Polls Are Polarizing

I will know we have made real progress in race relations when the media no longer talks about the black vote, the Hispanic vote, the white male vote, etc. Can there be any better way to emphasize our differences than to divide us by ethnicity and report information accordingly? Why is this necessary? Does it advance our understanding of the issues or tell us anything about the candidates that will aid our decision? And how simplistic (and inaccurate) is it to imply that African Americans vote for this person, or women nominate that person, or a certain social class supports one candidate, when we are all individuals with as many reasons for our vote as the qualities and quirks that make each of us unique?

You can slice us up and categorize us any way you wish. If the media needs to fill its airwaves with polling results – another practice I take issue with, and I might, in another post – then why not measure the Viewers of “American Idol” vote, the Pet-Owners’ vote or the People Who Eat Cupcakes vote? It would be so much less divisive and certainly more interesting. As it is, our media coverage announces to the world that we have only three ethnic groups whose vote matters (hear much about the Asian or American Indian vote?) and that the differences among them are assumed and significant. I call that racism. If it bothers you, too, refuse to participate in political polls – unless they ask if you eat cupcakes.