Five myths about white people

There was something remarkably wonderful and unique in America that we must not lose.

Five myths about white people - Society and Culture - AEI

Charles Murray | The Washington Post February 13, 2012

Article Highlights

• Our understanding of white America is subject to a number of outdated assumptions that need rethinking
• Marriage now constitutes a cultural fault line dividing the socioeconomic classes among white Americans
• At least for now, the rhetoric about the fading role of whites in American life outruns reality

For decades, trends in American life have usually been analyzed through the prism of race, with white Americans serving as the reference point — comparing black unemployment with white unemployment, for instance, or the percentage of Latino high school students who go on to college compared with white students. Those comparisons are illuminating, but they neglect how that reference point itself is changing. Our understanding of white America is subject to a number of outdated assumptions that need rethinking.

1. Working-class whites are more religious than upper-class whites.

This is a pervasive misconception encouraged by liberals who conflate the religious right with the working class, and by conservative evangelicals who inveigh against the godless ruling class. ...

2. Elite colleges are bastions of white upper-middle-class privilege.

It’s common to assume that upper-middle-class white kids win more slots in top universities than middle-class or working-class students not because they’re smarter, but because their parents can afford to send them to the best grade schools and high schools, pay for SAT prep courses, or make hefty donations to colleges.

There are two problems with this logic. ...

3. Marriage is breaking down throughout white America.

Overall marriage rates are indeed declining in the United States: Just over half of American adults are married, compared with 72 percent in 1960. However, among white Americans, there is a sharp class divide on marriage. ...

4. White working-class men have a strong work ethic.

They used to, but not so much anymore. ...

5. White Americans are yesterday’s news.

You don’t need to see a young black family in the White House to understand that American demographics are changing. In the 2010 census, non-Latino whites made up 64 percent of the population, down from 69 percent in 2000, 76 percent in 1990 and 80 percent in 1980. ...

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Belmont & Fishtown

On diverging classes in the United States