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?

• 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).

First Published on The Drum 16/11/2010

If the mid-term drubbings and G20 currency fisticuffs with China are not enough, Barack Obama will return home with more bad news: Australians think his nation has lost its mojo.

While Julia Gillard and entourage were all smiles at the official photo call, they politely chose not to disclose they were representing a nation that thinks the USA is in decline.

In fact, 60 per cent of all surveyed in this week’s Essential Report see the American Empire’s influence becoming weaker, with just 20 per cent believing the USA’s influence on the world is on the rise.

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