Orwell wrote:
iamnotaparakeet wrote:
LKL wrote:
The fact that all WASPs are not affluent and in power does not contradict the hypothesis that most of the people who were affluent and in power have historically been WASPs.
Where?
You're kidding? 43.5/44 US Presidents so far have been white. 43/44 have been at least nominally Protestant (perhaps 42 if you want to exclude Jefferson whose religious status is questionable) and 44/44 have been Christian. The overwhelming majority of governors, senators, and congressmen are, and have historically been, white anglo-Saxon Protestants. Virtually all high-paid corporate executives are white. Franky, claiming that WASPs are not in control in America is nothing short of delusional. You are simply numerically wrong.
Part of your post focuses on WASPS and part just on “whites” (which in the US can include Hispanics, Arabs, Jews and Persians). I’m tempted to ask you to name “all high-paid corporate executives” so we can have a closer look.
What does it mean to say WASPs are in control in America? What are those WASPs who do have power doing to maintain “WASP power”? George Bush was an enthusiastic supporter of Hispanic immigration. Bill Gates has given a large part of his fortune towards helping Africans. Where are the WASP versions of Al Sharpton and Abe Foxman? It should be quite clear that WASP power is generally in decline and has been for some time.
Here is an article celebrating the decline of the WASP:
Quote:
The Triumphant Decline of the WASP
By NOAH FELDMAN
Published: June 27, 2010
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/28/opini ... ldman.htmlFIVE years ago, the Supreme Court, like the United States, had a plurality of white Protestants. If Elena Kagan — whose confirmation hearings begin today — is confirmed, that number will be reduced to zero, and the court will consist of six Catholics and three Jews.
It is cause for celebration that no one much cares about the nominee’s religion. We are fortunate to have left behind the days when there was a so-called “Catholic seat” on the court, or when prominent Jews (including the publisher of this newspaper) urged President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1939 not to nominate Felix Frankfurter because they worried that having “too many” Jews on the court might fuel anti-Semitism.
But satisfaction with our national progress should not make us forget its authors: the very Protestant elite that founded and long dominated our nation’s institutions of higher education and government, including the Supreme Court. Unlike almost every other dominant ethnic, racial or religious group in world history, white Protestants have ceded their socioeconomic power by hewing voluntarily to the values of merit and inclusion, values now shared broadly by Americans of different backgrounds. The decline of the Protestant elite is actually its greatest triumph.
Here’s another article in a similar vein:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142 ... 14574.htmlOr there is the book “The Rise and Fall of Anglo-America” by Eric Kaufmann. Here are some reviews:
Quote:
Illuminating...Mr. Kaufmann shows how the culture of 'white Anglo-Saxon protestants,' or Wasps, was constructed and, from the early 20th century, gradually dismantled.
--Christopher Caldwell (Financial Times )
[A] compelling study...Kaufmann writes with admirable detachment and objectivity, and reveals the mechanism by which the White Anglo-Saxon Protestant founders of the U.S. lost their political and cultural dominance. Kaufmann shows how a longstanding cosmopolitan element within Wasp ideology shifted from a symbolic role to the core of national life, and the Wasp population recast their own role accordingly. In other words, they did it to themselves...It is so refreshing to read a generous, open and positive book on this subject--what a pity that it is Huntington who has attracted the attention.
--Nicholas Cull (Times Higher Education Supplement )
And as to the question of whose power has been increasing as WASP power has been declining ...
Quote:
Jewish Power dominates at Vanity Fair
by Nathan Burstien
The Jerusalem Post October 12 2007
http://www.jpost.com/JewishWorld/Jewish ... x?id=78121"It's a list of "the world's most powerful people," 100 of the bankers and media moguls, publishers and image makers who shape the lives of billions. It's an exclusive, insular club, one whose influence stretches around the globe but is concentrated strategically in the highest corridors of power.
More than half its members, at least by one count, are Jewish."
Since it is clearly fine to discuss WASP power, I trust I can quote the above article without having to answer to jests about reptilians and such.
15 Sep 2010, 7:55 pm
