0:00:01.017,0:00:03.827
Imagine a place

0:00:03.827,0:00:07.519
where your neighbors[br]greet your children by name,

0:00:07.519,0:00:10.723
a place with splendid vistas,

0:00:10.723,0:00:14.043
a place where you[br]can drive just 20 minutes

0:00:14.043,0:00:16.713
and put your sailboat on the water.

0:00:16.713,0:00:20.312
It's a seductive place, isn't it.

0:00:20.312,0:00:22.193
I don't live there

0:00:22.193,0:00:24.678
-- (Laughter) --

0:00:24.678,0:00:26.744
but I did journey

0:00:26.744,0:00:31.736
on a 27,000 mile trip for two years

0:00:31.736,0:00:38.284
to the fastest-growing[br]and whitest counties in America.

0:00:38.284,0:00:40.838
What is a Whitopia?

0:00:40.838,0:00:43.949
I define Whitopia in three ways.

0:00:43.949,0:00:51.472
First, a Whitopia has posted at least[br]six percent population growth since 2000.

0:00:51.472,0:00:54.049
Secondly, the majority of that growth

0:00:54.049,0:00:56.185
comes from white migrants,

0:00:56.185,0:01:00.249
and third, the Whitopia has[br]an ineffable charm,

0:01:00.249,0:01:02.826
a pleasant look and feel,

0:01:02.826,0:01:04.916
a je ne sais quoi.

0:01:04.916,0:01:07.609
(Laughter)

0:01:07.609,0:01:11.556
To learn how and why[br]Whitopias are ticking,

0:01:11.556,0:01:15.480
I immersed myself[br]for several months apiece

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in three of them:

0:01:17.338,0:01:20.054
first, St. George, Utah;

0:01:20.054,0:01:22.492
second, Coeur d'Alene, Idaho;

0:01:22.492,0:01:26.625
and third, Forsyth County, Georgia.

0:01:26.625,0:01:29.087
First stop, St. George,

0:01:29.087,0:01:32.477
a beautiful town of red rock landscapes.

0:01:32.477,0:01:37.631
In the 1850s, Brigham Young[br]dispatched families to St. George

0:01:37.631,0:01:41.114
to grow cotton because[br]of the hot, arid climate,

0:01:41.114,0:01:43.529
and so they called it Utah's Dixie,

0:01:43.529,0:01:46.336
and the name sticks to this day.

0:01:48.102,0:01:53.373
I approached my time in each Whitopia[br]like an anthropologist.

0:01:53.373,0:01:57.854
I made detailed spreadsheets of all[br]the power brokers in the communities,

0:01:57.854,0:02:01.314
who I needed to meet,[br]where I needed to be,

0:02:01.314,0:02:04.704
and I threw myself with gusto[br]in these communities.

0:02:04.704,0:02:06.921
I went to zoning board meetings,

0:02:06.921,0:02:10.613
I went to Democratic clubs[br]and Republican clubs.

0:02:10.613,0:02:13.393
I went to poker nights.

0:02:14.716,0:02:20.109
In St. George, I rented[br]a home at the Entrada,

0:02:20.109,0:02:23.290
one of the town's[br]premiere gated communities.

0:02:23.290,0:02:27.540
There were no Motel 6's[br]or Howard Johnsons for me.

0:02:27.540,0:02:30.256
I lived in Whitopia as a resident,

0:02:30.256,0:02:32.996
and not like a visitor.

0:02:32.996,0:02:37.454
I rented myself this home by phone.

0:02:37.454,0:02:41.494
(Laughter) (Applause)

0:02:41.494,0:02:47.763
Golf is the perfect seductive[br]symbol of Whitopia.

0:02:47.763,0:02:49.621
When I went on my journey,

0:02:49.621,0:02:52.755
I had barely ever held a golf club.

0:02:52.755,0:02:57.539
By the time I left, I was golfing[br]at least three times a week.

0:02:57.539,0:03:00.232
(Laughter)

0:03:00.232,0:03:03.134
Golf helps people bond.

0:03:03.134,0:03:05.804
Some of the best interviews I ever scored

0:03:05.804,0:03:09.752
during my trip were on the golf courses.

0:03:09.752,0:03:13.235
One venture capitalist, for example,[br]invited me to golf

0:03:13.235,0:03:15.208
in his private club

0:03:15.208,0:03:18.691
that had no minority members.

0:03:18.691,0:03:22.406
I also went fishing.

0:03:22.406,0:03:25.517
Because I had never fished,[br]this fellow had to teach me

0:03:25.517,0:03:29.998
how to cast my line and what bait to use.

0:03:29.998,0:03:33.899
I also played poker every weekend.

0:03:33.899,0:03:38.032
It was Texas Hold 'Em with a $10 buy-in.

0:03:38.032,0:03:42.443
My poker mates may have been bluffing[br]about the hands that they drew,

0:03:42.443,0:03:45.601
but they weren't bluffing[br]about their social beliefs.

0:03:45.601,0:03:49.177
Some of the most raw,[br]salty conversations I ever had

0:03:49.177,0:03:53.078
during my journey were at the poker table.

0:03:53.078,0:03:55.980
I'm a gung ho entertainer.

