The Fear of Losing Control

I've spoken with many people about the link between power and discrimination. I came across an article today which touches on one of the replies I'm often presented with when I speak to some folks about race and inequality in the United States. It goes something like this: Well, it won't be long until we're [read: White folks] are the minority in this country anyway, so...

I often hear comments like this after someone is presented with information about the state of inequality that exists between Whites and people of color in this country. If the information being presented isn't something they can readily discount or rationalize, statements like the one above are used as if to say, "Well, that may be true, but it's too late now, so it doesn't really matter".

The article published in the Associated Press, which can be found here, doesn't present this argument explicitly, but it doesn't take much insight to see the privilege and bias hiding behind the veil.

Let's take a closer look...

Census shows whites lose US majority among babies

[Well, we haven't gotten past the title yet and one might already notice how White Americans have 'lost' the majority]

The article continues...

"We're moving toward an acknowledgment that we're living in a different world than the 1950s, where married or two-parent heterosexual couples are now no longer the norm for a lot of kids, especially kids of color," said Laura Speer, coordinator of the Kids Count project for the Baltimore-based Annie E. Casey Foundation.

[Are we really not yet able to acknowledge that the world in which we are living is different than the 1950s? Some pretty momentous social changes have occurred in the past 50 years. I think most folks realize that. In fact, I'm pretty sure that realization is the impetus for the comment which follows regarding the parental 'norm' in U.S. households. Some may readily accept that because LGBT are more widely represented at present, that means there are more LGBT people. If it weren't for the fact that the U.S. population has almost doubled since the 1960 census, I would be much more than skeptical, especially since even the 2010 census doesn't solicit information about sexual orientation. If you'd like a more detailed explanation of the Availability Heuristic, click on this link.]

"It's clear the younger generation is very demographically different from the elderly, something to keep in mind as politics plays out on how programs for the elderly get supported," she said. "It's critical that children are able to grow to compete internationally and keep state economies rolling."

[So what I hear Ms. Speer saying is: there are a lot more children of color today than before. White folks have to be mindful of this because eventually, those children will be in charge of the social programs that will take care of White folks. Children of color are not getting the same education as White children. We have to do better if children of color are going to be in charge.]

The remainder of the article does not quote Ms. Speer. But it continues...

"Twelve states and the District of Columbia now have white populations below 50 percent among children under age 5 - Hawaii, California, New Mexico, Texas, Arizona, Nevada, Florida, Maryland, Georgia, New Jersey, New York and Mississippi. That's up from six states and the District of Columbia in 2000."

[It is probably not surprising that some of these states have also proposed, or already enacted, some of the toughest anti-immigration laws in the country. Arizona - Florida - Georgia - Mississippi]

"Among African-Americans, U.S. households headed by women - mostly single mothers but also adult women living with siblings or elderly parents - represented roughly 30 percent of all African-American households, compared with the 28 percent share of married-couple African-American households. It was the first time the number of female-headed households surpassed those of married couples among any race group, according to census records reviewed by Frey dating back to 1950."  [I'm not sure how this statistic ties in with the larger context of the article, but since the author brought it up perhaps we could address the U.S. criminal justice system that imprisons significantly more people of color than whites. I believe this would have a significant impact on whether a Black or Latino man is present in the household.]

 

http://www.project.org/info.php?recordID=115

 The article concludes with this...

"Tony Perkins, president of the Washington, D.C.-based Family Research Council, a conservative interest group, emphasized the economic impact of the decline of traditional families, noting that single-parent families are often the most dependent on government assistance."
"The decline of the traditional family will have to correct itself if we are to continue as a society," Perkins said, citing a responsibility of individuals and churches. "We don't need another dose of big government, but a new Hippocratic oath of 'do no harm' that doesn't interfere with family formation or seek to redefine family.

[So what I hear Mr. Perkins saying is that even though the institutional systems, which are at the heart of much of the inequality experienced by people of color in the United States, are at fault, we're going to blame the victim. What I hear Mr. Perkins saying is that people of color are going to have to pull themselves up by their bootstraps because they're costing us too much money. What I hear Mr. Perkins saying is that the government should step aside and let "individuals and churches" fulfill their responsibility by "correcting" the problem of non-traditional families because those "non-traditional" families don't fit into his 'do no harm' philosophy.]

What this article comes down to, in my opinion, is that there are many White folks in the United States that are afraid. They are afraid of losing control. They have been living with privilege for so long, that the idea of losing that privilege is more than a little frightening. I believe that many white people are coming to terms with the fact that institutional racism does exist and has perpetuated an imbalanced and unfair playing field for people of color in this country. The idea that those who traditionally have not benefited from privilege will be able to affect enough change to make things more even disturbs some white folks because they're afraid some people of color will tip the scale in favor of themselves.