sociology experiment

[iraddict]

I just read about an experiment conducted by a couple of sociology students. Thought it was kind of interesting, and just goes to show you how much attitudes about race have changed in this country. Apparently the two students (one black male, one white male) sat up in a mall at opposite entrances. The white student was to hand out pamphlets on "white pride". He ONLY talked about having pride in the white race and being proud of their accomplishments. He was respectful and polite, and avoided saying ANYTHING negative about any other race. The black student was trying to be as racist and antagonistic as possible. He talked about how the white man was evil and how all of the problems in the country were the fault of white men. He was loud and aggressive. Apparently, the white student was told to "fuck off" several times, spit on once, and was threatened with violence several times. (According to the data, the vast majority of the negative responses, as well as the threats of physical violence all came from whites. Blacks, for the most part ignored him. The only positive responses were from two Asians, who listened to his speech politely.) He also mentioned that at one point a white girl with a black boyfriend came in and started going off on him. Lacing into him with profanities. Calling him a "piece of shit", etc. After just over two hours, mall security showed up and escorted him off of the premises.
The black student had a completely different experience. He recorded NO negative responses, and over two dozen positive responses. At one point the same white girl with the black boyfriend showed up and mentioned to him that there was some racist white asshole at the other end of the mall, and suggested he go and get some of his friends and "kick the shit out of him". The mall security never showed up during the time he was at the mall.
Like I said, I'm not commenting. Just thought the community here might find it interesting....

 

[Zagg]

Very interesting indeed. I'm most surprised that it took all of two hours for the white guy to be kicked out. People will argue whether this tolerance for "reverse discrimination" is a good thing or not, but it is clear that there are still very different attitudes in the mainstream culture toward racism in whites and racism in minorities.

 

[SunnyDaze]

Hmm... Good luck getting IRB approval on this one.

 

[iraddict]

@Sunny,
I'm assuming IRB stands for Institutional Review Board? I agree. The white dude could have gotten his ass beat really easily. He mentioned an incident where a construction worker (white guy, around forty or so) got in his face and told him to step outside and he would show him what he could do with his racist bullshit. One of the commentors on the article suggested that they should have given mall security a heads up so that if things got out of hand they could have stepped in to diffuse the situation.

 

[boydingo]

No surprise. Americans have been unrelentingly conditioned by the media for the past 30 years or so that anything smacking of white pride or separatism is hatefully wrong, even though the same behavior is accepted and encouraged by members of other races.

 

[Thick Nigga Dick]

No surprise. Americans have been unrelentingly conditioned by the media for the past 30 years or so that anything smacking of white pride or separatism is hatefully wrong, even though the same behavior is accepted and encouraged by members of other races.

Maybe that's because white Americans had a little head start with . . . ooohhhhh . . . let's say several centuries of white pride and separatism founded upon unrelenting white racism against people of other colors. A racism so strong that it was used to justify the enslavement of other people as personal property. Do you think that might explain any difference in reactions? Just a little bit maybe???

The founding fathers of the United States would have been more honest had they declared what they really believed . . . all men are created equal . . . as long as the white man is on top. Save during sex with a black. Then the black man gets to be on top! But then and only then! Blacks need to know their place after all.

Now, I'm not suggesting that it was right for the black guy to be treated one way and the white guy another. However, you can't just ignore the impact of the past and the role that the sorry history of relations between the races plays in situations like this one, or many others for that matter. You just can't. The scars run too deep.

 

[Zagg]

Eloquently put, TND.

No surprise. Americans have been unrelentingly conditioned by the media for the past 30 years or so that anything smacking of white pride or separatism is hatefully wrong, even though the same behavior is accepted and encouraged by members of other races.

Maybe that's because white Americans had a little head start with . . . ooohhhhh . . . let's say several centuries of white pride and separatism founded upon unrelenting white racism against people of other colors. A racism so strong that it was used to justify the enslavement of other people as personal property. Do you think that might explain any difference in reactions? Just a little bit maybe???

The founding fathers of the United States would have been more honest had they declared what they really believed . . . all men are created equal . . . as long as the white man is on top. Save during sex with a black. Then the black man gets to be on top! But then and only then! Blacks need to know their place after all.

Now, I'm not suggesting that it was right for the black guy to be treated one way and the white guy another. However, you can't just ignore the impact of the past and the role that the sorry history of relations between the races plays in situations like this one, or many others for that matter. You just can't. The scars run too deep.