Bad Movie Logo
"A website to the detriment of good film"
Custom Search
HOMEB-MOVIE REVIEWSREADER REVIEWSFORUMINTERVIEWSUPDATESABOUT
Welcome, Guest. Please login or register.
Did you miss your activation email?
March 29, 2024, 02:48:36 AM
713386 Posts in 53058 Topics by 7725 Members
Latest Member: wibwao
Badmovies.org Forum  |  Movies  |  Press Releases and Film News  |  White Americans' majority to end by mid-century « previous next »
Pages: [1]
Author Topic: White Americans' majority to end by mid-century  (Read 4138 times)
Allhallowsday
B-Movie Kraken
*****

Karma: 2280
Posts: 20726


Either he's dead or my watch has stopped!


« on: December 16, 2009, 07:52:28 PM »

White Americans' majority to end by mid-century 
WASHINGTON – The estimated time when whites will no longer make up the majority of Americans has been pushed back eight years — to 2050 — because the recession and stricter immigration policies have slowed the flow of foreigners into the U.S.

Census Bureau figures released Wednesday update last year's prediction that white children would become a minority in 2023 and the overall white population would follow in 2042. The earlier estimate did not take into account a drop in the number of people moving into the U.S. because of the economic crisis and the immigration policies imposed after the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks.

The 2050 estimate is one of four projections released that is based on rates for births and deaths and a scenario in which immigration continues its more recent, slower pace of adding nearly 1 million new foreigners each year. Demographers said that scenario offers the best look for now at the future demographic makeup based on current conditions, rather than other models which assume higher rates of immigration... 

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091216/ap_on_go_ot/us_white_minority
Logged

If you want to view paradise . . . simply look around and view it!
Mofo Rising
Global Moderator
Frightening Fanatic of Horrible Cinema
****

Karma: 460
Posts: 3222


My cat can eat a whole watermelon!


WWW
« Reply #1 on: December 17, 2009, 02:56:04 AM »

Speaking as the quintessential all-American mutt, and somebody fully trained in the science of genetics, I cannot wait until this type of thinking dies.

"Race" is a purely social construct. Not that I'm ignoring it, you would have to be a fool to believe racism is not alive and well. But on an actual biological level, the idea of race is meaningless. It's an outmoded way of thinking; one that never had much meaning in the first place.

"Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

Wasn't this the true meaning of our creed?
Logged

Every dead body that is not exterminated becomes one of them. It gets up and kills. The people it kills, get up and kill.
Trevor
Uncle Zombie and Eminent Shitologist
B-Movie Kraken
*****

Karma: 2121
Posts: 22715



« Reply #2 on: December 17, 2009, 03:05:03 AM »

I, on the other hand, am a little bit of a confused person.

Mom: Afrikaans of Dutch descent
Dad: English of Dutch / English / Jewish descent
Me: born in Rhodesia of uncertain and unknown parentage (adopted by the above) ~ descent: came down without a parachute.  Buggedout

When people ask me my nationality, I say that I'm an African. Stunned asker of question: "B-b-but, you're white!"

Me: Yes, 100% African, no additives, no preservatives, just bad undies.  TongueOut
Logged

I know I can make it on my own if I try, but I'm searching for the Great Heart
To stand me by, underneath the African sky
A Great Heart to stand me by.
trekgeezer
Frightening Fanatic of Horrible Cinema
****

Karma: 0
Posts: 4973


We're all just victims of circumstance


« Reply #3 on: December 17, 2009, 08:43:16 AM »

Eventually everyone will be some shade of brown.  There is really only one race on Earth and that's the Human Race.
Logged




And you thought Trek isn't cool.
Newt
Mostly Harmless. Mostly.
Frightening Fanatic of Horrible Cinema
****

Karma: 856
Posts: 3715


I want to be Ripley when I grow up.


« Reply #4 on: December 17, 2009, 08:48:00 AM »

Mofo and Trekgeezer are right: by the strictest biological definition there is only *one* human race.

My anthropology degree is almost antique, but:

I have to wonder how the people who write these articles are defining terms.  It makes all the difference in the world if they are calssifying people as being of a certain "race" based upon what group those people identify themselves as/with culturally, or their origins/ancestry as recorded on census data or other 'outside' identifiers.   How the 'data' was arrived at alters the scope of the interpretation.

There are people in this world who would identify all people with any trace of 'non-white' ancestry as being 'non-white'.  By the same criteria, IE having any *trace* of 'white' ancestry, most people could be classed with equal accuracy as being 'white'.  Regardless of what 'race' one claims to be, it would be quite the challenge to find any individuals who do not have some degree of mixing, no mattter how small.  

For the most part, the human genome is a collection of traits that exhibit ranges of variation: stature, colouration, proportions.  Relatively few inherited traits are what is called 'discrete': either there or not there.  So there are few decisive identifiers available as to what 'group' a particular individual may claim ancestry from.  Chances are these days that any particular individual can exhibit traits from a number of origins. Genetically we are slowly melding together.

So yes, TG, we are headed toward a nice average brown.   Wink  There will likely be some variation for quite some time to come, social factors being an influence in mate selection, but the range should narrow over time.

Which is a long-winded way of saying: yeah, Mofo is right.  "Race" is purely a social construct;  on an actual biological level, the idea of race is meaningless. It's an outmoded way of thinking; one that never had much meaning in the first place.

