What Do I Feel About This?
I recently read an analysis of the 2000-2008 census data. The data was interesting but I don't know for sure how I feel about this. In 2008 Barack Obama carried a substantial portion of the suburban population in large metropolitan areas. I kind of saw this as evidence of his white support. No doubt he did, BUT there are other factors at work here too.
Ten states, led by Arizona, surpass the nation in a 'cultural generation gap' in which the senior populations are disproportionately white and children mostly minority. This gap is especially pronounced in Florida, California, Nevada, and Texas.
Yes, the suburbs are still white. BUT, for the first time, a majority of all racial and ethnic groups live outside the city. Wow. I always wondered why white flight from cities was not accompanied by minority flight. I guess whites led the way and the minorities followed. "Holy mackeral Andy, whees better run too". And I guess they did. Next surprise. The whites stopped running and began to flow back in. It is now the suburbs which have the largest poor population in the country. "Holy mackeral Andy, whees gotta make another run." But not everywhere so far. Washington, D.c., and Atlanta posted the largest increase in white share since 2000, each up 5 percentage points. Other white gains were seen in New York, San Francisco, and Boston along with 7 other cities. "White flight to the suburbs" has now, in some places, reverted to "bright flight to the cities" for knowledge based jobs, public transportation, and a new city ambiance.
Now comes the kicker. About 83 percent of the U.S. population growth since 2000 was minority and the minorities become the majority by mid century. Across all large metro areas, the majority of the child population is now nonwhite. The suburban poor grew by 25% between 1999 and 2008. This is 5 times the growth rate of the poor in cities. Uh Oh!!!!!!
Those are the facts. Just the facts Ma'am. BUT, how do I feel about these facts? How should I feel about them? I suppose by mid century my ass will be gone from the scene. Besides, few of us admit to racism so who cares? We are all God's children. Of course. BUT, the truth is I wouldn't want to be part of a minority population, all the laws and Constitution not withstanding. I am glad to hear the American Indians aren't projected to be the majority. I don't think I would like life somewhere on a reservation, maybe on a Newark, New Jersey giant landfill. Hey, hey----no tit for tat. I wonder, are the minorities already talking about some manifest destiny? Who are the bright dumbbells who managed to make it so difficult for poor people to get abortions? It is hard to keep it all straight. The whites fled to the suburbs, the Mexicans fled to American cities, the blks then fled to the suburbs, then the hispanics fled to the suburbs, then the whites flee back to the cities. I try to visualize the projection for the future. Are whites going to flee to Mexico? All this makes me dizzy.
In theory I guess I don't care what ethnic group is in the majority. A lot of people think I am from another planet anyway. A one man minority. But, no matter what we say, we all know minorities get the short end of the stick, and certainly the short end of any pot of gold, kind of the majority gets the gold and the minorities get the shaft. I am glad I will not live long enough to hear: "Please press 4 to speak English". And of course the NBA will revert back to now forbidden dress as mandatory dress because the new minority majority will be offended by 'white' dress signals. I think I would be smart enough to keep quiet less the majority tell me "if you don't like it here you can leave". All of this is scary, and kind of funny if you are my age and time is running out. Will affirmative action still be around? Maybe I hope so when the tide shifts. Will "Step and Fetch It" have a new face color? It certainly sounds like there will be a period of time in which there is a three way population numbers balance---niggers, spics, and honkies.
Frankly, there is no reason to lose any sleep over these 'small' things. By mid-century human overpopulation will be so great that who you trample en route to food, shelter and land, will seem of no importance. The burning issue will not be who is blk, hispanic, white, Christian, Muslim, etc.----no, the burning issue will be solely "Who is the motherfucker who has that piece of meat? Get him!!" Maybe the kind of troubles the Donner Party faced on their trip across the Rockies will become worldwide realities and people will need to eat each other in order to survive. Of course this is silly. It was silly back then and it is still silly today. We're not cannibals.
