Why do Americans overestimate the size & power of minority groups?

From millionaires to Muslims, small subgroups of the population seem much larger to many Americans.

Why?

Part of the answer is attributable to the media—both news and entertainment.

Have you noticed, for example, that in almost EVERY film and EVERY commercial, there MUST be at least one or two of the following:

  • A racial minority (black, Hispanic, Asian, Native American)
  • A homosexual person or couple
  • A lesbian person or couple
  • A transgender person

This is no exaggeration. I have taken notes on this trend as I have watched movies and commercials. The conclusion you might arrive at is that America is at least one-third to one-half homosexual or lesbian, black or Hispanic, or transgender.

In fact, that is far from the truth.

It also applies to religious minorities, such as Muslim Americans (estimate: 27%, true: 1%) and Jewish Americans (estimate: 30%, true: 2%). And we find the same sorts of overestimates for racial and ethnic minorities, such as Native Americans (estimate: 27%, true: 1%), Asian Americans (estimate: 29%, true: 6%), and Black Americans (estimate: 41%, true: 12%).

Take a look at the following graphic compiled from the U.S. Census Bureau, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and various polls to see the ACTUAL percentage of these groups in America.

 

What does this mean?

I believe it means that there is an agenda to “normalize” or amplify the perception of these minority groups within the broader American diaspora.

By increasing the manifestation of these minority groups in Hollywood films, or streaming services such as Netflix, Amazon, Apple-TV, etc. viewers are getting a false sense of the political and social influence and clout that blacks, gays, lesbians, transgender people, and other minority groups actually have.

Is it done intentionally? I believe the answer is yes.

It is no accident that today’s movies have a cast of characters depicting these minority groups—even in period films where such representation clearly never occurred. Think Bridgerton.

Regency-era London of the 1800s never saw anything like this

While most movies are seldom accurate representations of history, the fact that inaccurate portrayals of these minorities are repeated again and again appears to be an attempt at revisionist history.

Of course, rewriting history is not confined to the entertainment industry. It is also occurring in the nation’s schools via the indoctrination of children via fraudulent curricula based on Critical Race Theory or the appallingly deceitful 1619 Project.

Woke corporations are also perpetuating this practice. Disney, for example, has announced it will no longer address people who attend its amusement parks as “boys & girls,” or “ladies and gentlemen.” Instead, they will address attendees as “dreamers and friends.”

“We no longer say ‘Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls,’” Disney diversity and inclusion manager Vivian Ware, announced. “We’ve provided training to all our cast members so now they know it’s ‘Hello, everyone or hello, friends.’

“We don’t want to just assume because someone might be, in our interpretation, presenting as female, that they may not want to be called ‘princess.’”

What does that mean for Minnie Mouse or Moana?

              Disney’s Moana: Girl? Boy? Both? Neither?

“Presenting as female?” What in the hell does that mean? All of my life I have assumed the sex opposite of mine WAS female—not “presenting” as one.

I do not “present as male.” I AM a male and the science of biology confirms that fact. I don’t need some half-baked, unempirical fanatic to approve of that reality.

So here is what is happening. Even if fully 97 percent of the American population is not gay or transgender, it must bend to the will of the vociferous 3 percent minority and be addressed in some gender-neutral manner —as if there is something inherently immoral about being a boy or girl or a lady or gentlemen.

Our world is being turned upside down by a horde of zealots intent on reengineering our social order and our culture. It is nothing less than the tyranny of a highly motivated, unbending minority that projects outsized influence.

That minority is telling the rest of us that if one person out of 100,000 doesn’t like something then that something must be jettisoned, quashed, or eliminated from our midst.

This tyranny will continue as long as the majority is either too indifferent or too scared to oppose it.

As we are seeing today, this vociferous minority draws its power from a tacit assumption that they represent a far larger body of opinion.

I recall in one of my college philosophy classes something called the “harm principle.” It was formulated by English philosopher John Stuart Mill and it simply says that we should all be able to do whatever we want, as long as it doesn’t harm anyone else.

John Stuart Mill

But as Mill’s critics have pointed out, what counts as harm is often a matter of interpretation. If you tell an ethnic, racial, or sexual joke in public, and I complain about it, have you really harmed me? Who’s to say?

I believe the tyranny of the minority has already achieved too many triumphs over our collective sanity and wisdom.

Allowing it to continue will result in a dangerous erosion of our democratic society. Reason will give way to stupidity and foolishness. Science will be abandoned in favor of mawkishness and emotion. What’s real will become illusory.

Society has already passed laws that reflect most people’s ideas of what constitutes harm. That’s how we deal with the ambiguity of Mill’s principle rather than roll back or place limits on the cacophony of perverse minority voices that assault and insult the collective intellect of the majority.

It’s also why it’s not against the law for me to say something with which you might disagree, but it is against the law for you to punch me in the face for saying it.

Got that, Will Smith?

In the end, what we need is not less democracy, which is what the tyrannical minority are arguing for, but more.

 

 

About Ronald E. Yates

Ronald E. Yates is an award-winning author of historical fiction and action/adventure novels, including the popular and highly-acclaimed Finding Billy Battles trilogy. Read More About Ron Here

4 thoughts on “Why do Americans overestimate the size & power of minority groups?”

  1. Latoya Raveneau, Disney television executive producer, proudly (paronomasia intended) disclosed her (apologies if I got the possessive pronoun wrong) goal as “my not-at-all-secret gay agenda.” She (?) said, “I was just wherever I could, just basically adding queerness,” While Disney lies about the Florida education bill, falsely claiming it censors freedom of expression by banning the use of the word “gay,” Disney itself is aggressively trying to ban the use of the words “boys” and “girls.”

    Reply
    • Disney is disgustingly woke. Walt Disney must be spinning in his grave over banning the words “boys and girls.” I will never buy another Disney product or view another Disney film–except for the classics that recognized biological facts and reality.

      Reply

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