Posted by Sam Richards
So globalization is bringing about some profound changes as the United States makes the final turn onto the home stretch toward a truly multicultural society. We’ve long predicted that white people will become a minority group by mid century (around 2050), but this is the first real marker on that journey–their children are soon to be in minority status.
It doesn’t really matter, mind you, and I’m sure that most people reading this are wondering why it’s being reported on at all. So what is the big deal? Do you feel some sort of way about this? White people…do you feel even a twinge of concern, as though you’ll be forgotten and soon holding the short end of the stick? People of color…do you feel a tiny bit emboldened at the thought that one day people like you will be holding most of the levers of control? From within the dialogue about race and ethnic relations, this is a major issue and one that will surely reflect and change how we get on with one another down the road. Transformation happens…
Read the article: Births to Minorities Are Approaching Majority in U.S.
It is such a weird thought to me that white people will someday (soon) be considered to be a minority. As a white person, I am not bothered by this whatsoever, but it is just a crazy thought. I have never known what it is like to be considered a minority, and I really think it will be an interesting experience. I think people can learn a lot by being put into this position, because being a minority is something that a lot of people should really experience. It may sound like a naïve thing to say, especially coming from someone who is white, but to me it makes complete and entire sense. (cot'd in 2nd comment)
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As a minority I don’t really look forward to or even think that in my lifetime the U.S. will integrate in such a way where the minorities, and by minorities I mean people of color, experience the same favoritism as whites do now. I don’t really know why sam even tries to stress this now. I am a person of color who immigrated into the united states. In the previous country that was my home I was the majority in the society I lived in. Although I attended an all white private school I did not consider myself a minority. When I look back on the time I spent there I realize that I was less of a minority there than I am here. Although where I originally reside from has a huge racial history, I was part of a new generation of peoples, white and color. When I moved to the united states I instantly felt like more of a minority than ever before. But when sam talks about white people becoming a minority and people of color becoming a majority, it really means nothing to me. It feels as though sam says things like that expecting people of color to like let out a sigh of relief, as if things are really changing in a way where there is not going to be any more racial discrimination toward people of color. Anyone with half a brain knows that this is the furthest from the truth that anyone could ever be. Even if statistically whites become a minority, that means nothing. Theres still a whole mindset to overcome. Even though the statistics show whites as a minority, there will never be an end to the racism of colored people because currently whites are still in a position to hold anyone they want down. they still own the best jobs, have the most favorable positions and influences in many companies. Its easy to say that people of color should feel a certain way about eventually owning the decisions that will be made but that time is a long time from now. And honestly certainly is not going to happen in my childs lifetime or even my grandchilds. Becoming a majority will never end racism toward people of color, where there is power there is always a certain form of racism applied to all applicants. Whether it be from the people of color or whites it will never end. Globalization indeed increases the chances of people of color having legitamatie shots at real global influence. Corporations are finding that its a lot easier to have an Indian American manger leading their branch in india than a white American who doesn’t know shit about any Indian customs.
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Reading this article was boring for me probably because I don’t see this something profound enough to affect my life significantly. In high school I first learned that Spanish would soon be the dominant language spoken in America. I thought of how my life would change if Spanish became the official spoken language. Signs, call centers, television programs, etc. would all be geared toward Spanish speakers, and I would have to adapt accordingly. It was only chance that white people settled on this soil anyway. This would be a whole different story if Africans or Indians settled on America and Europeans were the immigrants today. Color is arbitrary, and whites shouldn’t be worried that they will lose their power positions and such. This article is saying that the total of minority births are increasing to fifty percent. This means that no single minority is growing in population, but the combined total is. Therefore whites may still have unfair advantage over any single minority (blacks, etc) but comparing total blacks and browns to total whites, the numbers will be close to equal. This is not a bad thing by any stretch, but it will change the world we live in. I try to imagine what the world would be like when minorities and whites are at a balanced level. Fashion magazines will show more people of color to advertise beauty and products, because beauty and such is only defined by society. This could also change the baby doll experiment to be more equal. I look forward to more diverse cuisine, music, and culture in American towns. This will make us a truly multicultural society. I just hope that wealth becomes more balanced as minorities increase, otherwise we will be dealing with a crime rate that is out of control. Naturally, as minority populations increase, their political representation probably will too. It could be beneficial to have a diverse representation in congress and even in corporations. As a white person, I feel that my status will not be affected by changing numbers like this because the birth rate is still mostly white, and whites have been in power positions for so long that their leadership positions are branded into the corporate and political world by nepotism. I feel no reason to be concerned as well because I doubt that minorities will revolt against whites when they finally become the majority. Strength in numbers is quite a primitive form of power to rule the United States. I feel that this is just another inevitable event in world history. The changing of the guard so to speak. The systems and functions of the world follow cycles, and growth of certain ethnicities and decrease of others is just another cycle.
