It’s my birthday! Celebrate it by taking the day off and reading The Highlighter. Today’s issue includes two pieces on the anxiety white people feel about sharing this country with people of color. The first article provides a detailed overview, complete with charts and graphs, that will build your background knowledge. The second article, a profile of a young white woman in rural Pennsylvania, may prompt various reactions. Please enjoy!
This week’s question: When you read articles like these, what’s your response? I’d love to hear your views.
White Fear of a Browning America
The fact that the United States is becoming more racially diverse is scaring white people. In this well-researched article, Ezra Klein explains how this fear pushes white people to embrace more conservative views. He writes, “The experience of losing status — and being told that loss of status is part of society’s march to justice — is itself radicalizing. The simplest way to activate someone’s identity is to threaten it, to tell them they don’t truly deserve what they have, to make them consider that it might be taken away.” (26 min)
Heaven Engle is 20 years old and lives in Fredericksburg, Pa. She loves her boyfriend and works at Bell & Evans chicken processing plant (“We’re celebrating! 20 Years of No Antibiotics). But Heaven feels stuck. She’s in a low-paying job, and her high school diploma won’t get her anywhere. The worst thing, though, is that Heaven feels lonely. Most of her coworkers aren’t white, and they don’t speak English. (19 min)
Schlitterbahn’s Tragic Water Slide
Birthdays growing up involved enjoying the water slides at the now-defunct Shadow Cliffs in Pleasanton, Calif., which I found exhilarating, despite evidence to the contrary. Today’s water parks are much more than a few fiberglass flumes on a rolling hill (#144). But sometimes, the desire to build thrilling rides leads to tragedy. This article discusses the reasons behind the gruesome death in 2016 of 10-year-old Caleb Schwab on the Verrückt water slide in Kansas City. (11 min)
Fruit, Please. Not Fruit Juice.
In case you’re a new subscriber, or you’ve forgotten my stern warnings (#35, #92), consider yourself reminded: Fruit juice is bad for you. Here’s another diatribe against everything juice, particularly for children. No more juice boxes, no more orange juice in the morning, and please, no more Mott’s. (Martinelli’s apple juice is the way to go.) (4 min)
Thank you for reading this week’s issue of The Highlighter! Tell me what you thought by using the thumbs below. If you like the newsletter, spread the word and tell a friend. On the other hand, if the newsletter is cluttering your inbox, please unsubscribe. I’ll see you back here next Thursday at 9:10 am. Have a great week!