Why (Some) White People Are Scared

The United States has, on multiple occasions, gone through major shifts in its demography. But through most of that shifting, the ethnic groups never strayed too far from the English center it was founded on. German, Irish, Italian are a common part of not only the white American culture, but also its DNA. A white American with Irish heritage isn't treated much differently than a white American with German heritage, and their experience and culture in this country is shared. Though these people were once persecuted, they exist with all the same ethnic benefits that the previous English class once boasted. In the case of Blacks though, they were never assimilated into that ruling class because of the generations of slavery, persecution, discrimination, and the obvious difference in skin color. Over the past thirty years, the black population hasn't shifted very much, never straying too far from 15% of Americans.

But now, the United States is going through a different change, one that is unparalleled in its scope and the reason why the white American experience is in danger. White America has been able to be the ruling class ever since the founding of the country, and has been able to keep minorities like Blacks, Latinos, and Asian Americans from experiencing the type of growth and acceptance that the European migrations boasted. But, in viewing the demographic changes that have occurred in the hispanic population of the country, and the expected growth, white Americans are, for the first time ever, faced with the integration of a non-European group entering that ruling class. While there are many hispanics with European ancestry, many still hold strong ties with their Native Latin American ethnicity. This year, a quarter of all children born in the United States were Hispanic. One out of every four children are Latino and the population of non-hispanic white children has gone from 74% in 1980 to 51% in 2015 according to the POP3 RACE AND HISPANIC ORIGIN COMPOSITION. Even though there is much variation of Hispanic Americans, as many Hispanics are able to assimilate almost totally into white America because their physical features and upbringing, Latino culture hasn't left our group. Many of us are fluent in Spanish and have close relations with our families in Latin America. As our population grows in this super connected world, we could soon see the United States becoming a part of Latin America, especially as we embrace Latino culture.

The fear is understandable. When I hear some Fox News pundit or misinformed patriot talking about closing the border, saying immigrants must learn English to be citizens, knocking down Affirmative Action, or even blatant racism, I understand it. Change is hard to deal with. But, take this into consideration; Europeans came to this continent and changed everything. There was genocide of the Native peoples of the Americas that lasted generations and is overlooked and still denied by many people. So, you, white America, are worried about a cultural change to your home? You fear that an external force will come in and make you learn a new language and maybe add a few more Mexican restaurants to your town? About 100 million Native people died so you could call this your home. You yourself are not responsible for that, but understand that the home and culture you are trying to protect is a result of relocating and killing millions of people. Conservatism in this country makes little sense to me. To conserve something like "racial purity" or "family values" or even the Constitution in a country that forced the largest change in North America is confusing to me. I get your fear, white America, I do, but please, remember the reason why you are the majority.