This week, the polling company Ipsos released a poll in conjunction with Reuters and the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics. Most of the numbers coincided with what one would assume the average American thinks about subjects like Confederate statues, neo-Nazis and white nationalism, but there were two results that stunningly revealed the attitudes of many people around the country.
When pollsters asked the participants in the poll if “America must protect and preserve its White European heritage,” 31 percent agreed with the statement. Only 34 percent of the respondents disagreed.
If this poll is truly representative, it is shocking that such a high percentage of people even believe that America has a “white, European heritage.”
But it was the results of the following questions that raised eyebrows:
You read that correctly. More people agree that white people are under attack than disagree with that statement. It is unfair to selectively extrapolate opinions from statistics, but if we make the assumption that:
- The results are representative of the population (which is the purpose of polling), and
- It was white respondents who agreed with the idea that white people are currently under attack ...
... then it is reasonable to conclude that a majority of white people think they are under attack. Let us dive into this theory for a moment. The definition of “attack” in the noun form is:
- an aggressive and violent action against a person or place
- an offensive or scoring action
- the beginning of destructive action
So 39 percent of people, or most white Americans, believe that this country is actively trying to cause them harm or destroy them. Let’s look at this with logic and reason. If we accept this premise, there can be only three conclusions:
- They are correct. They are under attack. They can see the concrete effects that they are being targeted for extinction.
- They are wrong. They are not under attack. Someone or something (either emotion, feelings or an outside force) tricked them into believing something that is not true.
- White people are crazy. This is not a judgment or a slur. Crazy is a thing. It is quantifiable, but we will get to that.
How can we determine whether white people are under attack?
We can objectively find out if any of this hypothesis is true by looking at some of the measurables that impact white lives.
Life expectancy: White people are definitely dying younger. According to the New York Times, the life expectancy for white people declined for the first time in decades in 2014, while the life expectancy for blacks and Hispanics rose slightly. While this was unexpected, researchers attributed the slight downtick to suicide, liver disease and drug overdoses among Caucasians.
Employment: For the entire year of 2016, the white unemployment rate (4.3 percent) was nearly half that of blacks (8.4 percent) and much higher than that of Hispanics (5.8 percent), as reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The unemployment rate fell overall for both the first and second quarters of 2017, but whites maintained their lead by a wide margin. As of August 2017 (pdf), the black unemployment rate was 8.4 percent. The white unemployment rate was 4.4 percent, and the Hispanic unemployment rate was 5.6 percent.
Wealth and Income: Whites earn more than their black and Hispanic counterparts with the same levels of education and experience, and the disparity is getting worse—not better. The gap in wealth between whites and blacks also continues to rise. According to the Institute for Policy Studies:
Over the past 30 years the average wealth of white families has grown by 84 percent—1.2 times the rate of growth for the Latino population and three times the rate of growth for the black population. If that continues, the next three decades would see the average wealth of white households increase by over $18,000 per year, while Latino and black households would see their respective wealth increase by only $2,250 and $750 per year.
Economic opportunity: Whites are more likely to receive business loans, pay lower interest rates than blacks with the same credit history and are more likely to own homes (the No. 1 wealth asset).
Education: According to the National Center for Education Statistics (pdf), a larger percentage of whites are admitted to and graduate from four-year institutions than any other race. While blacks and Hispanics are gaining ground, whites are far ahead in every statistical category.
Criminal justice: Blacks are arrested more often for drug offenses than whites even though they use at the same rates. Blacks are stopped by police more than whites. Blacks are searched by cops more than whites. Whites receive much lighter sentences when they commit the same crimes as blacks or Hispanics, according to every study ever done (you can read this one in the New York Times). This one isn’t even close.
Are white people under attack?
No.
Aside from a light, self-inflicted dip in their life expectancy, there is no measurable category that would indicate such. White people are afforded every opportunity to succeed in America. When they don’t, it is not because anyone or anything is attacking them. It is not because of “reverse racism.” It is because ... well, no one knows, because as a whole, white people are still winning, by a long margin. Unless they face discrimination from the round-buttocks community or people who prefer rhythmic fucking, they will be fine.
Why do white people believe they are under attack?
Because they are fragile. Because they are susceptible to propaganda. Because there are people who benefit from spreading propaganda. Because a mango-colored conman with a terrible toupee and an idiot-savant-like penchant for bullshit and bluster tapped into their No. 1 fear. It’s the same reasons we worry more about the nonexistent Islamic State terror cells who have killed fewer Americans over the entire length of their existence than the police did last week.
Are people crazy who think white people are under attack?
“Crazy” is not a pejorative term. Crazy exists. It is an all-encompassing phrase for the delusion of superiority.
White supremacy is crazy. The infectiousness of mob mentality is crazy. Grabbing a tiki torch and screaming, “You will not replace us,” is crazy. Believing that a millionaire trust fund baby who has never achieved anything in his life through hard work, intelligence or ability would help middle-class Americans is crazy. ...
But having the advantage in money, wealth, income, education and justice, yet still whining about how unfairly the world treats you and your people, is absolutely fucking nuts.