> If what you say is so, then we really can't expect young whites who vore for Obama to be charging forward to
> eliminate the social structures that generate racist outcomes.
I actually think things are looking a lot brighter than they've looked in a long time. Bob Herbert noted some interesting trends in his column this morning:
Here Come the Millennials By BOB HERBERT Published: May 13, 2008 http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/13/opinion/13herbert.html
[...] Indeed, Millennials' views are more progressive than those of other age groups today, and are more progressive than previous generations when they were younger."
The Demos study pointed to the very difficult employment environment confronting young adults. Fewer jobs offer the benefits of paid vacations, health coverage or pensions. And moving up the employment ladder is much harder.
As the study noted, "The well-paying middle-management jobs that characterized the work force up to the late-1970s have been eviscerated."
The longer-term outlook is depressing.
Except for the expected continuing demand for registered nurses, the occupations projected to add the most jobs over the next several years do not offer much in the way of pay, benefits or career advancement. Demos listed the top five occupations in terms of anticipated job growth: registered nurses, retail sales, customer service reps, food preparers and office clerks.
Often saddled with debt, and with their job prospects gloomy, young Americans feel their government ought to be doing more to enhance their prospects. They want increased investments in education, health care and initiatives aimed at expanding the economy and fostering the growth of good jobs.
The American Progress study found that Millennials are more likely to support universal health coverage than any other age group over the past 30 years. By huge percentages, they want improvements in health coverage and support for education, even if it means increases in taxes. [...]
There're also some encouraging data in the survey featured here:
Young Americans Are Leaning Left, New Poll Finds By ADAM NAGOURNEY and MEGAN THEE Published: June 27, 2007 http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/27/washington/27poll.html
-WD