A poll publicized yesterday showed that most people disagree with Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor’s decision in a recent case on race-based hirings. There was another result from that poll, however, that may reveal overall views on race in the U.S.According to the poll conducted by Quinnipiac College, 55% of those polled believe in doing away with affirmative action. Every racial and religious group except African-Americans opposed giving certain groups (i.e. blacks, Latinos, white women) preferences for private sector jobs.
In the case of Latino respondents, 58% of them would abolish affirmative action as opposed to 38%. This contradicts a Pew Research Center poll conducted last month where 53% of Latinos were in favor of “preferential treatment” for racial minorities.
Aside from race, over 70% of respondents agreed with keeping affirmative action for the disabled while 65% were against providing homosexuals with preferential treatment.
What can be concluded from the poll? Perhaps it means we’ve entered a post-racial, more colorblind world. On the other hand, maybe it means that people are resentful and jealous of perceived privileges from race-based programs. (Maybe it’s none of the above reasons).
What do you think?
Image- American Chronicle
Online Sources- NY1, Miami Herald, USA TODAY, Pew Research Center, RTT News
AA just creates a larger pool of people who will need it to compete.
ReplyDeleteBut I think the poll shows some resentment towards those who've benefited from the program.