Vox writer David Roberts asked his Twitter followers whether white people “have a positive or negative effect on America” in a poll on Tuesday.
Do white people have a positive or negative effect on America?
— David Roberts (@drvox) July 24, 2018
Roberts, who writes about energy and climate change for the site, said he decided to delve into the issue of the effects of “white people” after seeing a Public Religion Research Institute poll that asked Americans their thoughts about “racial diversity.”
The results of the poll showed that more than 6 out of 10 Americans had a positive view, with the trend propelled by large majorities among Democrats. Among Republicans, 50 percent of respondents had a negative view, while just 43 percent held a positive view.
“One thing white people have never experienced is a poll on whether their presence in their own country is intrinsically detrimental,” said Roberts, explaining his decision to launch the poll.
One thing white people have never experienced is a poll on whether their presence in their own country is intrinsically detrimental.
— David Roberts (@drvox) July 24, 2018
The Roberts survey, however, turned into a bit of a self-own after results showed voters thought white people did have a positive effect on the country by an overwhelming 82 percent margin. Nearly 23,00o people voted in the poll.
Vox is the flagship publication of Vox Media.
“David’s tweet was in response to an opinion poll by the Public Research Institute asking Americans whether racial diversity — that is, more non-white people — has a positive or negative effect on the country,” a company spokesperson told TheWrap.
“His tweets, including the poll, simply made the point that white people are rarely the subject of such questions and would be uncomfortable if they were.”
This isn’t the first time that Vox personalities have offered blue meat to their fans and readers. Website co-founder Matthew Yglesias had compared the Trump White House to Nazi Germany, while Joshua Topolsky, founder of Vox Media’s The Verge, said conservative publisher Ben Shapiro — for whom praise is often frowned upon — was like “the Jew who helps other Jews onto the train.”