Whites’ deaths outnumber births for first time

The Washington Post ^ | June 13, 2013 | Carol Morello, Ted Mellnik

[Mrs. Don-o]

That would be, “principal” forms.

[MrB]

Time for that crap to come to a screeching halt.

[Wallace T.]

Middle Easterners are not European, but certain groups, notably the Jews, are generally accepted as white. From a genetic standpoint, Jews are close to ethnic groups in the eastern Mediterranean area, such as the Palestinians, but with some admixture of eastern European stock, evidenced by a minority of fair haired and light eyed people, e.g., Kirk Douglas and Lauren Bacall. Additionally, Middle Eastern Christians, such as the Lebanese, have assimilated into mainstream society. Middle Eastern Muslims have not, even if they are the same genetically as their Christian neighbors. Yet they self-segregate, just as black and Eastern European Muslims do.

Genetic studies show the Irish to be indistinguishable from the people of the larger island, particularly the Highland Scots and Welsh. The largely Protestant Scots have a slightly higher percentage of red hair than the mostly Catholic old stock Irish. The overwhelmingly Protestant Welsh are only slightly behind the Irish in this respect. Anti-Irish discrimination in the UK is largely a religious, not a racial, matter, a hangover from the dynastic, religious, and political struggles between the death of Henry VIII and the final defeat of the Stuarts in 1745.

There are genetic components to race, but the predominant determinant is cultural, of which religion plays an important part. From a strictly genetic standpoint, it is silly to consider a Latin American of entirely or mostly European ancestry a minority person but a native Italian or Greek a white person.

[pennyfarmer]

I don’t think that anyone can say how many kids someone SHOULD have. But I have to admit I do pass a little judgment on those who choose to pursue materialism over family.

There I confessed to one of my many sins. I do not know what is in others hearts and some people just can not have kids. I have great sympathy towards those in that situation.

[Mrs. Don-o]

I'm with you on that, pennyfarmer. A husband and wife have the right (and responsibility) to determine how many kids they can have. Nobody else! But it's good to encourage, andhonor, generosity in this area.

And to think a bit more about our values.

I'll give you an example. I'm using an example from homeschooling, not just from childbearing, but there are parallels because homeschooling families tend to be child-rich and family-centered.)

With the public schools going down the toilet, and the private schools priced beyond reach, a lot of conscientious parents will say, "But we can't homeschool. We can't afford it."

And yet homeschool researchers (like Dr. Brian Ray) report homneschooling families are found at every level of family income.

At every level of family income.

That at least suggests that the difference between public-schooling and home-schooling families is likely not in what their income is, but in what their values are.

I am sure you can find, similarly, 4-child families at every level of family income. Some of then will be people who asked, "Will we give our kids laptops, iPods, smartphones, designer-label clothes? --- or give them a new sibling?" And they decided to give them a new sibling.

My husband and I only had one homegrown child, and one adopted. It was all we could do in our circumstances. But we always had this question before our eyes: what are our values?