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Personally, I don’t think that this article is doing much more than reporting on a trend that I think most of us are well aware of. The majority, and I say majority with no ethnic meaning, simply everyone regardless of racial background, of people in this country have a pretty solid grasp on the fact that the minority groups in the United States are growing at an astonishing rate. Also, they compare all minorities together, as a whole, against white non-Hispanic people. So, even if all of those minorities together reach the halfway point, being 50 percent of the total population of the United States, or beyond, white, non-Hispanics would still be the largest racial group in the country.
As a white non-Hispanic, I don’t feel concerned about what’s happening too much and I don’t think there’s that much to be concerned about as far as the minority groups growing in the United States. I don’t think immigration is a problem as long as it’s done legally, but it’s well known that there is quite a bit of illegal immigration going on every day. Based on principle alone, I don’t think that we have the right to deny anyone access to this country, because it wasn’t ours to begin with. Europeans came in and conquered the Native Americans, completely stealing their land out from underneath them, so we have no right to say that this is so wrong of other minority groups to come in. It would be highly hypocritical to do that, but at the same time we almost have no choice, because it is getting so out of hand. This leaves us with quite a dilemma in which the only way to deal with it is to go against what is morally right.
The biggest problem I see is with the overall population growth. There are only so many resources in this country and on this planet for that matter. The statistic that there were ten Hispanic births for every one Hispanic death is pretty mind-blowing. Sadly, they’re just making it worse on themselves for the future, because I would be willing to bet that the majority of them are not being born into families that are particularly well off. I think that it’s also a pretty significant statistic that only 39 percent of Hispanic children under 4 years old have two native born parents. This just goes to show how fast people are pouring into our country and how recently it’s been occurring. I’m all for people bettering themselves and trying to benefit their families and many people do that by trying to seek refuge here in the United States. I’m not against people trying to get ahead, but unfortunately we must consider at what cost that comes.
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I am actually very interested in what’s to come down the road. Before reading this article I had no idea about the racial and ethnic population of the United States could see a shift. I can’t say I am surprised though. With more and more immigration happening, it’s definitely inevitable that more minority births are going to be occurring. Eventually if whites so become the minority, I am dying to know what this country will be like. If I had to guess, I do not think anything will change. I think that white people will still be seen as “on top” by people of different ethnicities. Although I feel that way, I also think that if black or brown or Asian people became the majority then maybe racism in this country will finally come to an end. Because what it all boils down to is skin color. It doesn’t matter where you’re from, a person is a person. I definitely think that there are some people who will be absolutely appalled, especially the older generation, that would think of white becoming the minority as the end of the world. But really is it a big deal? Recently we have been seeing more and more interracial marriages which have led to mixing races and less purely white children being born. I think that this is wonderful. I think my generation is more adapted and open to new cultures and ethnicities that it really won’t be such an issue in our future. Now if this was happening in this day and age or even 20 years back then there would definitely be some sort of uproar. I’m actually quite open and even excited to see this happen. I find different ethnicities intriguing and I love to learn about different cultures. I think it would be beneficial to our society to have new things to learn about and new relationships to form with things that we are not so much familiar with. I definitely cannot wait to see what is going to happen when and if whites become the minority of the United States. I’m wondering though if today’s minorities will somehow try and “strike back” against the white people because of what has happened to minorities years back. That is the only thing that I am some what scared of. I could understand how they would feel, but as a white person who was brought up not judging people by what they look like and having a family who supports minorities, I just hope that nothing like that happens. I can’t wait to see what the future holds and I hope I’m not the only white person who is actually really interested and excited about this idea.
