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Agreement with Protests in America

10 Jun 2020

Q. In the United States of America, protesters accuse law enforcement officers of using excessive force towards African-Americans following the death of George Floyd, an African-American man who died whilst he was being arrested. A policeman has been charged with third-degree murder following his death.

To what extent do you agree or disagree with the following statements?

  NET: Agree NET: Disagree Strongly agree Somewhat agree Somewhat disagree Strongly disagree Unsure
Protestors are right to demand better protection and treatment of African Americans in society 80% 11% 50% 30% 5% 5% 9%
Authorities in America have been unwilling to deal with institutional racism in the past, and that is why incidents like this continue to occur 78% 10% 50% 28% 6% 4% 12%
Incidents like this are only part of the wider discrimination against minority cultures in society 72% 16% 42% 30% 9% 7% 12%
The protesters want to loot and cause property damage, more than they want social change 54% 33% 30% 24% 17% 17% 12%
Incidents like this are isolated and do not provide evidence of institutional racism in police forces 33% 54% 13% 20% 26% 28% 12%

 

 NET: Agree Total Federal Voting Intention
Labor Coalition Greens TOTAL: Other
Protestors are right to demand better protection and treatment of African Americans in society 80% 84% 80% 83% 77%
Authorities in America have been unwilling to deal with institutional racism in the past, and that is why incidents like this continue to occur 78% 81% 77% 88% 77%
Incidents like this are only part of the wider discrimination against minority cultures in society 72% 77% 71% 76% 72%
The protesters want to loot and cause property damage, more than they want social change 54% 49% 65% 29% 59%
Incidents like this are isolated and do not provide evidence of institutional racism in police forces 33% 28% 44% 20% 30%
Base (n) 1,073 325 419 90 136
  • The majority of participants agree that protestors are right to demand better protection and treatment of African Americans in society (80%), authorities in America have been unwilling to deal with institutional racism in the past, and that is why incidents like this continue to occur (78%) and incidents like this are only part of the wider discrimination against minority cultures in society (72%).
  • 54% agree that the protesters want to loot and cause property damage, more than they want social change and 33% agree that incidents like this are isolated and do not provide evidence of institutional racism in police forces.
  • Participants over 55 and those with dependent children are more likely to agree that the protesters want to loot and cause property damage, more than they want social change (60% and 61%) compared to 18-34 year olds (47%) and those without children (51%).
  • Men (38%), 18-34 year olds (38%), those with a university education (39%), on a high household income (42%) or with dependent children (40%) are more likely to agree that incidents like this are isolated and do not provide evidence of institutional racism in police forces; than women (29%), 55+ year olds (28%), those with a secondary education (28%), on a low household income (31%) or without dependent children (29%).
  • While a similar proportion of Coalition voters (80%) compared to all other voters (83%), agree that protestors are right to demand better protection and treatment of African Americans in society – they are less likely to ‘strongly agree’ with this statement (40% compared to 59% of all other voters).
  • Coalition voters are also more likely to agree with the negative statements than other voters – with 65% agreeing that the protesters want to loot and cause property damage, more than they want social change (47% all other voters) and 44% agreeing that incidents like this are isolated and do not provide evidence of institutional racism in police forces (27% all other voters).
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