According to figures released by the US Census Bureau, not only do white people represent a smaller share of the total population than in previous years. There are fewer white people, going from 197,845,666 in 2016 to 197,309,822 in 2019. It is anticipated that by the year 2045, white people will be a minority in America, and many white people are already scared as hell.
It’s not as if white people have a history in this country of treating other races well. The Japanese were interned, Muslims banned, Native Americans nearly wiped out, and their land was stolen, Hispanics just recently had their children separated from them, in some cases permanently, and there’s that whole enslavement thing involving Black people. As if that weren’t enough, enslavement evolved into the Black Codes, which turned into Jim Crow laws that popped up again in new forms of voter suppression, housing, job discrimination, and discrepancies in health care. White people are worried that when they become the minority, they will be treated like they treated minorities when they were in control. The solution, which they’re already working on, is to maintain power even after they lose their majority.
Throughout world history, there are dozens of examples of minority white nations controlling countries composed of people of color. France was once the second-largest colonial power behind Britain. They still effectively control several African nations; they control their treasuries and demand ongoing payments for the infrastructure they helped build while raping the countries of their natural resources. Haiti won its freedom from French control during the Haitian Revolution but was forced to compensate France for its loss of revenue and slaves. These payments bankrupted Haiti while enriching France.
At some point, to keep some people from getting in their feelings. I must point out that white people are not a monolithic group. All white people don’t have restless nights thinking about 2045 and its implications. Some are well aware that it’s coming and frankly don’t give a damn. But rest assured, some do worry and are doing everything in their power to maintain white control that goes along with their views of white supremacy. There are enough other white people that will stand idly by (and benefit) while white rule stays the norm long past when their numbers dictate.
South Africa and apartheid is the model they hope to implement. At the same time, white people in America won’t be nearly as small a percentage as white people in South Africa. They need a mechanism to main control while not having enough voters to control elections. What those forward thinkers have decided to do is what they have always done. Rig elections by voter suppression. Shaping electoral districts to guarantee an outcome not dictated by a majority of votes. And control the judiciary so the laws can rule in their favor when politicians don’t. They will also do what they can to divide minority groups, pitting one against another while remaining a block.
In the area of education, attempts have long been made to pit Blacks against Asians. They tell Asians that their admissions are reduced because of affirmative action. The reality is they have designated a small percentage of admissions for minorities to fight over while reserving the great majority of seats for themselves. They perpetuate the whiteness of major institutions through favored access to legacies, the descendants of their white parents and grandparents that preceded them.
Major corporations, almost all run by white people, have been given the power by the mostly white Supreme Court to control elections via Citizens United. They can contribute unlimited anonymous dollars to influence elections and policies. This secret cabal will continue to serve their interests, which generally coincide with white people. Nepotism and cronyism thrive within large companies and again favor the families of the white people who, in some cases, were the only ones allowed to work there initially.
The framework of democracy doesn’t lend itself toward minority rule, which is what 2045 will bring. To make that happen, the then minority will have to control all the institutions of power like the whites did in South Africa. They would have to control Congress, the judiciary, centers of dedication, state and local government, law enforcement, and the military even though some Black mayors, police chiefs, judges, Generals, and a Senator may exist too. They do not alone wield the levers of power; white people do now and do all they can to maintain them.
The effort to restrict the voting rights of minorities in forty-seven of the fifty states. The resistance to making states out of Washington D.C. and Puerto Rico is all related to the maintenance of white power. In the case of D.C., they don’t mind having the residents absorbed into Maryland or Virginia because the balance of power wouldn’t change. If these were majority-white territories or districts, they would have been states already.
The battle for continued white control has already begun. Look at the agenda of the Republican Party. Voter suppression, filling the courts with white, idealogues to maintain control. Prevent any change in the mission of law enforcement forces evolved from slave patrols in the south and immigration control in the north. Rich white people are doing what they always do, make sure their wealth increases at the expense of everyone else to ensure they can financially weather any storm.
I usually throw a little history in my stories. It’s not inconceivable that a certain kind of white person is planning right now to prepare for 2045. When writing the Constitution, Article One, Section Nine: Clause One was written to appease slave-holding states and convince them the institution would be safe from being eliminated by northern states. South Carolina and others received a promise that the international slave trade would be safe for twenty years. The real plan was to eliminate the international slave trade and rely solely on the domestic slave trade. Virginia plantation owners could then sell their excess enslaved people further south, where the demand was higher. They had messed up their tobacco fields by failing to rotate crops or use the technology of the day. Their plan to increase production relied on the forced breeding of slaves (that means rape), which they liked to call “natural increase.” Don’t tell me what they aren’t capable of doing.
2045 is rapidly approaching, and a large number of white people are scared. Seventy million people, mostly white, voted for Trump. Do you think it was because of his business acumen or character? No, they saw him as their best protection from what America is becoming. A browner country that white people will have a harder time controlling. Yet try they must. Look at the laws they are passing. In Florida, a gathering of three can now be a felony protest which can cause the loss of voting rights. Voter suppression is being attempted in forty-seven states. White supremacists tried to disrupt Congress and threatened to kill political leaders. A large segment of white people are scared and acting out. As we approach 2045, the odds are that it will get worse before it gets better.
This post originally appeared on Medium and is edited and republished with author's permission. Read more of William Spivey's work on Medium. And if you dig his words, buy the man a coffee.
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