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I find this topic to be pretty interesting and I am curious to see how this country will change, if it all, when whites do actually become the minority racial group. Also, many people seem to think there will be some type of power struggle or that whites are afraid of other groups "taking over" but I really don't think its going to make that big of a difference. The people with money will continue to hold the power in this country just as they do now, white or black or brown. Also, it will be interesting to see if the media will accurately reflect this change in numbers by further representing black and brown people over white people, as other races are currently underrepresented.
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I think it is great! This class has opened my eyes to the importance of diversity in peoples’ lives and if the whites are no longer majority, then perhaps it would be harder to run away from diversity. Also I think it would strengthen the culture of white people and maybe even instill a sense of pride that is lacking. I am not talking about white racist pride, but the pride that other cultures have in their own culture. I look forward to the day when America is in all honesty the big melting pot that it claims to be.
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The prospect of a society in which people of color are the majority is only somewhat weird to me. As a white person I have become quite used to being considered a member of the majority. But if white people do eventually become the minority, I won't be too worried because I feel like everyone will still pretty much keep to their own race for the most part. One aspect of this possibility that kind of scares me is the fact that if minorities turn in to the majority they will all vote for people that will favor the cause of their fellow minorities. This might seem racist, but let me explain what I mean in that last sentence. I feel like leaders would get elected who harbor ill will towards white people and that this would cause them to propose laws that would purposely help out people of colors and disadvantage white people.
There is one thing that kind of bothers me about the thing. The fact that Mexicans will be the main cause of this shift in population kind of makes me mad because illegal aliens will likely contribute to this change. It's pretty much common knowledge that this group of people are extremely prolific, I think the statistic is that like 8 hispanics are born for every one that dies. So their pretty much going to become the majority at some point. This makes me mad because a lot of them come into this country illegally, unlike most white (and black) peoples ancestors. Its like their taking over a country they have no business being in in the first place. I guess I can't complain though because our mostly white politicians are unbelievably soft on the issue of illegal immigration, allowing their kids to attend schools and providing medical care for them.
That probably sounded a bit xenophobic, but that's really the way I feel about it. So sorry if you take offense to it.
Even though there is a distinct possibility that people of color will take over, I am not to worried because I think it is more likely that white people will still maintain their power. I mean our society is pretty much structured in a way that gives the majority of white people an advantage in pretty much everything. White people will still probably attend the best schools, live in the nicest areas, and hold most of the positions of power simply because that's how society in America has always been. I mean, the majority of Americans is eventually going to be people of color, but all that's probably going to mean is that their just more poor people of color, again because that's simply the way society in America has always functioned.
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Being a white male, I this doesn't really strike me as surprising. I agree with Sam, why is this being reported? Is this say we all should be afraid or something like that? I think this might have an undertone that there might be more racial equality, if more people are willing to have children with someone of another race. So this is actually a good thing in my perspective. I also think that this would be hard to see in an area like Penn State that is mostly white, and closer to a metropolitian area this might be more evident. Would this mean that for our children (college students now) will the affirmative action tables be turned? I guess we can only wait and see.
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When I first read this article, I was thinking about many things. First, would the non-Hispanic Caucasians still consider themselves to be the majority even though they will no longer be in the majority? When this officially happens there is a chance that it could be really bad for the people in the majority now because the people who will soon be in the majority could try and force their way into the majority and power through violence or other means that could result in violence. Than I thought that this was all common sense, because it was obvious that eventually the whites would no longer be in the majority.
I than wondered whether the White would still be in the majority just because of how everything is viewed. Even though on paper it may say that there are fewer whites than everybody else I don’t believe that we will notice a change at all. The people in control would still be white and the people getting screwed out of everything would still be the minorities. I can’t think of a way for this to change, even if the white people are no longer in the majority, because it is too deeply rooted inside of everybody that the white people have the power right now. Maybe in a couple of generations when the white people haven’t been in the majority for years you may start to see a change in who holds the power reins and who has all the control but I can’t see it happening in any of our lifetime’s or even happening in our kid’s lifetimes.
