Will Generation Z Save Us?

One of the great debates among white advocates is the generation question. Both critics and supporters agree that the Alt-Right is overwhelmingly young. Many of those who identify with it are critical of their elders, blaming them for supporting mass immigration, desegregation, and for destroying the old, overwhelmingly white America. “Generation Z will save us,” is a common theme in our movement — and even among some mainstream conservatives.

Yet a new poll suggests Generation Z is hardly a font of white racial consciousness. The poll finds that Generation Z is liberal and less likely than older Americans to believe discrimination against whites is a problem. It also finds that a majority of young people of every race and both sexes has a negative opinion of President Trump. However, the poll does show large differences between whites and other races, and between young white men and young white women. Whites are also far less likely to believe discrimination among blacks and Hispanics has been increasing over the past year.

The Public Religion Research Institute’s report, “Diversity, Division, Discrimination: The State of Young America,” is based on a polling sample size of 2,023 people between the ages of 15-24. Interviews were conducted online “in both English and Spanish” between July and August 2017. On the whole, it makes for depressing reading.

Generation Z appears overwhelmingly leftist. Only 25 percent of those polled support President Trump, with 72 percent holding a negative opinion. In contrast, almost half have a positive view of Hillary Clinton, and that is probably not higher because they think she is too conservative. More than six in ten have a favorable opinion of Bernie Sanders. Barack Obama is wildly popular: 70 percent have a positive opinion, and only 28 percent have a negative opinion.

Whites have a more favorable opinion of President Trump than non-whites. Still, only 35 percent of whites and only 43 percent of white men like him. Similarly, 45 percent of young white men have an unfavorable opinion of former president Barack Obama, while younger white women are more positive.

While young whites are split but mostly liberal, young blacks’ political views are near-monolithic. No fewer than 96 percent have a positive view of Barack Obama, while only five percent feel that way about President Trump. More than three-quarters of Hispanics have a positive view of President Obama; only 17 percent have a positive view of President Trump. Interestingly, Asians and Pacific Islanders (API) support Barack Obama and condemn Donald Trump by greater margins than Hispanics, with almost 90 percent having a positive view of Barack Obama and only six percent having a positive view of President Trump.

The Republican Party is likely to have trouble winning over Generation Z. A majority, 57 percent, have a favorable view of the Democratic Party, while only 31 percent feel this way towards the Republicans. An overwhelming 66 percent have a negative view of the Republican Party.

These figures show considerable variation by race. Young whites are basically split between the two parties: 43 percent have a favorable view of the Republican Party and 46 percent have a favorable view of the Democrats. However, again, non-whites are overwhelmingly pro-Democrat, with 64 percent of Hispanics, 76 percent of API, and 84 percent of blacks viewing the party favorably.

The split within the white vote is interesting. Young white men actually support Republicans over Democrats, 49 percent to 40 percent. Young white women favor the Democrats, 53 percent to 37 percent.

Although most had a positive view of Hillary Clinton and supported her in the 2016, support was lukewarm. Young white men supported Donald Trump over Hillary Clinton, 43 percent to 28 percent, but young white women took the opposite view, 46 percent to 26 percent. Among non-whites, 79 percent of blacks, 64 percent of API but only 54 percent of Hispanics had a favorable view of Hillary Clinton. Taken together, this suggests the Democrats’ problem getting enough minority and youth votes to win the 2016 election was not because Donald Trump won their support but because Hillary Clinton aroused little excitement.

Generation Z is liberal on immigration. More than 70 percent oppose President Trump’s proposed border wall. The strongest support comes from young white men, but even among them, only 43 percent favor it. Less than 30 percent of young white women do. Among non-whites, opposition is practically unanimous, with 80 percent of Hispanics, 87 percent of blacks and 92 percent of API opposed. Generation Z is not bothered by immigrants who do not speak English and opposes President Trump’s proposed travel ban on certain Muslim countries. Younger whites tend to be more concerned about immigrants who don’t speak English and more supportive of the travel ban, but not a majority in either case. Thus, according to this poll, Generation Z as a whole is liberal, and non-whites are overwhelmingly so.

There is also a racial divide in attitudes towards activism and the salience of race as a political issue. About six in ten young whites have a negative view of protests, calling them counterproductive, pointless, divisive, or violent. Blacks are about twice as likely as whites to call such events “powerful” or inspiring, and API and Hispanics also have more favorable views.

Almost 90 percent of blacks and API and 80 percent of Hispanics say blacks face a lot of discrimination, but only 64 percent of young whites do, including only 57 percent of young white men. More than one in four young white men also think they and white people in general face “a lot” of discrimination, with young white women far less likely to think so.

The mainstream media claim that since President Trump’s election there has been a wave of anti-minority hate crimes and more discrimination. Whites seem less likely to believe this than non-whites. While 75 percent of blacks, 61 percent of API and 56 percent of Hispanics think there is more discrimination against blacks today, only 35 percent of whites agree. The sex gap is large, with almost half of white women agreeing blacks are facing more discrimination but only a quarter of young white men. Similarly, a majority of non-whites in every demographic group believe Hispanics face more discrimination today, but just over a third of young whites agree.

