High authoritarians voice anti-prejudice statements yet simultaneously blame marginalized groups for their condition

Evidence

Highs will say, “racial prejudice does exist. I am against it. I am not myself prejudiced. Why some of my best friends…” But they will also say, “Everybody knows ‘those people’ have chosen to live that way. Otherwise they wouldn’t.” — Bob Altemeyer, The Authoritarian Specter, 1232

Categorization

• XREF: The ‘best friends’ trope and simultaneous blame parallels themes of implicit bias research and the theory of aversive racism. — connects to: Right-wing authoritarians resist learning they are prejudiced. — John T. Jost and Jim Sidanius, Political Psychology: Key Readings, 916
• SHARE: Worth sharing with anyone teaching rhetoric or studying right-wing authoritarian psychology — the two-sentence example is a compact teaching vignette.