Another thing I thought about was that even though the white people would be in the minorities it doesn’t mean it wouldn’t be the majority in terms of race groups. White people tend to categorize every racial group that isn’t white into the minority group. Just because white people do that doesn’t mean every group does that so the African American racial group may still see themselves as being in the minority cause there would still be less African Americans in the United States than White people and the same thing with Mexican Americans. Just because as a whole, the minority group of people will soon be bigger than all the white people in the United States doesn’t mean the minority groups themselves think of it that way, since they all see themselves as being completely different from each other.
While reading this article I was thinking about many things but I feel like this article is just simply going to disappear and not really be acknowledged by anybody after this because the white people in power are going to try and pretend that they are still in the majority group so they can stay in power as long as possible.
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No real news here, I think everyone saw this coming. That interesting for me however, was that it is actually HAPPENING. Here’s what I mean, for years this topic has been brought up and it always sparked a conversation, but noting really serious. Everyone just accepted it and went about their business. Now that the time has actually come, I'm interested in hearing how those conversations evolve amongst people now.
For me, its not really a big deal. I don’t think it will ever affect me or my children. I don’t think we will even notice the transition outside of the amount of coverage it’s going to receive on the news.
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This article was really annoying, and I really think it is irritating because people continue to keep track of humans and categorize them by the color of their skin. I understand that people stereotype each other by the color of their skin and associate the actions of one person with other people who look like them. I understand that is not fair, and I don’t think anyone should be identified by something they did not do or something over which they do not control. But as long as people comply with the system and give the Census and other surveyors their racial information, race will continue to be an issue. Seriously. What good does this data do? Yes, it will be really weird when I am an old lady to see America as a country of people who are brown and not white. But everywhere you go today, there are already people of different color skins. What is the point of knowing the percentage of white people and Hispanics and Asians. The only importance I would see in this data is for the purpose of stopping job discrimination based on skin color. For example if in a town, people discovered that while the town was 90% Hispanic, but 90% of the jobs were held by white people, then there would obviously be a call of unfair and detrimental discrimination.
In reference to the article specifically though, this paragraph stood out. “The social and economic realities of children had deteriorated, while the circumstances of the elderly had improved,” they write in the journal Population and Development Review. “Will America’s older, largely white population — through the ballot box and collective self-interest — support young people who are now much different culturally from themselves and their own children? Will they vote, for example, to raise taxes for schools that serve young people of ethnic backgrounds different from theirs?”
At first I was really insulted that this was even asked. I don’t think any old person enjoys paying school taxes when they do not have children who are using the school system anymore. I have even noticed many people in my county already who complain about paying public school taxes when they DO have children because they send their children to private schools. Why should they pay taxes for the school if they don’t think the public school is good enough and if they have to pay thousands of dollars anyway to send their kid somewhere else? People still pay it anyway.
I think this question about older white people is really fucking racist. So the white people are going to be the ones saying “hell no” to raising taxes to help young people of different ethnic backgrounds? Just the white people? No. That won’t happen. And seriously if “white people” feel pissy about the world being taken over by colored people, they probably would want taxes raised to deter poor people from living in that area. Or since education is supposed to be for the improvement of a community, they WOULD pay taxes and WOULD want better schools so that,{ if we are assuming the white people think colored people are degenerates, which to me is what the article is implying,} improving the quality of schools would be the ONLY way to civilize the brown people. Whatever. This is typical New York Times socialist-favoring bullshit that tries to make white people feel bad and tries to bring questions to people’s minds in a certain manner to make you think that white people are racist and hindering brown people. Write about something that actually matters. Biased Liberal Rag. I’m going to go drink now.
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Who cares if whites become a minority group. There are people dying all over the world yet we spent countless amount of hours discussing and arguing who runs the world. Whites, blacks, Asians, Mixed people or the rainbow? Why? Why is it such a big deal. It really does not make a difference who is a minority and who is not. A minority is defined as, a group of people who differ racially or politically from a larger group of people. Everyone has been a minority at some point in their life. Sometimes you might be the only one who believes a certain away about a topic and a lot of people are disagreeing with you, there you are a minority. Doesn't mean you are any less of a person or human. This is basically trying to make the argument that it is okay for others to be considered the minority in societies but is unethical for whites to reach that point. Like I said before, I have other things to worry about than the whites fearing that they will loose their "superiority".
