‘If Blacks Would Only Try Harder They Could Be Just As Well Off As Whites’: 40 Percent Of Polled Whites Agree
The results of a new poll have revealed the thought patterns of some of the people polled in relation to racial matters. As reported by Newsweek, a new poll released on Wednesday by YouGov covers a number of topics, which were released in a 213-page PDF document. As seen in question No. 26C in The Economist/YouGov poll, the section titled “Racial Resentment” presented the question to poll takers that asked, “It’s really a matter of some people not trying hard enough; if Blacks would only try harder they could be just as well off as Whites. Do you agree or disagree with the following statements?”
Of those polled, 19 percent of whites “strongly” agreed with that statement, whereas 21 percent of whites answered that they “somewhat” agreed with the statement. In total, 40 percent of whites agreeing that blacks could try harder to be just as well off as whites.
The poll also asked in question No. 26A, “Over the past few years, Blacks have gotten less than they deserve. Do you agree or disagree with the following statements?”
The poll broke down the results in a number of ways, based on gender, age, and other factors like race — including white, black, Hispanic, and more. According to the results, 12 percent of whites polled strongly agreed with the statement, and 18 percent of whites said they “somewhat agree” with the statement. In all, 30 percent of whites polled believing blacks have gotten less than they deserve.
40 percent of whites think black people just need to try harder, poll finds https://t.co/k83DJE88eJ pic.twitter.com/23kqlcA7hO
— Newsweek (@Newsweek) April 6, 2018
Therefore, while 30 percent of white Americans believe that blacks have gotten less than they deserve, a greater portion — 40 percent — answered that they believe black people would be just as well off as white people if they worked harder.
The YouGov poll included other questions under their “Racial Resentment” section, such as question No. 26B, which stated, “Irish, Italian, Jewish, and many other minorities overcame prejudice and worked their way up. Blacks should do the same without any special favors.” For that question, 56 percent of white Americans agreed.
There was also question No. 26D, which stated, “Generations of slavery and discrimination have created conditions that make it difficult for Blacks to work their way out of the lower class.” For thoughts on that query, 32 percent of white Americans agreed.
