Three years of relentless, post-George Floyd race-baiting by major media, politicians and woke corporations has had varying effects on Americans' perception of the extent to which racism is a real problem in the country.
A growing majority of whites think false accusations of racism are a bigger problem than failures to perceive real racism. The cultivation of black victimhood has taken a predictable toll on that group, but the biggest and most interesting move has been observed among Hispanics.
To their credit, the folks at Pew Research Center have dared over recent years to ask Americans which is the bigger problem:
- "People NOT seeing racism where it really does exist"
- "People seeing racism where it really does not exist."
In this year's survey, 54% of whites said phantom racism is the bigger problem for American society. That's up 2 points since 2019.
What happens when you constantly tell black people that racism is the reason for every disparate outcome in American society -- and that they're consequentially owed cash reparations and special treatment? In 2019, 14% of blacks said false claims of racism represent the biggest problem. That's now shrunk to 11%, with 88% saying the inability to see racism is the bigger challenge.
The most significant shift over the past four years has been observed among Hispanics. Fully 40% of Hispanics now say that seeing racism where it does not exist is the bigger problem -- an impressive 10-point increase from 30% in 2019. A similar but smaller shift has occurred among Asians. A third say phantom racism is the bigger problem, up 5% since 2019.
As with every other issue, the sharpest divide comes across party lines, as 74% of Republicans say phantom racism is the bigger worry, compared to just 19% of Democrats.