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I have not thought of this topic much before. I wonder what our future generations will look like. Whites becoming a minority seems far away, but I think it will hit us sooner than we realize. Unlike many people, this does not really scare me. Whites have been dominant all over the world for a long time, and I think since this is a country for all races and ethnicity it is only right that other colors take dominance as well. Maybe this well decrease racism, and cause more interactions between different races. This will definitely be a big and interesting development.
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As a white female, I'm not quite sure what exactly my reaction SHOULD be to this article. My explanation for the upcoming minority to majority is culture. I really believe it's as simple as that. I feel that Hispanic/Latino culture, as well as African American culture, put special value and emphasis on family life, especially large families. I believe that unless a white person comes from a large family, they don't really want a big family themselves when they begin to have children. What does this new minority to majority mean for whites? Honestly, at first I was worried that people of color would secretly love every minute of it and bask in their new majority glory. The more I thought about it, however, is that even though whites may not be the majority anymore, at least for some time, whites will still have a majority of the wealth. I'm not saying that I'm happy/sad about that, it just seems logical.
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After read this article, I do not really feel concerned that white people will soon become the minority. I honestly think it will take an extremely long time in order for that to happen, must longer then the year 2050. But I do think that it will happen eventually. There are so many different immigrants migrating to the United States at such a rapid pace. I am studying to be an elementary school teacher and I have observed and taught in a number of different classrooms and it is amazing to see the amount of diversity there is within the classroom. A lot of times I ended up being the minority in the classroom and sometimes even the school. I never once felt uncomfortable or out of place. I think that this is just a way of life and we need to start embracing it because that is where our country is heading.
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Personally, I really enjoyed reading the article, "Births to Minorities are Approaching Majority in U.S.". While I'm not surprised by the facts stated in the article, I think that it's very eye-opening to have the cold, hard truth about the transformation that the United States is currently going through and will be going through over the next several decades. As a white woman, I find it to be honestly terrifying that by 2050, the white population will mostly likely be the minority.
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Take Penn State for example…I'm very used to walking across campus every day and being in a sea of white faces. It becomes almost a comfort level for me to be in such familiar surroundings, since I also come from a very small town with mostly all white people. At times I do wish that the Penn State University Park campus was more diverse, just so that I could feel like I was growing more culturally. It makes me wonder if once white people become the minority, will we be treated as other minorities are treated presently? Everyone, no matter what color, deserves to be respected, and it scares me to think that in 2050, the white population could be treated as though they are lesser than everyone else just because they will be the minority. It comes down to the fact that people are not 100% comfortable in situations, unless they have familiar people and surroundings around.
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I feel like in order for there to not be so much controversy in our world, people just need to have more experience. People need to have their eyes wide opened to society to really understand what people go through. Maybe this way, people will not be so hypocritical or ignorant. It may also be naïve to think that placing every single person in a minority group will cure all of the hatred that occurs in today’s society, but I definitely think it will have a huge impact. For example, I have been a waitress for the past four years, and I think this is also something that everybody needs to experience. If this happened, I really think a lot more people would be appreciative of the service that they receive when they are in a restaurant. To be honest, I really feel like I could be a minority when I am waitressing; people are rude and mean for absolutely no reason, and it is probably just because they think they have some sort of power over me. (cot'd in 3rd comment)
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Honestly? It is completely absurd. There is no reason for any of this. That is why I think that if everyone had the chance to waitress and really see how hard of a job it can be, no one would ever take their service for granted. Similarly, if everyone had the chance to be categorized as a minority, they would realize that it is just as stupid to take any single person for granted. This happens way too often in society, and it is such a scary thing to witness. Therefore, I really think that globalization can be one of the best things that will happen to our world today. People need more experiences (of any kind), and this is definitely one of the ways that this can happen. People need exposure. As typical as it may sound, everyone needs to realize what it is like to be placed in somebody else’s shoes. It is too easy of a concept, but it needs to happen.
