Wednesday 3 November 2010

Whites As Other?



The group i have chosen to research and blog about for people considered as 'other' in moder America is the idea that white people are now or soon to be a minority in America. With the ever increasing Hispanic population in America along with a steady increase of middle eastern immigration it is predicted that in the very near future white people will not be the majority in America.


The site i have chosen to analyse which discusses this issue is http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2009/01/the-end-of-white-america/7208/


This site for a magazine 'The Atlantic' goes into great detail about the rise of non white population in America and also makes reference to De Crevecoeur's 'What is an American' quoting "The Election of Barack Obama is just the most startling manifestation of a larger trend: the gradual erosion of “whiteness” as the touchstone of what it means to be American. If the end of white America is a cultural and demographic inevitability, what will the new mainstream look like—and how will white Americans fit into it? What will it mean to be white when whiteness is no longer the norm? And will a post-white America be less racially divided—or more so?"


This quotation fortunately placed at the head of the article sums up the ideas and beliefs the author and presumably this site has about the "End of White America." this site whilst expressing valid concerns and stating genuine statistics does have an element of racism incorporated into it, for example stating that the election of Obama marks the erosion of white dominance in America. the site also states that books such as 'The Rise of the Colored Empires' as essential reading and should be mandatory in schools, there are also quotations int he article such as “Colored migration is a universal peril, menacing every part of the white world.”


despite the racist overtones of the article genuine facts and statistics are stated and discussed for example the following is described as a genuine concern to white America, but the information discussed how in several years predominantly white cities and even states will be within 50 years majority Hispanic providing the Hispanic migration to the states continues. the source also states cities which already have no majority race. the article does try to balance the racist overtones with a positive view of immigration in the final sentence of the following quotation.


Today, largely because of immigration, there is no majority race in Hawaii or Houston or New York City. Within five years, there will be no majority race in our largest state, California. In a little more than 50 years, there will be no majority race in the United States. No other nation in history has gone through demographic change of this magnitude in so short a time ... [These immigrants] are energizing our culture and broadening our vision of the world. They are renewing our most basic values and reminding us all of what it truly means to be American.


No comments: