Liberal doesn't mean non prejudiced. Many White liberals intend on not being prejudiced....but many still are....although they will either never admit to it...or if they do....try to rationalize it.
The prejudice isn't normally present when these liberals deal with "big picture" views...but tends to show up when they are confronted with issues that touch them on a personal level.
In the education sector, in particular....prejudice, stereotypes and plain fear is a reality. When a White child applies to a college.....their parents often fear that Affirmative Action might affect their child's chance of being accepted, so they don't "like" Affirmative Action. What they don't want to understand is that their child is competing with the 90% of Whites that will be admitted...and not the 10% others who may be given an edge due to historical reasons...and to promote diversity in the school.
White children are acclimated to believe that the minorities they might see on their campus are simply not really qualified and did not get in due to merit. Many times, this is simply non-factual. What may be true is that a minority's experiences and point of reference might be viewed by the admin as a more valuable asset to the school...than say...the fact that Dick Smith played soccer for 6 years. The fact that Rhonda Jackson's SAT score is 10 points lower than Dick Smith may not go against her admission considerations....because maybe Dick Smith's parents were able to afford the $1,500 it took to have him do an SAT review via a special class....while Rhonda Jackson's mother barely could afford the application fee to apply to the college.
But White parents (liberal or not) tend not to want to think in those terms. Plus if their child is rejected...hell, they can always blame "Affirmative Action"...even if they have no idea as to why the child was not accepted.
Same goes with Elementary Education. The fewer minorities attending a school, the "better" the school's academic reputation is. Now, it may be that socio economics is also part of the mix...but my point is that Liberals don't want their kids going to a majority minority school any more than conversatives.
Another elementary example is a phenomenon referred to as "White Flight". When too many Blacks (less than 3 families is OK)or other minority folks move into a neighborhood (including a "liberal neigborhood...whatever that is).....it is not unusual to eventually watch the neighborhood become less and less "White" as Whites begin to "flee" thinking that property values will only go down as more minorities move in. This "White Flight" is not relegated to being the actions of "conservatives" or "liberals" Whites ....because if they are able to...most will do it.
Bottomline is that we have a lot of work to do...and know, that it will get worse before it gets better...
Here's an example:
http://home.earthlink.net/~zastar/index.htmlUndermining the Pell Grants Daunted by soaring costs, as many as a quarter of low-income students with grades and test scores that make them prime college material no longer even apply to college. This is bad news at a time when skilled jobs are moving abroad and a college diploma has become the minimum price of admission to the new economy. The Bush administration, however, could actually make this problem worse by cutting the federal Pell grant program, which was developed to encourage poor and working-class students to pursue higher education.More...
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