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I find this article and topic very interesting because it shows how we have progressed over our American history. Things like this normally do not come to mind for the average person. We've been so accustomed to the whites as majority and everyone else as minority that it's understandable that many people are shocked by this. I know I am as a minority myself. It's not even that I feel some kind of triumph deep down over this. I am just happy to see the progression towards equality in that department. Just reading the article has caused many questions to pop up in my mind. I just thought about how things would really change if everyone knew that whites are not the majority anymore and colored are not the minority. Even to take it to another level, I am thinking about how it would be if the minority then becomes the majority. I feel like this will truly effect those people who have a racist mind at heart. Some of the white racists or supremacists will definitely be angry at this. It makes me think about the video we saw in class with the two little girls who were white supremacists. How will something like this change their perspective on their view of racism? How will it change their mother's view of racism? It may not even change. She can just make up more things to counterattack the progress there has been. On the other hand, the racist colored people could become more radical. By becoming equal or even exceeding to majority can cause them to have too high of a head in regards to how they view whites. Because of that want to retaliate, there will definitely be negative effects. Deep down, I knew something like this would eventually happen. With the rate of immigration accompanied with decades over decades, America is definitely expected to have no majority eventually. When I was younger, I can remember not fully understanding things in social studies class because of the fact that the terms majority and minority were used. That, in combination with the fact that they always called America the melting pot, I was wondering how it is that we so called have so much diversity, yet minority is seen as a controversial topic. But now that I have matured and understand much more about this, I sorta knew that this would happen eventually. I am glad about it and am still just a little shocked. I find it a good thing to inform people about though. Especially for our younger generations. It will be better for them to grow up thinking that there is equality now and that inequality was just a part of the past.
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When I first read "white minorities," I really did not care. Race is not a topic I discuss frequently because it is not a major problem in my life that I feel the need to talk about it all the time, except in class. Even if we as black and brown people are the majority, I highly doubt that we will "hold the levers of control." Back in the times of American slavery, we outnumbered slave owners. So if you want to get technical, we were the majority. And we did not "hold the levers of control" back then. Now it is different though. We are educated. We are in college. We are learning. I feel as though we can actually make a difference. But if things remain the way they have always been, we will still be at the bottom.
It is the same as the government. The people in power are usually the minority. We have to listen to them and do what they say I guess. I am not saying that we as black and brown people have to listen to what white people say, but I am saying that if they are the minority, nothing will change. They will most likely get better jobs, have better incomes, and live in better places than "minorities."
Even if the black and brown people are the majority, who says that we will have the resources to "hold the levers of control?" The majority of us will most likely still be lacking the education that is necessary to succeed, so it most likely will not even matter. Sure, there will be more of us, but what are we going to do with more of us? Create an army? I highly doubt it.
I feel like the minority births are a good thing, though. It would be nice to see a real "melting pot." Even though the United States is supposedly the most diverse country in the world, I usually only see black people. Where I live, Philadelphia, it is very segregated. The segregation is sort of natural though, and it is not by race, it is by ethnicity. The Latinos live in a certain section of north Philly and the part of the north east that is sort of connected to north Philly. In the white neighborhoods, the Iris, Polish, German, and Russian people all live in their own neighborhoods with other people who are of their nationality.
But back to the main topic, no I do not feel like we as the current minority will gain any significant power as we become the majority. If it happens, it will be a huge surprise to me. Those who are in power now will probably be those who will be in power in the future.
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When I first read this article I was somewhat surprised. I have always heard people say that eventually people will all be one race, and that minorities will eventually be the minority; but I never thought it was true. This article said that in one decade minorities will be most prevalent in the 18 and under category and in 3 decades they will be the majority overall. Even though there is factual evidence of this, I am still somewhat skeptical. How can it be that the majority will turn into the minority, and vice versa?
When I asked myself this question I thought about how couples today and not always “just white”, or “just black”, as they were in the past. It seems people have become less preoccupied on a person’s race, and more on what’s on the inside of a person. Having the minorities become the majority is actually a sign that we are becoming more accepting and tolerant as a nation. It no longer is strange to see a mixed couple, as it was in the days closer to slavery, but just a natural part of life.
