Commentary

For some time now, I’ve noticed that more advertisers of a wide-variety of products and services were producing commercials and print ads featuring blacks and Latinos.

It reminded me of the times in my communications career in the aerospace industry when I was asked by human resources to produce a brochure or slide program.  The photography had to show the diversity of individuals in our employment.

Recently, I noticed what appeared to be a smiling interracial couple sitting on a sofa in a furniture advertisement.  More and more, interracial couples, same sex couples and even single parents are being featured in television commercials.

I have no problem with interracial couples or marriages, and while I know that advertisers do a great deal of research in various demographic groups before introducing a new commercial, I’ve often wondered about the validity of their decisions.

Perhaps you, too, have noticed how the government is making an effort to recognize non-nuclear families and even transgenders.  Do the numbers for such individuals warrant this attention?  Or are they making decisions by gut feel or perception?

If we can believe a recent YouGovAmerica poll revealing that “Americans tend to vastly overestimate the size of minorities,” the answer is, yes.

As you continue reading, I want you to know that Kramerontheright is not biased against mixed marriages.  I am merely making a point that advertisers seem to be overestimating the numbers of people in specific groups.

The poll of 1,500 adults, respondents perceived mixed marriages at 50 percent of all marriages, when the more accurate figure would be 15 percent.  Interracial marriages have steadily increased from just three percent in 1967.

The YouGovAmerica poll reveals a long list of public misperceptions.  While those polled believe that 21 percent of the population is transgender, the true proportion is close to one percent.

I wonder, how many of you recall that just two months into his presidency, Joe Biden became the first president to issue a proclamation commemorating “Transgender Day of Visibility as an annual celebration of the resilience, achievements, and joy of transgender people in the United States and around the world.” 

“Transgender people are some of the bravest people in our nation,” he said, “Today, the Biden administration announces new actions to support the mental health of transgender children, remove barriers that transgender people face accessing critical government services, and improve the visibility of transgender people in our nation’s data.”

Space doesn’t permit me to include the far-reaching aspects of this unbelievable proclamation.  All for a minute minority group. I invite you to read it on the Internet at whitehouse.gov/transgender proclamation.

Returning to the YouGovAmerica poll, respondents believe that 30 percent of Americans are gay or lesbian, the actual percentage is more like three percent. They also believe that 29 percent of Americans are bisexual, when the actual proportion is about four percent.

Those surveyed perceive that 41 percent of the population is black and 39 percent Latino, compared to actual statistics of 12 percent and 17 percent, respectively.

Other wide variances between perception and actual statistics are noted in gun ownership – 32 percent, not 54 percent.  Also, respondents believed that 77 percent of Americans have read a book in the past year, but in actuality about 50 percent.

It’s interesting to note that experts believe that perceptions derived by individuals can be tied to social media and media portrayal in advertising and general programming.

Those who read my September 16, 2022 commentary on the power of message repetition will see a similarity in the exaggeration of perceptions.  Why is the government fabricating the perception that there’s a large bloc of transgender people?

YouGovAmerica correlates its responses with statistics gathered by the Census Bureau, the Bureau of Labor Statistics and by other polling firms.

If you are among the majority of TV viewers who tend to ignore commercials, I suggest you change that pattern to better understand why perceptions are so out of whack.

It should further shake your confidence in the Biden administration and big government.

You can help put an end to such radical social culture actions by voting Republican in 48 days.

May God continue to bless the people of the United States of America.