His topic is the various immigrant groups which began as the “other” and ended up being lumped with the much-scorned white majority, examples would include Catholics including his own Italian ancestors and the Irish, Jews and the Orthodox. Yet today, he writes:
Today, all these groups are lumped together as “whites,” even though there are still perceptible, though muted, differences in political attitudes and perspectives between those with different ancestries.I predict many, perhaps most, Hispanics and Asians will over 2-3 generations merge into the supposedly white mainstream culture. Many already have done so.
Barone’s larger point is that demographic shift may not so much change mainstream American culture, but rather be absorbed by it - no bad thing. We once called whiteshift “the melting pot” and for most it worked out fine.
