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Shinerbock is going based on what is called the "achievement ideology." Interestingly enough, that ideology is upheld by many whites and those of the higher socioeconomic status. But blacks and those of lower socioeconomic status have believed the same throughout history. Blacks and the working poor did (and often still do) not want to believe that they could potentially fail despite all of their efforts. They also knew that they had to work harder amid structural constraints (for an example of this, read McLeod's "Ain't No Making It" 1995).
Sure there are a lot of people in every race, gender, and social class group that have "made it." But what makes the "isms" still salient is the fact that there remain structural constraints that result in differential rewards even when people have equal investments in human, social and cultural capitals (see Oliver and Shapiro 1995; Massey and Denton 1993; McLeod 1995; Thomas 1993; Thomas and Horton 1995; and Thomas, Herring, and Horton 1994 for more details).
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