THE COLOR OF BLAME
57% of the blame, right here
This isn't surprising but according to a new CNN poll "reaction to Katrina split on racial lines."
I won't quote the whole article at length, but here are the key differences:
Belief: the federal gov't slow in rescuing people because they were Black.
Blacks: 60% agreed
Whites: 12.5%
Belief: they were slow because they were poor.
B: 63%
W: 21%
Who's to blame for the relief effort? (Black responses)
37% Bush (aka Feds)
20% Mayor Nagin (aka local)
11% The residents themselves
27% No one
(White responses)
29% Nagin
27% The residents
15% Bush
27% No one
Does George Bush, in fact, not care about Black people?
Blacks: 79% agree with Kanye.
Whites: 33% agree with Kanye.
Were all looters criminals?
Whites: 50% say yes.
Blacks: 16% say yes, 77% say they were just trying to survive.
Analysis: wow, white people don't think race is an issue - how amazing is that! All sarcasm aside, if there's one thing most white Americans can be counted on, it's to never believe racism is at play. You could probably get a majority of white folk to believe that cross burnings are about religious enthusiasm and Strom Thurmond was only looking out for state rights when he opposed integration.
Beyond that, it is worth noting that a majority of all polled thought the response was uniformly terrible and all thought Bush performed poorly in the beginning (though whites think he's done better since but not Blacks).
It's also notable that Nagin definitely shoulders the blame in everyone's minds, even if the balance between him and Bush changes depending on who's being asked.
And before you go: The Onion, killin' it as always.
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