Before proceeding, have a look at this interview between journalist Jorge Ramos and white nationalist Jared Taylor.
Over the past year, I’ve been thinking a lot about race relations in this country. Needless to say, we are in a terrible situation. A leader of the alt-right movement, Steve Bannon, is the commander-in-chief’s right-hand man. (Now repeat that again.) That speaks volumes. Would we have ever imagined this a year ago?
We are an incredibly divided nation right now. There are a slew of divisive topics that I would consider “lightning rod issues”: abortion, gay marriage … issues that people have tried and failed to find common ground on. The old advice of “agreeing to disagree” (a.k.a. the “if you don’t agree with X, don’t do X” principle) does not seem to work anymore.
I mention these lightning rod issues because as serious as they are, in my opinion, they pale in comparison to race relations. In the interview above, Ramos discusses a popular statistic about when whites will become a minority in this country: 2044. One of my main concerns recently is that I don’t think most people have figured out how they feel about this. With abortion and gay marriage, most people figured out a long time ago which side of the debate they fall and they’ve come to terms with their decision. But this demographic crash-course we’re on is a different animal. Whereas its arguable that an “agree to a disagree” approach is at least viable for issues about what people DO, this issue is about what people ARE. The anti-immigrant fury, increased hate crimes, rise of the alt-right … it’s going nowhere fast. That’s why we have to start discussing this now.
When I hear that statistic, 2044, I’m always puzzled by it. I don’t know how scientists can even come up with a number when there are so many variables in play. Is it just blind extrapolation based on birth and death rates? That sounds naive. Have they considered all of the other factors that could affect that date? Immigration quotas, deportations, internment … eugenics…worse? I’d like to ask anyone reading this who is part of our white/Christian majority to ask themselves an honest question: How would you feel about being a minority in your country?
Regardless of how you just answered that question in your head, I promise not to label you a “racist”. I know that sets a lot of people off these days. I’ve heard so many Trump supporters vehemently deny they are racist. They just want to promote “American values.” What does that mean? All my life, I’ve encountered people who get so upset over what they term “identity politics” (a.k.a. “hyphenated” Americans): Afro-American, Latino-American, Asian-American, etc. (Though no one seems to mind the Irish- or Italian-American pride stickers here in Boston.) They will often say, “What’s with the hyphen? Why can’t you just say you’re an ‘American’?” Sounds like a simple question, right? But it’s not, it’s coded language. In my opinion, what they are often asking in a round-about way is whether I believe in American values as the majority has defined them. Okay, let’s cut to the case: they want to know whether you are one of “those people” who:
- asks for non-Christian holidays off from work, or
- wants to add a halal or kosher menu at your school, or
- drinks from a red Starbucks cup at Christmastime and thinks nothing of it.
Basically, they are asking if you quietly accept the majority and won’t do anything to upset the apple cart.
“Wow, does this asshole think every question is this loaded?” If you’ve made it this far, you might be thinking, “This guy’s just a race-baiter.” It may sound like I have a problem with “whiteness” or Christianity. I most certainly do not. I use those terms only because they happen to be the majority in our country. I know full well that if I asked members of my own extended family in India, “How would you feel if you woke up tomorrow and you were a minority?,” they would smack me upside the head. But that’s what’s supposed to make us as Americans different. We are not a country that is supposed to accept a de facto majority. If that’s not true, we really need to come clean. (And it’s not unheard of. At least Israel is honest about it!) It won’t come easy. Are we up for the challenge? I hope so. I have to think that the many wonderful liberal-minded people I’ve met in my life will be on the front-lines as we face this together.
Look, this is important. If we don’t come to terms with this now, it’ll only snowball. I want to do everything possible to ensure we make progress on this before my kids grow up. In 2044 (if that is even the “magic date”), my kids will be in their late 20s, early 30s. They will have to deal with an increasingly agitated majority. I am honestly scared for their future.
Perhaps when that day comes in 2044 (or whenever), when the majority is teetering on 51%, when they refer to themselves as hyphenated “White-Americans” (it’s already happening now), this is what I want to instill in my kids: I want them to ask their peers the same question that’s always been posed to me: “Are you a White-American? Or are you an American?” But this time, they won’t be speaking in code. They won’t use “American” to mean any particular demographic or hierarchy thereof. They will be speaking to the ideals our founders, in their heart of hearts, intended (even if they did not always live by them): liberty, equality, democracy. Nothing less.
