Question

Attitude surveys indicate that over the years white prejudice has:

Answer 1

In recent years white prejudice has increased in rural parts of the US, while in more densely-populated urban areas white prejudice has declined. Studies show that simply by moving to a move urban and racially diverse city, white people become less likely to prejudge others based on race. This suggests that racism is perhaps due to lack of exposure to people of other races and is a form of experiential ignorance. The reasons for white prejudice seem to be caused mostly by the spread of misinformation and hate speech, where white supremacist figureheads will blame any number of problems on any race or group that they perceive as "other" or "outsiders". The internet has given these outspoken individuals an international soapbox from which to spout their racist rhetoric, which may have caused an increase in the intensity of believe seen among some groups of white prejudiced Americans. However, the internet has also given a platform for many more rational thinkers who preach tolerance, acceptance, and the value of diversity in society. This is considered mainstream academic thought in the US today, which was not the case just 50 years ago. In that regard, white prejudice has decreased as a function of the overall population of the US. Similar trends have been observed in other countries which were previously predominantly white and have recently seen a much larger spike in racial and ethnic diversity. For example, in Germany, white prejudice has starkly decreased over the past 100 years. Less than a century ago, a large number of Germans were participating in race-based genocide on their own soil. Today, Germany has a culture of acceptance and semi-open borders. In 2016, Germany's leader Angela Merkel opened Germany's borders to thousands of refugees escaping Syria. The majority of these refugees were non-white, and were accepted by the German people. This scenario would not have been possible in German culture 50 years ago.