to express the same view. At the other end of the scale, a majority (55 percent) of Democrats perceive that most of these groups face a considerable amount of discrimination. In contrast, only one-quarter of Republicans (25 percent) and Tea Party members (25 percent) agree that this many underrepresented groups are facing a lot of discrimination.

In the final equation, Democrats see much more discrimination than do Republicans or Tea Party folks.