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Scott Rasmussen's Number of the Day for September 19, 2017
The Number of the Day columns published on Ballotpedia reflect the views of the author.
September 19, 2017: Recent Pew data show that 29% of Mexican immigrants consider themselves to be typical Americans. However, that number jumps to 60% for second-generation Mexican immigrants and 71% for the third generation.[1]
The same trend is seen in another question asked by the Pew Research Center. When asked to describe themselves, only 3% of Mexican immigrants call themselves American. The vast majority prefer to be called Mexican. However, by the second generation, 35% describe themselves first as American while 39% still prefer to call themselves Mexican. By the third generation, a plurality describe themselves as American.
This suggests that American society remains a melting pot where new communities are assimilated over time. It also raises doubts about the theory that a growing minority population will lift the Democrats to electoral success. John Judis, a man who helped develop that theory in the 2002 book The Emerging Democratic Majority, now believes he was wrong.[2]
One key part of that theory was based on the Census Bureau projections that the U.S. would become a minority-majority country by 2044. Writing in the New Republic, Judis states that those projections are "deeply flawed." They assume that "the same percentage of people who currently identify themselves as ‘Latino’ or ‘Asian’ will continue to claim those identities in future generations."[2]
However, as Judis points out, "whiteness is not a genetic category, after all; it’s a social and political construct that relies on perception and prejudice. A century ago, Irish, Italians, and Jews were not seen as whites."[2] He believes it is reasonable to assume that Latinos will follow the same path.
In fact, in the 2010 census, just over half of all Latinos identified themselves as "white." So, while the official government agency considers them to be part of a minority population, many do not see themselves that way.
An earlier Number of the Day showed that 17% of Americans now marry across racial and ethnic lines.
Each weekday, Scott Rasmussen’s Number of the Day explores interesting and newsworthy topics at the intersection of culture, politics, and technology.
- September 18, 2017 – 64 percent of Americans have positive view of police
- September 15, 2017 – 37 percent of Americans can’t name First Amendment rights
- September 14, 2017 – 956,597 cruise industry jobs serving 26 million passengers
- September 13, 2017 – 27 statewide ballot measures this year, lowest total since 1947
- September 12, 2017 – 11.2 million farm jobs lost in U.S. during 20th century
- To see other recent numbers, check out the archive.
Scott Rasmussen’s Number of the Day is published by Ballotpedia weekdays at 8:00 a.m. Eastern. Click here to check out the latest update.
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Columns published on Ballotpedia reflect the views of the author.
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