The myth of the white minority

News Type: Opinion — Seeded on Wed Aug 20, 2008 7:13 PM EDT

Article Source: The Boston Globe

us-news, racism, race, u-s, white, spin, census, majority

"WHEN THE Census Bureau announced last week that white Americans would dwindle to less than half of the US population within a generation, the media quickly spread the word.

"But there was another problem with all this coverage of how white America is becoming a minority: The Census Bureau never said it.

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Groups: Centervine, Ethnoscapes, Open Mic, Open Minded, Political Analysis, RightsVine, rightwingers
Regions: Boston

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6.4

{"commentId":2521526,"authorDomain":"krishna109"}

krishna-167929

"You can see the numbers for yourself on the Census Bureau website. In a spreadsheet titled "Projections of the Population by Race and Hispanic Origin for the United States: 2008 to 2050," the bureau forecasts a rise in the number of whites from about 243 million today to 325 million at midcentury - an increase of 82 million. A related spreadsheet gives the percentages: Whites today account for nearly 80 percent of the US population. In 2050, they'll constitute 74 percent - still a very hefty majority.

So what explains the persistent drumbeat about the impending white minority? "

{"commentId":2521526,"threadId":"335905","contentId":"1767555","authorDomain":"krishna109"}

2 votes

#1 - Wed Aug 20, 2008 7:13 PM EDT

{"commentId":2523842,"authorDomain":"tlharmon123"}

oldcrankyman

Good seed. The numbers game is all about Hispanics. They seem to be pretty much of European roots to me. The quotes from Ben Franklin and Henry Cabot Lodge are great, I guess it's true that the more things change, the more they stay the same.

That being said, it was a little weird when we moved to Indio, CA, and the Wells Fargo bank was playing Mexican music, and the Food for Less didn't have any English signs on the walls. When we went to the local DMV office, we were the only people speaking English in the building, out of 70 or so, and couldn't get driver's licenses because we couldn't prove we were Americans. If we were foreign, we could have shown our entry stamp and gotten one. Something isn't quite right there.

To be fair, if we're going to do government business in Spanish, then we need to do it in EVERY language on the planet.

Our government is doing all it can to keep people from assimilating, and thus keep us divided, makes it much less likely we'll all band together and throw the bums out.

Honest, I'm not a bigot. Honest.

{"commentId":2523842,"threadId":"335905","contentId":"1767555","authorDomain":"tlharmon123"}

3 votes

#2 - Wed Aug 20, 2008 11:45 PM EDT

{"commentId":2524209,"authorDomain":"krishna109"}

krishna-167929

In a nutshell-- what multiculturalism is about is focusing on, and emphasizing, the differences between groups of people-- not the similarities. Its a divisive game played by politicians for their own ends.

{"commentId":2524209,"threadId":"335905","contentId":"1767555","authorDomain":"krishna109"}

3 votes

#2.1 - Thu Aug 21, 2008 12:51 AM EDT

{"commentId":2524300,"authorDomain":"tlharmon123"}

oldcrankyman

Interesting that the title of the report chooses to class Hispanics as separate from "whites".

{"commentId":2524300,"threadId":"335905","contentId":"1767555","authorDomain":"tlharmon123"}

2 votes

#2.2 - Thu Aug 21, 2008 1:13 AM EDT

{"commentId":2525001,"authorDomain":"zydor"}

Zydor

Every "Race" - without exception - has been in the minority on the Planet for thousands of years - so whats new? The Boston Globe article says more about the state of mankind's intolerance and self justification than it does about reality. Frankly who cares?

{"commentId":2525001,"threadId":"335905","contentId":"1767555","authorDomain":"zydor"}

2 votes

#3 - Thu Aug 21, 2008 5:31 AM EDT

{"commentId":2537435,"authorDomain":"tlharmon123"}

oldcrankyman

Frankly who cares?

Good point.

{"commentId":2537435,"threadId":"335905","contentId":"1767555","authorDomain":"tlharmon123"}

#3.1 - Thu Aug 21, 2008 10:28 PM EDT

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