Revealing the racial subtext of coded messages makes many Whites repudiate them.
Evidence
A final possible source of inner conflict is not the new racisms, but vestiges of the old racism that remain psychological hot buttons for White Americans because they conflict with the American Creed. Many Whites might accept subtle racist messages because they do not perceive them as inconsistent with the norm of racial equality. But, as Allport suggested, the best retort to bigotry may be an appeal to the Creed. If the underlying racism in subtly racist messages was revealed, they might be repudiated for violating it. The 1988 Republican presidential campaign exploited a horrific crime of sexual violence against a white woman by Willie Horton, a black convict, to attack the Democrats for being “soft on crime.” Though ostensibly a message about crime, the message had a strongly racial subtext. When Jesse Jackson pointed this out, some Whites turned against the Republican campaign (Mendelberg, 2001). — , Rudman, Laurie A - On the Nature of…, 2190 (
#corroborates, via linked claim)
Categorization
- XREF: connects to: Racially encoded messages backfire among moderates high in racial resentment. — Rachel Wetts and Robb Willer, Who Is Called by the Dog Whistle?…, 147; Exposing the racist subtext of coded appeals can make Whites repudiate them — , Rudman, Laurie A - On the Nature of…, 2190; Exposing the racial subtext of coded messages switches White voters against them. (+1 more)
Broader Connections
- Exposing the racist subtext of coded appeals can make Whites repudiate them
#corroborates(1.00) — , Rudman, Laurie A - On the Nature of…, 2190 - Exposing the racial subtext of coded messages switches White voters against them.
#corroborates(1.00)