And we should get over it.
« Last Edit: December 17, 2009, 08:49:50 AM by Newt » Logged

"May I offer you a Peek Frean?" - Walter Bishop
"Thank you for appreciating my descent into deviant behavior, Mr. Reese." - Harold Finch
Jim H
Frightening Fanatic of Horrible Cinema
****

Karma: 314
Posts: 3669



« Reply #5 on: December 17, 2009, 01:27:23 PM »

While it's pretty obvious cultural and social definitions of race are largely meaningless scientifically (as one example, you used to be able to change your race by walking across certain state lines if you had the proper ancestry), I think the total rejection of the concept of race in a scientific sense is not quite accurate.  The term race in biology is basically an interbreeding subgroup with some genetic characteristics in common. 

The way I see this term applied in biology to non-human animals and then rejected outright for humans doesn't make particular sense.  For example, the numerous North American gray wolf races are almost as closely related genetically as major human population groups, but their differentiation into various sub-groups is not disputed (though the exact way they're divided and number of sub-groups certainly is).  Morphologically, there are sub-species that are far harder to distinguish accurately than the various human groups.

Basically, I feel the term is frequently rejected outright for non-scientific (political) reasons.  But, I'd agree that there isn't anything to be gained by the usage of these terms, so it's not something that worries me in the slightest.
Logged
indianasmith
Archeologist, Theologian, Elder Scrolls Addict, and a
B-Movie Kraken
*****

Karma: 2591
Posts: 15182


A good bad movie is like popcorn for the soul!


« Reply #6 on: December 17, 2009, 04:23:56 PM »

Tou guys are right.  Race in the biological sense is meaningless.  Race in the cultural sense means something. I could care less what color my neighbor is, or what color my daughter's boyfriend is, for that matter!  But what they believe and how they act, well, that I care about.

But what do people believe?  What cultural values and heritage do they bring to the big old American table? How do those beliefs, morals, and values affect their behavior?  Those things are worth considering.

For all its corruption, America still has a constitution and government superior to most of the rest of the world.  We are free to keep a majority of what we earn each year, we have the right to vote for our leaders (even if the choices aren't always that great!), and we can watch B-movies full of gratuitous sex and violence if we want to, or keep the old satellite dish welded to "Family" stations.  Every one of us has the right to marry when and whom we choose, and to buy or build a house - presuming we can afford it - in any nieghborhood we want.  Why do we Americans have all these freedoms?

Because America was founded by a "race" of men and women to whom the rights of the individual were precious, and the powers of the government subject to limits by the people.  By that I mean our elder cousins across the pond from England, and a few other European countries.  But mainly England, with its quaint notions of personal liberty and limited government. 

  Not all people share these values, and if those people become a majority, can our freedoms remain intact?  Look at the miserable failure at self-government that is endemic in much of the world - whether it be Latin America, Southeast Asia, or equatorial Africa.  If those people want to come here and learn from our system and assimilate into a culture that is much, much better than what they left behind, then more power to them.  There's always a little more room at the table.  But if what they want is to re-establish a little bit of home-styled anarchy or theocracy or mayhem on American shores . . .  I'd just as soon they didn't come.

All of this may not have much to do with the subject of this thread, but given the general bashing they receive at the hands of so many academics and politicians these days, I just want to say that I for one am grateful that this country was founded by good old WASPS from north-western Europe.  Those old fellers really knew how to build a republic.  A shame we've screwed it up so badly.

Lewis Smith
Scots-Irish with a bit of Cherokee in the mix
6th Generation Texan

Logged

"I shall smite you in the nostrils with a rod of iron, and wax your spleen with Efferdent!!"
Dude
Guest
« Reply #7 on: December 17, 2009, 07:51:46 PM »

 Lookingup
Logged
Pages: [1]
Badmovies.org Forum  |  Movies  |  Press Releases and Film News  |  White Americans' majority to end by mid-century « previous next »
    Jump to:  


    RSS Feed Subscribe Subscribe by RSS
    Email Subscribe Subscribe by Email


    Popular Articles
    How To Find A Bad Movie

    The Champions of Justice

    Plan 9 from Outer Space

    Manos, The Hands of Fate

    Podcast: Todd the Convenience Store Clerk

    Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!

    Dragonball: The Magic Begins

    Cool As Ice

    The Educational Archives: Driver's Ed

    Godzilla vs. Monster Zero

    Do you have a zombie plan?

    FROM THE BADMOVIES.ORG ARCHIVES
    ImageThe Giant Claw - Slime drop

    Earth is visited by a GIANT ANTIMATTER SPACE BUZZARD! Gawk at the amazingly bad bird puppet, or chuckle over the silly dialog. This is one of the greatest b-movies ever made.

    Lesson Learned:
    • Osmosis: os·mo·sis (oz-mo'sis, os-) n., 1. When a bird eats something.

    Subscribe to Badmovies.org and get updates by email:

    HOME B-Movie Reviews Reader Reviews Forum Interviews TV Shows Advertising Information Sideshows Links Contact

    Badmovies.org is owned and operated by Andrew Borntreger. All original content is © 1998 - 2014 by its respective author(s). Image, video, and audio files are used in accordance with the Fair Use Law, and are property of the film copyright holders. You may freely link to any page (.html or .php) on this website, but reproduction in any other form must be authorized by the copyright holder.