LF: Does RACISM explain the rise of Donald Trump? Controversial new study claims supporters want to stop 'decline of whiteness'

Title: Does RACISM explain the rise of Donald Trump? Controversial new study claims supporters want to stop 'decline of whiteness'
Source: Daily Mail Online
URL Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencet ... s-controversial-new-study.html
Published: May 10, 2016
Author: Cheyenne MacDonald
Post Date: 2016-05-10 20:25:09 by cranky
Keywords: None
Views: 1728
Comments: 15

Many white Americans now believe that their hierarchical standing is being threatened by minority groups, leading them to support political forces that would help ‘restore the status of whiteness,’ a new study claims.

Through a series of online experiments, a Stanford University sociologist found that heightened levels of racial resentment were tied to greater support for the Tea Party in white participants.

The study suggests that the perceived ‘decline of whiteness’ prompts some to align with platforms that condemn minority groups – and they say this mindset may be at play in the rise of Donald Trump.

Through a series of online experiments, a Stanford University sociologist found that heightened levels of racial resentment were tied to greater support for the Tea Party. Pictured above, protesters gather to oppose the arrival of buses carrying undocumented migrants in 2014

WHAT IS THE TEA PARTY?

The Tea Party is an American political movement that emerged in 2009.

It is known for its conservative viewpoints and its role in the Republican Party.

The Tea Party generally opposes excessive taxation and government intervention.

It is also known to support stronger restrictions on immigration, cuts to welfare, and opposes government-sponsored universal healthcare.

According to Stanford professor of sociology Robb Willer, this trend began with the election of President Obama in 2008 and grew through the Great Recession, along with the rising political influence of minorities in America.

The team, which also included Matthew Feinberg of the University of Toronto and Rachel Wetts of the University of California, Berkeley, conducted five survey-based online experiments involving 1,329 participants.

Those who viewed an artificially darkened picture of Obama were more likely to express their support for the Tea Party, at 22 percent, compared with those who were shown a lightened photo, at just 12 percent.

According to Willer, the findings suggest the ‘threats’ to racial status have caused some to turn to support for the Tea Party, and likely Trump, based on their advocacy of certain policies, including restrictions on immigration, opposition to Obama, militant positions toward Muslim nations. Tea Party demonstrators pictured

'And there is good reason to think that many of the same psychological forces propelling Tea Party support also propel support for Trump’s candidacy. Indeed, Trump’s statements probably go further in criticizing minority groups than the Tea Party did.'

‘What was largely implicit in the case of the Tea Party has become more explicit in the case of Trump’s candidacy’ Willer said.

The researcher says these policies would help to 'restore the standing of whites in America.'