me: >> I don't know why PK views misogyny as a greater problem than racism >> against Blacks or as persisting longer than racism. How can anyone >> measure such things? <..
Julio Huato answers my rhetorical question: > Well, you can estimate these effects. I want to clarify what I said in this thread. While PK suggests that racism -- but not misogyny -- is fading, I think he's simply referring to what's permissible in public discourse, especially among the commentariat. Overt racism against Obama was taboo, while overt sexism against Clinton was not. But I think there's a large amount of racism outside of elite news commentators -- and that the latter are often closet racists. On the other hand, at least in terms of relative incomes, admissions to professional schools, and the like, misogyny has taken some heavy hits, much more than racism has. Charles Brown points out that one sign of fading misogyny is the fact that "Clinton was a very close second to Obama for the nomination." A very good point. In addition, he says: >However, Krugman is correct to emphasize the important of the Iessening of racism.< This is my impression, too, though as a very pink-skinned fellow, I have little or no personal experience with this. My impression is that (in the US) there's a lot of truth to William Julius Wilson's idea of the "declining significance of race." What's happened is the development of major class divisions within the African-American community, with most left behind in the so-called "underclass" but a significant percentage of Black people rising into the middle and even the upper income classes. So racism against Blacks is linked to "classism," parallel to the old distinction between "shanty" and "lace curtain Irish." (The former are the precursor of today's "rednecks" or "trailer trash.") Obama seems to be a "lace curtain" Black. Of course, institutional racism against Blacks isn't completely gone. Immigrant communities seem to continue to have a greater chance at upward mobility than African-Americans do. As usual, I value any corrections or comments. -- Jim Devine / "Segui il tuo corso, e lascia dir le genti." (Go your own way and let people talk.) -- Karl, paraphrasing Dante. _______________________________________________ pen-l mailing list [email protected] https://lists.csuchico.edu/mailman/listinfo/pen-l