Large majorities of Generation Z actually believe the media promote “negative stereotypes” of Muslims, blacks, transgenders, Hispanics, and homosexuals. No fewer than 60 percent of whites, 68 percent of Hispanics, 78 percent of blacks, and 84 percent of API think the media portray blacks unfairly. Similar but slightly lower percentages think Hispanics are portrayed unfairly. No fewer than 70 percent of white women say black people are portrayed negatively, compared to 52 percent of white men.

Fully 60 percent of those polled believe the media present a “fair and accurate representation” of evangelical Christians, a view not shared by white evangelicals, 67 percent of whom believe they are portrayed negatively.

For those who believe Generation Z will lead a rebellion against political correctness, there is one bright spot. Sixty percent believe “people are too sensitive when it comes to race.” Whites (64 percent) and Hispanics (60 percent) align with the majority, while API and blacks are divided. Among young white men, a huge percentage (74 percent) believe people are too sensitive about race; only 53 percent of young white women feel the same. While 80 percent of blacks and a majority of API and Hispanics say race relations are “critical to them personally,” only 37 percent of whites say so.

A majority of those polled believe black people have gotten “less than they deserve,” with 85 percent of young blacks holding this view. Only 38 percent of young white men feel this way, but 54 percent of young white women believe blacks are not getting a fair shake.

About one-third (36 percent) of white young people say discrimination against whites is as serious as that against minorities. Only 16 percent of black, 19 percent of API, and 28percent of Hispanic young people agree. White young men are more likely than white young women (43 percent vs. 29 percent) to say discrimination against whites is as serious a problem as discrimination against other groups. While 32 percent of all those polled agreed that “efforts to increase diversity almost always come at the expense of whites,” 38 percent of whites felt that way, including 48 percent of white men.

Assuming the poll’s findings are accepted, white advocates have a hard sell. The data do not support the view that younger whites are racially aware, resistant to white guilt, and impatient with political correctness. However, the data also show whites are significantly more resistant than non-whites to leftist views on race.

Obviously, one problem is the division between young white men and young white women. On issue after issue, young white women are closer to non-whites than they are to young white men. There is an explanation for this. As professor George Hawley has pointed out, the “marriage gap” is as important as the sex gap. Single white women (who obviously tend to be younger than married women) tend to be more progressive in their politics, while married women tend to be more conservative. Fifty-two percent of white women voted for President Trump (separate data on single and married white women are hard to find), sparking outrage among the Left and discussions about how this must change. In many ways, the wave of activism since the election targeted at women, notably the Women’s March, is an attempt to get more women to have a political identity as “women” rather than to think in terms of family or race.

In this study, young white men are the outliers. From a leftist perspective, this means more needs to be done to bring young white men into line with how non-whites and young white women think about race. Yet it would be a mistake to say young white men are in opposition to the rest of their generation. Instead, about half of young white men are out of step with Generation Z’s leftist views, and about half go along with it. It is nothing short of shocking that majorities of whites believe the media promotes negative stereotypes of blacks and Hispanics, especially at a time when Black Panther is being hailed as a cultural milestone and anti-white sentiments are increasingly common in the mainstream.

Still, it’s important to remember that believing it’s even possible for whites to be victims of racism or discrimination is a rejection of the orthodox view. As Vice explains, “It’s literally impossible to be racist to a white person.” Therefore, the 40 percent of young white men who believe discrimination against whites is now as a big a problem as discrimination against non-whites are taking a bold stand. This is why the view that Generation Z has a contingent of “based” right-wingers is not entirely false. Those young white advocates are rebelling against a media and academic climate far more biased against whites than anything the Baby Boomers or Generation X faced. This is also why leftist reporters are right to worry about the “radicalization of young, white men,” because being a white advocate in this climate shows formidable independence of thought and strength of will. Even if a minority of whites behaves in this way, they will have strength beyond their numbers.

Still, as Joseph Stalin reportedly said, quantity has a quality all of its own. The sheer numbers of non-whites flooding into this country, and the monolithic nature of their political views, mean that America will have a permanent leftist majority as soon as Generation Z is of voting age. Complacent Republicans who look at California and assume the Democrats’ extremism in the Golden State means mainstream America will turn to the GOP are fooling themselves. There is no mainstream America anymore, only a collection of ethnic groups competing for resources, with the emerging dominant political coalition united by resentment of whites.

One reason for hope is that the white sex gap will decrease over time, as younger white women marry and start families. Making families is therefore an obligation for white advocates. To be pro-white is to be pro-family.

Finally, even among minorities, there is a sense that political correctness has gone too far. A majority believes people are too sensitive about race. There is also strong support for the principle of hearing opposing views, even views many would find offensive. White advocates should therefore defend free speech not just for principled reasons, but for political ones. Defending free speech is not just a way to express our message, but to drive a wedge into the ranks of our opponents, some of whom reluctantly concede we have the right to free speech, while others deny we have even that.

The study also highlights one final point of interest to white advocates. Asians and Pacific Islanders are just as monolithically opposed to certain nationalist policies, such as President Trump’s border wall, as other non-whites. In many cases, they are even more opposed than Hispanics. Some of this could be explained by how many Asian-Americans live in coastal, leftist areas, and therefore absorb the political views of their surroundings. At the same time, Asian-Americans are victims of affirmative action. Understanding why API’s political preferences resemble those of blacks is important, because unless API can be broken away from the non-white coalition, American politics will simply be every non-white group ganging up on whites until there aren’t enough of us left even to matter.