I never really realized how much power rich white people had and how much they controlled thing since they were the majority. Now since the average person will be multiracial I’m curious to see if that power will shift. Since the “majority” will now be people who are multiracial, there might be a shift in power. Since there is power in numbers, the whites may have to sit back and see and there power stripped away from them. The article said that in 10 years multiracial people will be the majority of children 18 and under, but that still leaves the majority of older people white. The article asked “Will they vote, for example, to raise taxes for schools that serve young people of ethnic backgrounds different from theirs?” I think the answer to this is no, because until the older people are mixed, people will still vote for their own kind.
Also, It would be quite ironic if when people of mixed race become the majority, whites find themselves in the roles that they formally places mixed people into.Mixed people will get positions in high places and they give jobs to there mixed friends, putting white people in a position of lower power.
I hope that eventually everyone will become one race and thus race wont even be an issue. Maybe someday there will be no need for a race relations class in school, because there will be one race; human. But, even if there is only one “race” there will still be things that people use to classify people into such a class, money, family background, job and so on. Things are going to change with the shift in race population, and I don’t think anyone is truly ready for it.
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It should not matter who feels in control and who does not. Lets get over it already. Who cares if the majority of the world is black, orange, red, brown. I believe we live one time and there is just not enough time to change everyone opinions about things and issues. We live to work… everyone deserves a job. The people with a better education deserve a better job. That is how it works. Everyone has a chance in the world to do what they want. It might be harder for some as we spoke about, but there are ways for the poorest person in the world to become wealthy. I mean look at JK Rolling. She was livi0ng in a shack and she wrote the Harry Potter Series and now she is a millionaire. So everyone can do something, people need to stop being lazy and get up and try.
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When I first read this article I was somewhat surprised. I have always heard people say that eventually people will all be one race, and that minorities will eventually be the minority. I guess I never really thought about it that much. Since I’m not currently in the minority I don’t have to think or worry about being discriminated for the color of my skin. I really don't that the whites being in the minority will make America anything less than a White country. Wealthy areas, and powerful positions will most likely remain majority white, even when white people are in the minority. There are many people from many different countries who have settled here bringing new races in. It was bound to happen eventually where the minority is big enough that they would eventually become the majority. I would hope that with times changing and the whites now become the minority racism will come to an end. Of course it’s easier said than done, but maybe now people will actually realize that we are on a more equal field then we ever were before. If the minorities now become the majorities, more voices will be heard and more people will be able to speak their opinions and feelings. Hopefully people will start realizing that color really doesn’t matter. I wish older generations were more accepting of this idea, however I think they are also starting to realize the changes that are being made in our everyday society. The article talks about older elderly white people and their effect on the ballots, in areas such as taxes for ethnic schools. If the birth rate of non-Hispanic whites declines and the minority becomes the minority that may be an effect we have to address. It is a shame to think that in this day and age people would want to deprive children just because of their race. However, overall I doubt most of the American people would notice these things. I am interested to see what comes about with this change, if anything. I feel that while discrimination and race issues are still a problem today, we are working towards equality and I believe and truly hope that one day the color of your skin won’t matter to anyone about anything. I hope this opens up more opportunities to people of color. I think white people should not be given all of the power or most important positions in our society. Eventually our government will include more colored people so things can be more equal. Maybe knowing that whites will soon be the minority will give others more confidence. It really does not bother me that I could soon be a minority.
