Affluent parents pursue segregation while sincerely believing they favor equality

Evidence

Or, to turn another assumption over, what do the more affluent lack themselves? One characteristic missing in the affluent may be empathy. Brantlinger (2003) interviewed affluent parents and teachers and found that in advocating solely for their own children, they displayed a singular lack of concern for children from poor and working class families. The affluent parents advocated for tracking (see below), Talented and Gifted programs, and other ways of separating their children from students they saw as likely to drag their own children down. Yet nearly all insisted they were liberal people who favored integration and equality in society. But because they were caught up in the discourse of hierarchy they failed to see how their own actions undermined the possibilities of equality. — Rebecca A. Martusewicz, Jeff Edmundson, and John Lupinacci, EcoJustice Education, 981

Categorization

• SEED: A striking finding for an essay on how well-meaning liberal parents reproduce class hierarchy through tracking advocacy.
• XREF: connects to: The myth of meritocracy makes Americans deny class differences — Rebecca A. Martusewicz, Jeff Edmundson, and John Lupinacci, EcoJustice Education: Toward Diverse,…, 914; Color blindness claims deny systematic racism while erasing cultural difference. — Rebecca A. Martusewicz, Jeff Edmundson, and John Lupinacci, EcoJustice Education: Toward Diverse,…, 1261; White middle-class parents framed suburban privilege as earned individual reward, erasing government-sponsored segregation — Matthew D. Lassiter, The Suburban Origins of “Color-Blind”…, 42 (+11 more)

Broader Connections

• White middle-class parents framed suburban privilege as earned individual reward, erasing government-sponsored segregation #exemplifies (0.92) — Matthew D. Lassiter, The Suburban Origins of “Color-Blind”…, 42
• White families conflate inherited advantage with earned merit. #corroborates (0.90)
• Respectable segregationists framed exclusion of blacks as a symmetry of individual choice #expands (0.88) — Kevin M. Kruse, White Flight, 372
• For the privileged, equality can feel like discrimination #corroborates (0.85) — Andrew L. Whitehead, American Idolatry, 192
• Prejudice has mutated into benevolent forms that sustain inequality #corroborates (0.85)
• Children adopt prejudice via parental identification and status comparison. #complicates (0.82)
• Parental authority arguments let evangelicals defend segregated schools without defending segregation #expands (0.80) — Kristin Kobes Du Mez, Jesus and John Wayne, 92
• Affluent parents seek personal advantage instead of fixing a collapsing world #expands (0.78) — Naomi Klein, Doppelganger, 732
• Northern whites expressed abundant support for segregation #corroborates (0.78) — Ibram X. Kendi, Stamped from the Beginning, 979
• Complete segregation emerges even when individuals only mildly avoid being a minority #complicates (0.75) — Roderick M. Kramer, Geoffrey J. Leonardelli, Robert W. Livingston, Social Cognition, Social Identity, and…, 824