--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We would like to believe that if the…" description: "\"“We would like to believe that if the polity understood that race-baiting continues to be widely practiced, people would repudiate it. Yet many whites ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/22f/ian-haney-l-pez-25230_racial-discriminatio_we-would-like-to-believe-that-if-the-pol_1306311.jpg" --- # We would like to believe that if the polity understood… ![“We would like to believe that if the polity understood that race-baiting continues to be widely practiced, people would repudiate it. Yet many whites may be so sure racial discrimination is not a problem that, when told it is, they will reject this information and compound their support for the…” quote by Ian Haney López](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/22f/ian-haney-l-pez-25230_racial-discriminatio_we-would-like-to-believe-that-if-the-pol_1306311.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/22f/ian-haney-l-pez-25230_racial-discriminatio_we-would-like-to-believe-that-if-the-pol_1306311.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/22f/ian-haney-l-pez-25230_racial-discriminatio_we-would-like-to-believe-that-if-the-pol_1306311.jpg) > ““We would like to believe that if the polity understood that race-baiting continues to be widely practiced, people would repudiate it. Yet many whites may be so sure racial discrimination is not a problem that, when told it is, they will reject this information and compound their support for the discrimination.”” [Ian Haney López](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-haney-l-pez/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People often reject evidence of racism if it conflicts with their self‑image, reinforcing bias. **In simple terms:** Denial of racism can strengthen prejudice. Key Takeaway Challenge assumptions with empathy and data. Themes racism cognitive bias social psychology Mood thoughtful concerned Type academic social critique When to use this quote - public policy debates - education curricula - media analysis Key Concepts identity threat information resistance Questions to Reflect On - How can we present uncomfortable truths effectively? - What strategies reduce defensive reactions? A Different Perspective Denial may persist despite clear evidence. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [People Repudiate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people-repudiate-4306381/) [Race Baiting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/race-baiting-812622/) [Racial discrimination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/racial-discrimination/) [Racism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/racism/) [Repudiate Whites](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/repudiate-whites-4306380/) [Understood Race](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/understood-race-3423895/) ## Related quotes > [I wish Americans understood that race is a social construct, even if we don't want it to be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-dolezal/i-wish-americans-understood-that-race-is-a-social-construct-even-if/) [Rachel Dolezal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-dolezal/) > [Calling Michelle 'Obama Barack's baby mama?' Tell me, is that acceptable? But the Obamas aren't the only targets. Fox's pattern of race-baiting and fear-mongering…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nas/calling-michelle-obama-barack-s-baby-mama-tell-me-is-that-acceptable/) [Nas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nas/) > [The second I bring up race in the sport, I'm immediately race-baiting. But I can point out clear facts, where no other champion has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tyron-woodley/the-second-i-bring-up-race-in-the-sport-i-m-immediately-race-baiting/) [Tyron Woodley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tyron-woodley/) > [The horrifying thing is that nearly half of America seems in synch with xenophobia and race-baiting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-weingarten/the-horrifying-thing-is-that-nearly-half-of-america-seems-in-synch/) [Gene Weingarten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-weingarten/) > [Reactionary conservatives are smiling through the racial apocalypse. To them, race baiting is a joke, as 'humorist' Rush Limbaugh will tell you when he's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ridley/reactionary-conservatives-are-smiling-through-the-racial-apocalypse/) [John Ridley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ridley/) > [Unconditional love will have the final word in reality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/unconditional-love-will-have-the-final-word-in-reality/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [Racial discrimination is illegal. It's illegal in the United States. It's illegal in Arizona. It has been and it will continue to be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jan-brewer/racial-discrimination-is-illegal-it-s-illegal-in-the-united-states-it/) [Jan Brewer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jan-brewer/) > [It is of the highest importance to provide equal access to the labour market. Governments should act to establish equitable employment standards and penalise…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tariq-ramadan/it-is-of-the-highest-importance-to-provide-equal-access-to-the-labour/) [Tariq Ramadan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tariq-ramadan/) > [Racial discrimination in elections in Texas is no mere historical artifact. To the contrary, Texas has been found in violation of the Voting Rights…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-bader-ginsburg/racial-discrimination-in-elections-in-texas-is-no-mere-historical/) [Ruth Bader Ginsburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-bader-ginsburg/) > [“When you truly believe that the racial groups are equal, then you also believe that racial disparities must be the result of racial discrimination.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ibram-x-kendi/when-you-truly-believe-that-the-racial-groups-are-equal-then-you-also/) [Ibram X. Kendi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ibram-x-kendi/) > [Communism will never be defeated by atomic bombs. Our greatest defense against Communism is to take offensive action on behalf of justice and righteousness.