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I wanted to reply to this blog because I had read it before our last recitation, yet did not respond, but now feel like it was worth a second glance because it makes me feel more optimistic about actually getting somewhere with this whole race relations topic. The inevitable question, that I had actually been waiting for throughout the semester, was finally posed, “do you think that there will ever be no racism?” Since the beginning of the class it seemed as if that was the obvious question, because isn’t it the ultimate goal of taking such a class or focusing on such issues, to hopefully one day be rid of the negative effects of racism. Obviously a change like that is not going to happen in one semester and certainly not by the power of a couple hundred people, but I have to believe we are getting somewhere, because if not this is a lot of wasted time in energy. Regardless, I commented during our conversation about how I think that some day it will happen but it certainly won’t be anytime soon, because we need to continue to cycle out the old ideas and bring in the new ideas of what it means to strive for true equality. It is all about the children, because as corny as it sounds, they are the leaders of tomorrow, and then they have more children, who intern have more children, and the sooner we start positively influence younger people, the closer we get to brining about real understanding. So I thought this article showed that flickering light at the end of the tunnel, and no as a white person I am not afraid that “my kind” is going to be forgotten or lose its standing. I think it’s a good think to mix it up and obviously people have been, because the rates for a multicultural society are increasing. I just hope that the adults of today can adapt to such changes, I know from the educator stand point it is becoming increasingly important for teachers to realize that they are going to have a much more diverse group of students coming into their classrooms. “Majority rules” an expression I have heard time and time again since I was younger, and I find it really interesting that in the near future, what we thought of as minorities will transform into the majority, and hopefully this shift will allow those people who are content with being “followers” and go along with the feelings and ideas of the “majority” will be able to realize that it is not always going to be about white people, or black people, but just about people, who they are, where they come from, and then we will see where we will go next.
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I think that the so called "issue" of whites eventually becoming the minority one day is not actually an issue at all. One can only hope that some day none of the minority and majority and power and control issues will matter at all. Unfortunately, as we all know, that is not going to happen any time soon. However, I do think that what is promising is not that the percentages and ratios will change. I do not personally believe that the number of how many people there are of a certain given race or ethnicity, but what does matter is that the perceptions and the expectations could change. I do not see it as a problem if the “minorities” some day become the majority. I know that some, probably many, white people will probably be terrified at the very thought – as if its a bad thing when people who do not look like them move into their neighborhoods. I do think it can have the potential to be an extremely positive thing for the society as a whole. I just hope that the numbers are not the only things that change. As with affirmative action, debatable as it may be in the short, it has the potential to have significantly positive effects in the long run for minority groups, specifically those considered by many to be "less advantaged." And affirmative action may or may not be relative to the whites becoming the minority by the year 2050 but all one can hope is that along with an increase in the populations and ratios of many of these minority groups, that possibly some other percentages, such as class power, monetary issues and opportunities and the like will rise as well. Additionally, I would hope that just because there is a shift in numbers that rather than it providing a change in power it provides a balance of power. So that some day, if we are lucky, things like race and class will lie only on the surface and will not need to be discussed as major issues anymore. I do not know if I feel any specific way about this but I know that it does not scare or anger me. I like to be optimistic about these types of issues so I do not know if it is my own false hopes or beliefs but I would like to think that maybe this could be a positive thing, if more whites or more people in general would be willing to open their eyes up to what is really important.
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I think this is a very interesting topic. I have thought about this before and honestly, it does worry me a little bit. I cant actually explain why, but it just does. I have always known subconsciously that I was in the majority, but being in this class has really made me aware. I never really heard the “colored” side expressed in such ways and views and it is enlightening. At the same time, I have gotten used to being in the majority and honestly, I like it. I no problem with other races it will just be something different, and I don’t always like change.
Feb 26
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To me it is hard to picture a world where “white” is not the majority in America. My whole life I read about white people in history textbooks and white people being in control, and when I think of the United States I think of most states being mostly white. I am not upset that white people will not be the majority, I just personally cannot picture it because my whole life I have never been introduced to that idea. I do not think the color of skin really matters and that white people are better then brown people. The only thing that frightens me a little is “immigrants” taking over America. I would be upset to see America turn into a country full of immigrants and there is no one who is “proud to be American” anymore. I feel that Americans have more pride in their country then any other country, and I feel as if it would be a shame to loose that pride and have it become a country that looses its history.-march19
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I don’t really see the problem with this. I feel like things might be more leveled and people of both minorities and whites will both be in control. Our president is white and black. I feel like there will be no major event where minorities will have the most power and whites will be under. We are supposed to be growing as a nation and finding hot to become one. Where not suppose to be worrying about who should be more powerful or not. On the list of the world wealthiest person the top 5 people are not all even whites which shows that minorities are doing what they have to do.
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