The New Republic

In the 21st century these attitudes still prevail in Mississippi. Sad and amazing.

- liberalref

April 7, 2011 at 7:51pm

The thing which is so obviously true, but almost never uttered by anyone in the mainstream media is that there is a significant minority of almost exclusively white people in the United States who are in rebellion -- open or otherwise -- against modernity. For them, the Enlightenment was just something that happened to other people.

- DC Spence

April 7, 2011 at 8:22pm

And in other news, the sun rises in the east, the Pope is Catholic, Franco is still dead, and bears shit in the woods.

- zardoz67

April 7, 2011 at 8:23pm

Not to mention that zardoz is as banal as ever.

- liberalref

April 7, 2011 at 9:09pm

And liberalref is becoming as insufferable an asshole as mr_rationale and seattleeng.

- zardoz67

April 7, 2011 at 10:31pm

Bears shit in the woods? Huh. I take umbrage on behalf of seattle. That is an invidious comparison. Although I disagree with seattle early and often, he generally manages to stick to the subject at hand, in his way, rather than make other posters his subject. Thus, he maintains appropriate decorum and ought not be lumped together with others who do not. (Plus, I've learned a lot having to go out and find the factual bases to refute seattle's claims. Can't say that of the others.)

- roidubouloi

April 7, 2011 at 11:46pm

But unlike those other two I mentioned, liberalref does have interesting and worthwhile things to say. I do not understand why he feels the need to personally attack other subscribers.

- zardoz67

April 7, 2011 at 11:54pm

And for the record, I was born, raised and still live in the Deep South, so I know just how big a reservoir of bigotry still exists here underneath our polite facade. These poll results do not surprise me in the least.

- zardoz67

April 8, 2011 at 12:07am

Posts about posts are dumb. The real question is whether the Republican party realizes that they are heading for a demographic collapse. Being the party of irritated white people works when that is still 50% of the electorate, but that is going to change in the next 10 years. If they lose just 5% of that base, they have no path to winning the Presidency again. And they have locked themselves into so many anti-minority views that they can't credibly switch gears. They have decided to go down with the ship. We may be seeing a permanent Democratic hold on the White House based on liberal Whites, Blacks, Asians, Latinos, Jews, and Muslims. The Republicans cannot capture those votes based on economics when those groups profoundly distrust the underlying intolerance of the Republican party.

- nayyer_ali

April 8, 2011 at 12:20am

I've always suspected that there were some folks out there who thought the Defense of Marriage Act was to prevent blacks and whites hitching up.

- ironyroad

April 8, 2011 at 1:22am

Irony ftw ...

- NR409654

April 8, 2011 at 2:56am

About insults. Although it is often funny, it will take over the postings and I've learned over time that it is tempting and takes effort to resist. About illegal marriage, what I want to know is why a group of people who probably feel that government should be less in a countless number of ways, would favor a law regulating who can marry whom.

- Nusholtz

April 8, 2011 at 7:54am

The best estimate I could find -- from Penn State University's Mark D. Shriver study -- puts the % of American whites with black ancestry at 30%. That number would undoubtedly be much higher in Mississippi, because for several centuries large numbers of blacks and whites have lived in close proximity. In other words, the presumably mostly white, Mississippi Republicans who wish to make inter-racial marriages illegal are declaring most of their own marriages illegal. Dan

- dbuck1

April 8, 2011 at 8:50am

how much of this (like birtherism) is sane people sorting themselves out of the GOP? and what are the numbers for Mississippi Dems and independents?

- miceelf

April 8, 2011 at 8:53am

Nusholtz Freedom for me but not for thee. It's been the watchword of Republicans since at least the early 70s.

- miceelf

April 8, 2011 at 8:53am

Among the white American presidents speculated to have black ancestors and whose marriages would thus be illegal in Mississippi are Jefferson, Jackson, Lincoln, Harding, Coolidge (Coolidge!!), and Eisenhower. Eisenhower's wife Mamie was also rumored to have black ancestors, so their union would be kosher in the Magnolia State. Dan

- dbuck1

April 8, 2011 at 9:52am

In 2000, there was a referendum in Alabama to repeal the state constitution's ban on interracial marriages. The provision had been inoperative for decades due to federal law. The repeal passed, but 40% still voted no. http://ballotpedia.org/wiki/index.php/Alabama_Amendment_2_(2000) So that 46% of Mississippi Republicans feel the same way is hardly surprising, though surely disappointing.

- dsimon

April 8, 2011 at 10:15am

dsimon, I guess, but one might have hoped that between 2000 and 2010, there would have been more change in expected base rates in these ideas. I have a set of relatives who broke off all contact with me over my own IR marriage, but they are all well into their 70s. Most people I know under 60 find interracial marraige a complete non-issue.

- miceelf

April 8, 2011 at 11:17am

miceelf, I would have hoped for more change in a decade as well. But it's hard for some people to give up beliefs they've held for most of their lives. That's true for politics as well, which is why I think it's important for us to continue to question the validity of our assumptions. But the shift regarding marriage seems inevitable, whether it's interracial or same sex. The demographics show that younger people don't care nearly as much about these issues. It's just sad that so many people had to wait, and will have to wait, for others to give them what should have been theirs all along.

- dsimon

April 8, 2011 at 1:31pm

I do wonder how the rising Hispanic population in the South is affecting this result. Do these Republicans consider white/Hispanic marriages as offensive as white/black marriages? I am seeing that Hispanics are the latest "other" to be feared and hated here, and in the same manner I remember blacks being treated in my lifetime.

- zardoz67

April 8, 2011 at 1:50pm

I think this is simply referring to black - white interracial marriage, white - Asian, black - hispanic, I am not sure if those are viewed negatively. I have been to the south with my Chinese wife and bi racial children and people came up to us to compliment us on how cute our kids are. That does not indicate a reflexively bigoted group of people, however I am loath to imagine the conditions had my wife been black.

- blackton

April 8, 2011 at 1:58pm

"We may be seeing a permanent Democratic hold on the White House based on liberal Whites, Blacks, Asians, Latinos, Jews, and Muslims." We've been hearing that one for years, and have yet to see it happen. Anyway, it all depends on what you mean by "Democratic."

- henderstock

April 9, 2011 at 4:18pm