The Brookings Insitution has published a report, “What It Means to Be an American: Attitudes in an Increasingly Diverse America Ten Years After 9/11.” It’s an interesting read; there are some good points about religious freedom (and some distressing views of Muslims). But the real kicker for me was this:
Nearly half (46 percent) of Americans agree that discrimination against whites has become as big a problem as discrimination against blacks and other minorities.
As a white guy, I hear this sentiment a lot from people who think I agree with them. And it drives me crazy like no other, the idea that minority groups that have long experienced crippling discrimination are somehow on par with one of the most privileged groups in the history of the world.
Today’s American society is more accepting of people from minority backgrounds, which is great. Things have changed a lot even from when I was a kid. And sure, there are underprivileged white people. If you’re on the wrong side of the the class divide, it can be developmentally crippling, much like our country’s long history of racial discrimination.
But like the poisonous “producer/parasite” bullshit or the idea that poor-as-dirt welfare families are the ones really living the good life, this “minorities are the real racists” argument is a pathetic distraction from everything that’s really happening in country to make average people poorer and more desperate.
Who’s pushing the distraction? The report shares this as well:
Nearly 7-in-10 Americans who say they most trust Fox News say that discrimination against whites has become as big a problem as discrimination against blacks and other minorities. In stark contrast, less than 1-in-4 Americans who most trust public television for their news agree.