Racism Lives On Under the Cover of 'Religious Freedom'
http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2014/06/american-racism-lives-on-under-the-cover-of-religious-freedom/372083/A small portion of the population believes people should have the right not to serve black people—and even more believe the same thing about Jews, atheists, gays, and lesbians.
EMMA GREEN
JUN 4 2014, 7:00 AM ET
The Woolworth's lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina, where black students staged a sit-in on February 1, 1960. (Wikimedia Commons)
In most parts of America, "separate but equal" seems like the vestige of a bygone era. Segregated lunch counters, race-divided bathrooms, signs reading "whites only"—these are anachronisms of the 1960s, half a century into the country's past.
Except where they're not.
In an interesting new survey, the Public Religion Research Institute found that 10 percent of Americans believe business owners should be able to refuse to serve black people if they see that as a violation of their religious beliefs. This was pretty much the same across regions, too; the Northwest and the Midwest had slightly higher percentages than the South and the West. Gen X-ers, not old people, were most likely to agree—13 percent said they support the right to refuse. Men were slightly more likely to agree than women, and Catholics slightly more likely than Protestants. Hispanics were the biggest outlier by far: 18 percent agreed with the right to refuse service to blacks.
Ten percent of the population may not seem like a lot, but it points to how racism and segregation are still potent 50 years after the end of Jim Crow. In the past five decades since the peak of the civil-rights movement, some racial policies have changed—for example, workplace discrimination has been outlawed. That doesn't mean prejudice has disappeared; quite the opposite, actually. But this particular attitude, that outward racial discrimination is permissible because of a "religious belief," seems extreme and dated; these days, socially acceptable racism is a lot more subtle.
more at link
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White. Male. I don't have much to complain about. Society advances me every courtesy for the most part. Which is troubling in its own right.
I spent an hour trying to break into a U-Haul that was locked with the keys inside (Fuck U-Haul, they don't care at all if you need help with that) nobody called the cops on me. An hour. I'm clearly breaking into a locked vehicle in full daylight. (I was hoping a cop would swing by, could have used a slim-jim and I know they have them in their trunks. And there's another advantage. I look to the police as a source of HELP, without fear. That's not universal in the populace.)
On the other hand, I also want to know when XYZ business discriminates against other people. Because I will totally vote with my feet there too. And discrimination can be difficult to detect. It's not even clear if all people who render sub-standard service due to their prejudices, are even consciously aware of it. I grew up, not aware of this. (Again, an advantage. 
) I was sick when I learned about this study. In this day and age. I had no idea. I felt so ignorant.
http://news.ncsu.edu/releases/wms-rusche-restaurants/
And then there's the structure of the businesses themselves.
http://rocunited.org/restaurants-and-race-discrimination-and-disparity-in-the-food-service-sector/
Though, that's not even the worst. Jury pools are the worst. Last time I served, the holding room for pools had about 250 people in it. The only black person in the room, was working behind the counter. I shit you not. Not a single one. In a room that, if it was a truly random representation of the population, should have contained approximately 40 black people. It was basically a sea of white people. I am not exaggerating at all.
Response to cbayer (Original post)