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/communism-will-never-be-defeated-by-atomic-bombs-our-greatest-defense/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [Racial discrimination in public education is unconstitutional…All provisions of federal, state or local law requiring or permitting such discrimination must yield to this principle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-warren/racial-discrimination-in-public-education-is-unconstitutional-all/) [Earl Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-warren/) > [That is what I want to make clear today. A man with a long history of racial discrimination, who traffics in dark conspiracy theories…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/that-is-what-i-want-to-make-clear-today-a-man-with-a-long-history-of/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [If a white man falls off a chair drunk, it's just a drunk. If a Negro does, it's the whole damn Negro race.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-cosby/if-a-white-man-falls-off-a-chair-drunk-it-s-just-a-drunk-if-a-negro/) [Bill Cosby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-cosby/) > [Seek out your brothers and sisters of other cultures and join together in building alliances to put an end to all forms of racial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernice-king/seek-out-your-brothers-and-sisters-of-other-cultures-and-join/) [Bernice King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernice-king/) ## More by Ian Haney López > [“Alabama in 1927 alone, 27,701 men were arrested on misdemeanor charges and offered for sale by county sheriffs. In Blackmon’s estimation, “roughly half of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-haney-l-pez/alabama-in-1927-alone-27-701-men-were-arrested-on-misdemeanor-charges/) [Ian Haney López](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-haney-l-pez/) > [“Start with the first half of Phillips’ statement, the claim that economic issues favored the Democrats when government programs “taxed the few for the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-haney-l-pez/start-with-the-first-half-of-phillips-statement-the-claim-that/) [Ian Haney López](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-haney-l-pez/) > [“the confluence of racial prejudice and conservative politics is the new racism. It’s a product of almost a half-century of ethnic discourse and coded…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-haney-l-pez/the-confluence-of-racial-prejudice-and-conservative-politics-is-the/) [Ian Haney López](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-haney-l-pez/) > [“When the children were asked how many white people were “mean,” they commonly answered “almost none.” But when asked how many blacks were mean,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-haney-l-pez/when-the-children-were-asked-how-many-white-people-were-mean-they/) [Ian Haney López](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-haney-l-pez/) > [“Kevin Phillips also saw clearly that success lay in stimulating racial antipathies among whites across the country. For Phillips, if there was a regional…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-haney-l-pez/kevin-phillips-also-saw-clearly-that-success-lay-in-stimulating/) [Ian Haney López](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-haney-l-pez/) > [“The Tea Party that reenergized the GOP in 2010 and that implacably attacked Obama turned out to be a familiar nemesis of liberalism and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-haney-l-pez/the-tea-party-that-reenergized-the-gop-in-2010-and-that-implacably/) [Ian Haney López](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-haney-l-pez/) > [“Reagan Democrats increasingly extended their antipathy from nonwhites to government as a whole. “These white Democratic defectors express a profound distaste for blacks, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-haney-l-pez/reagan-democrats-increasingly-extended-their-antipathy-from-nonwhites/) [Ian Haney López](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-haney-l-pez/) > [“In the wake of 1984’s pummeling the Michigan Democratic Party commissioned Stanley Greenberg, then a political scientist and later a preeminent Democratic pollster, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-haney-l-pez/in-the-wake-of-1984-s-pummeling-the-michigan-democratic-party/) [Ian Haney López](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-haney-l-pez/) > [“After 2012, Republicans controlled all 11 state legislatures of the former Confederacy, and their campaign tactics centered more than ever on depicting themselves as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-haney-l-pez/after-2012-republicans-controlled-all-11-state-legislatures-of-the/) [Ian Haney López](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-haney-l-pez/) > [“The core insight of modern liberalism is powerfully simple: we all benefit from a society that provides for the economic security and wellbeing of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-haney-l-pez/the-core-insight-of-modern-liberalism-is-powerfully-simple-we-all/) [Ian Haney López](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-haney-l-pez/) > [“Racial attacks on liberalism shifted the enemy of the middle class from big money to lazy minorities, and transmuted economic programs that helped to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-haney-l-pez/racial-attacks-on-liberalism-shifted-the-enemy-of-the-middle-class/) [Ian Haney López](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-haney-l-pez/) > [“Dog whistling comes out of the South and its preoccupation with blacks, but it always involved equal opportunity racism, and never more so than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-haney-l-pez/dog-whistling-comes-out-of-the-south-and-its-preoccupation-with/) [Ian Haney López](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-haney-l-pez/) > [“This is not to portray race as simply one among many issues, each with equal weight; instead, race has been the principal weapon in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-haney-l-pez/this-is-not-to-portray-race-as-simply-one-among-many-issues-each-with/) [Ian Haney López](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-haney-l-pez/) > [“In 1963, Robert Novak had written that many Republican leaders were intent on converting the Party of Lincoln into the White Man’s Party. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-haney-l-pez/in-1963-robert-novak-had-written-that-many-republican-leaders-were/) [Ian Haney López](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-haney-l-pez/) > [“Even so, unlike most in society, these politicians thought long and deep about how to turn race to their advantage. We’ve previously defined strategic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-haney-l-pez/even-so-unlike-most-in-society-these-politicians-thought-long-and/) [Ian Haney López](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-haney-l-pez/) [Explore all 23 Ian Haney López quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-haney-l-pez/) ## More Racial discrimination quotes > [It is of the highest importance to provide equal access to the labour market. Governments should act to establish equitable employment standards and penalise…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tariq-ramadan/it-is-of-the-highest-importance-to-provide-equal-access-to-the-labour/) [Tariq Ramadan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tariq-ramadan/) > [Racial discrimination in elections in Texas is no mere historical artifact. To the contrary, Texas has been found in violation of the Voting Rights…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-bader-ginsburg/racial-discrimination-in-elections-in-texas-is-no-mere-historical/) [Ruth Bader Ginsburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-bader-ginsburg/) > [Unconditional love will have the final word in reality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/unconditional-love-will-have-the-final-word-in-reality/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [That is what I want to make clear today. A man with a long history of racial discrimination, who traffics in dark conspiracy theories…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/that-is-what-i-want-to-make-clear-today-a-man-with-a-long-history-of/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [Racial discrimination is illegal. It's illegal in the United States. It's illegal in Arizona. It has been and it will continue to be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jan-brewer/racial-discrimination-is-illegal-it-s-illegal-in-the-united-states-it/) [Jan Brewer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jan-brewer/) > [If a white man falls off a chair drunk, it's just a drunk. If a Negro does, it's the whole damn Negro race.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-cosby/if-a-white-man-falls-off-a-chair-drunk-it-s-just-a-drunk-if-a-negro/) [Bill Cosby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-cosby/) > [Seek out your brothers and sisters of other cultures and join together in building alliances to put an end to all forms of racial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernice-king/seek-out-your-brothers-and-sisters-of-other-cultures-and-join/) [Bernice King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernice-king/) > [Racial discrimination in public education is unconstitutional…All provisions of federal, state or local law requiring or permitting such discrimination must yield to this principle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-warren/racial-discrimination-in-public-education-is-unconstitutional-all/) [Earl Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-warren/) > [Communism will never be defeated by atomic bombs. Our greatest defense against Communism is to take offensive action on behalf of justice and righteousness.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/communism-will-never-be-defeated-by-atomic-bombs-our-greatest-defense/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [“When you truly believe that the racial groups are equal, then you also believe that racial disparities must be the result of racial discrimination.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ibram-x-kendi/when-you-truly-believe-that-the-racial-groups-are-equal-then-you-also/) [Ibram X. Kendi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ibram-x-kendi/) > [The way to stop discrimination on the basis of race is to speak openly and candidly on the subject of race, and to apply…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonia-sotomayor/the-way-to-stop-discrimination-on-the-basis-of-race-is-to-speak/) [Sonia Sotomayor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonia-sotomayor/) > [I wasn't thinking about history. I was thinking about how we were going to end segregation at lunch counters in Atlanta, Georgia.We would have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marian-wright-edelman/i-wasn-t-thinking-about-history-i-was-thinking-about-how-we-were/) [Marian Wright Edelman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marian-wright-edelman/) > [“In 1866, Congress enforced the abolition of slavery by passing a Civil Rights Act, prohibiting actions that it deemed perpetuated the characteristics of slavery.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rothstein/in-1866-congress-enforced-the-abolition-of-slavery-by-passing-a-civil/) [Richard Rothstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rothstein/) > [“…I wondered if there had been a more corroding and devastating attack upon the personalities of men than the idea of racial discrimination.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-wright/i-wondered-if-there-had-been-a-more-corroding-and-devastating-attack/) [Richard Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-wright/) > [“In the twenty-first century, the visions of J.C. Nichols and Walt Disney have come full circle and joined. “Neighborhoods” are increasingly “developments,” corporate theme…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tanner-colby/in-the-twenty-first-century-the-visions-of-j-c-nichols-and-walt/) [Tanner Colby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tanner-colby/) [Browse all 116 Racial discrimination quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/racial-discrimination/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“We would like to believe that if the polity understood that race-baiting continues to be widely practiced, people would repudiate it. 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