Monday, October 31, 2011

Getting Acquainted with Your New Minority Status

The white, christian majority in this country, being the long-time majority, doesn't have the experience to handle minority status graciously. I, on the other hand, grew up in a family that was proud of its recent immigrant history, in an area that had seen waves of immigration. So I have great appreciation for the ethnic mixer in this country. But I don't have a clue what it feels like to be in the majority.

Maybe I can help the white majority make a graceful transition into minority status. First some reassurance about being a minority:
  • You don't automatically lose your culture when you become a minority. You just share it with fewer people, but it's still very vibrant. You can see this is true if you visit any cultural fair near you. You'll get to see and sample the ethnic food, the favorite music, maybe even see the fancy dress, but most of all the pride in a unique cultural identity. 
  • Being a minority is not being embattled. You don't have to fight to survive when you become a minority, or there would be fewer minorities and whites wouldn't be facing this question. The days of genocide in the US are over, so you won't be targeted for death or beatings.
  • You don't have to worry about your culture, your lives, your limbs, so what's left? You may worry about losing your white, christian advantages, which weren't fair anyway, so they don't count. The only thing left to worry about is your comfort in a not-so-white world. That's actually good news. It's easy to survive a little loss of comfort.
So if the biggest problem you'll encounter is being uncomfortable, let me help you some more with my guide to how to be a well-behaved demographic minority:
  • Being a minority, you aren't part of a group that owns everything or nearly everything. If you are used to thinking "this is mine" as in "my park," "my street," "my school," "my highway," or "my country," stop. It isn't just yours, not like your house where everything is yours to play with or break. 
  • You are now clearly sharing with lots of people. It's like being a guest in a big table that includes a lot of new people, and you all have to act respectful to each other and get along. So if you've been a brat about being white and the top of the heap, you're not on top anymore. No one is. You're all at the same table, so be nice with those knives and forks.
  • Realize that most places are neutral territory, hopefully by mutual agreement. You are sharing all these public spaces, so share nicely. Don't insult other people, don't expect them to be just like you, and take turns. One weekend the Puerto Rican Cultural Society uses the park, the next weekend is the Columbus Festival. You can visit each other's festival or not. It's a choice, not a requirement. You don't have to like it, but don't try to stop it.
  • Some places aren't neutral territory. Instead they are your home-base. In your church or your house, what you do (or what they do) is nobody else's business as long as nobody gets hurt.
  • Most of all, don't try to adjust the demographics. Don't pass white-only emigration laws or massacre people. Don't try to tip the demographics by having lots more children. A baby race is the demographic equivalent of an arms race. Believe me, that approach hasn't done good anywhere. Look at Israel as an example.
Please follow my advice and take my word--it is entirely possible to be a happy, healthy minority in this country. It's part of what makes America great.

EXTRAS. Being a minority: 
"Sometimes it can be alienating, at work, at school, at social events when you are the only minority there... It's always something that's on your mind... Mostly it's like being anyone else though."
"... it is like a sentence because we are stamped with the word "minority" as though we aren't apart of the "acceptable" population."
"I have faced hatred, and insults based upon religion."

"This is why it is more important than ever for whites to recognize this and make a conscious effort to preserve and protect our race, culture, and heritage before it is eventually gone."
"...close the border already!! we need a passport to leave our house!!"

"Will they suffer a similar fate to that of the whites in South Africa?"


Anonymous said...

You will never "get acquainted" with being a minority in America. I'm a Black man and I HATE always being the only Black man at work. YTs have no idea how limiting and draining it is to be "the only one" all the time. But one day you will. It is not fun.

ModeratePoli said...


I apologize for the glib headline. I know as a YT that most of the time I don't have to deal with overt prejudice or the question of covert prejudice. The times I have, yes, it causes me terrible anger, resentment, and anxiety.

But do you belief that one day the white majority will be a minority, since you say "one day you will"?

I look forward to that day, not just because it's humbling (which everyone needs) but because I hope it's illuminating.

Jeronimus said...

When Whites become a minority, we will be much more ethnocentric. I am personally acquainted with recent immigrants from Taiwan and Vietnam, and I like them very much. However, they are casually racist -- extremely so, particularly against African-Americans. They are shocked when they see black-white interracial couples and ask me how this can possibly be legal.

This is the future for a White minority -- we will become very insular, very racist, and we will dream of a day when we send the guests back home, and punish the traitors who invited them here in the first place.

ModeratePoli said...

The racism of other people is a reflection on them and their upbringing. Many homogeneous countries haven't learned the pitfalls of strident racism the we have.

I disagree that whites will become insular as they become a minority. Over the history of this country, it's become acceptable to socialize and marry with a wider number of ethic groups. At first, people would marry almost exclusively within their ethnic group. Then it shifted to within their religious creed, then anyone who was white. Now there's a lot of marriage between white, Asian, and Hispanic, and a moderate amount between blacks and other groups too. Becoming insular hasn't been the trend. I could say why this is good, but I'll just stick with it as a historic fact.

As for punishing traitors, that may be the talk of a small minority, but not the vast majority. So that's not going to happen either.

And I happen to love my black neighbors. I'm not going to stand by if anyone tries to split us up. I'm going to be out on the streets, no matter what the effect on my family. I decided that a while ago. I probably won't have to (for the reasons stated above), but I'm not going to waver. A lot of people feel that way, at least in my town.