Talking About Politics: Why Do Many People Think Conservatives Are Racist?

On Quora, member Ethan Endres asks

Why do so many people think conservatives are racist?

My answer:

First, I’d like to point out that I think this question is rather flawed and shows a right-wing bias. It’s a prime example of what my high school and college English instructors taught their students to avoid in their argumentative essays: a gross generality.

Second, let’s be very clear that I don’t think that every individual who espouses conservative beliefs is ipso facto a racist. There are black conservatives, Hispanic conservatives, Asian-American conservatives, and multi-ethnic conservatives. Calling them racist is rather ludicrous, don’t you think?

That having been said, many of us who happen to embrace liberal world-views do think that conservatives as a voting bloc tend to do two things that make them look racist.

1. They deny that systemic racism still exists in post-Jim Crow America
2. Many conservative voters - especially in the former Confederate States of America - tend to support candidates at the local, state, and federal levels of government who are racist.

Furthermore, many conservative voters are racist, especially in the Deep South. This is a problem that plagues both of the major parties, not just the Republican Party

When we see Republican voters supporting politicians like Roy Moore, Judy Reyher (we’ll get to her in a minute), or the Republican legislators in my home state of Florida that try to short-circuit the voter-approved process of restoring voting rights to ex-convicts who have paid their debt to society, how can we not see conservatives as racist?

Let me now show you a good example of a racist Republican politician - Judy Reyher:

Republican appointed to Colorado legislature questions if Obama was born in U.S., has made critical posts about blacks, Muslims

A southeast Colorado Republican appointed this week to a vacant seat in the state legislature questions if former President Barack Obama was born in the U.S. and has criticized African Americans and Muslims on her Facebook page, actions that have garnered pushback from top state party officials.

Speaking to The Denver Post, Judy Reyher, of Swink, also said that “the black community and the Democrats are the most racist group of people that exist,” and that black people “hate white people with a passion.”

Reyher says her Facebook comments have been taken out of context by Democrats and that liberals are out to get her and label her as a racist so that they can win her seat.

On her Facebook page, Reyher has reposted a meme questioning why Muslims come to the U.S. if they “hate pork, beer, bikinis, Jesus and freedom of speech.” Another that she shared said: “White Irish slaves were treated worse than any other race in the U.S. When was the last time you heard an Irishman (complaining) how the world owes them a living?”

Regarding Muslims, Reyher told The Post: “If they hate everything we stand for, what the hell they doing here other than to destroy us as a country?”

She also questioned whether Obama was born in the U.S., a debunked assertionthat has been called racist.

“It’s never been proven that he was born in the United States,” she said. “Six months later they conjure up a birth certificate, and we’re all supposed to fall for it. It would take me five minutes to come up with mine.”

And judging from many posts by self-described conservatives on Facebook, Quora, and other social media outlets, that’s why many liberals think conservatives tend to deny racism exists, or support racist politicians.