0:03:55.980,0:03:59.974
I love to cook, I hosted[br]many dinner parties, and in return,

0:03:59.974,0:04:03.433
people invited me to their dinner parties,

0:04:03.433,0:04:06.034
and to their barbecues,[br]and to their pool parties,

0:04:06.034,0:04:09.354
and to their birthday parties.

0:04:09.354,0:04:11.212
But it wasn't all fun.

0:04:11.212,0:04:16.204
Immigration turned out to be[br]a big issue in this Whitopia.

0:04:16.204,0:04:19.478
The St. George's Citizens Council[br]on Illegal Immigration

0:04:19.478,0:04:23.704
held regular and active protests[br]against immigration,

0:04:23.704,0:04:29.810
and so what I gleaned from this Whitopia[br]is what a hot debate this would become.

0:04:29.810,0:04:32.202
It was a real time preview,

0:04:32.202,0:04:35.127
and so it has become.

0:04:35.127,0:04:37.728
Next stop, Almost Heaven,

0:04:37.728,0:04:40.375
a cabin I rented for myself

0:04:40.375,0:04:45.065
in Coeur d'Alene, in the beautiful[br]north Idaho panhandle.

0:04:45.065,0:04:50.243
I rented this place for myself[br]also by phone.

0:04:50.243,0:04:53.935
The book "A Thousand Places[br]To See Before You Die"

0:04:53.935,0:04:55.629
lists Coeur d'Alene.

0:04:55.629,0:05:00.227
It's a gorgeous paradise[br]for huntsmen, boatsmen, and fishermen.

0:05:00.227,0:05:04.197
My growing golf skills[br]came in handy in Coeur d'Alene.

0:05:04.197,0:05:07.703
I golf with retired LAPD cops.

0:05:07.703,0:05:15.899
In 1993, around 11,000 families[br]and cops fled Los Angeles

0:05:15.899,0:05:20.892
after the L.A. racial unrest[br]for north Idaho,

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and they've built[br]an ex-patriated community.

0:05:23.910,0:05:27.880
Given the conservatism of these cops,

0:05:27.880,0:05:33.244
there's no surprise that north Idaho[br]has a strong gun culture.

0:05:33.244,0:05:41.603
In fact, it is said, north Idaho[br]has more gun dealers than gas stations.

0:05:41.603,0:05:44.946
So what's a resident to do to fit in?

0:05:44.946,0:05:47.199
I hit the gun club.

0:05:47.199,0:05:49.938
When I rented a gun,[br]the gentleman behind the counter

0:05:49.938,0:05:52.934
was perfectly pleasant and kind,

0:05:52.934,0:05:56.835
until I showed him[br]my New York City driver's license.

0:05:56.835,0:05:59.807
That's when he got nervous.

0:05:59.807,0:06:03.313
I'm not as bad a shot[br]as I thought I might have been.

0:06:03.313,0:06:06.703
What I learned from north Idaho

0:06:06.703,0:06:10.557
is the peculiar brand of paranoia

0:06:10.557,0:06:13.320
that can permeate a community

0:06:13.320,0:06:17.267
when so many cops and guns are around.

0:06:17.267,0:06:23.002
In north Idaho, in my red pickup truck,

0:06:23.002,0:06:24.860
I kept a notepad,

0:06:24.860,0:06:29.643
and in that notepad I counted[br]more Confederate flags than black people.

0:06:29.643,0:06:37.003
In north Idaho, I found Confederate flags[br]on keychains, on cellphone paraphernalia,

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and on cars.

0:06:39.929,0:06:43.273
About a seven minute drive[br]from my hidden lake cabin

0:06:43.273,0:06:46.128
was the compound of Aryan Nations,

0:06:46.128,0:06:50.354
the white supremacist group.

0:06:50.354,0:06:52.676
America's Promise ministry,

0:06:52.676,0:06:55.254
the religious arm of Aryan Nations,

0:06:55.254,0:07:00.733
happened to have a three day[br]retreat during my visit,

0:07:00.733,0:07:03.125
so I decided to crash it.

0:07:03.125,0:07:05.331
(Laughter)

0:07:05.331,0:07:11.507
I'm the only non-Aryan journalist[br]I'm aware of ever to have done so.

0:07:11.507,0:07:17.195
Among the many memorable[br]episodes of that retreat

0:07:17.195,0:07:20.980
is when Abe, an Aryan,[br]sidled up next to me.

0:07:20.980,0:07:26.483
He slapped my knee, and he said, "Hey Rich,[br]I just want you to know one thing.

0:07:26.483,0:07:31.034
We are not white supremacists.[br]We are white separatists.

0:07:31.034,0:07:32.984
We don't think we're better than you,

0:07:32.984,0:07:35.074
we just want to be away from you."

0:07:35.074,0:07:39.254
(Laughter)

0:07:39.254,0:07:44.130
Indeed, most white people in Whitopia

0:07:44.130,0:07:47.752
are neither white supremacists[br]or white separatists.

0:07:47.752,0:07:52.047
In fact, they're not there[br]for explicitly racial reasons at all.

0:07:52.047,0:07:57.155
Rather, they emigrate there[br]for friendliness, comfort,

0:07:57.155,0:07:59.152
security, safety,

0:07:59.152,0:08:05.143
reasons that they implicitly[br]associate to whiteness in itself.

0:08:05.143,0:08:08.231
Next stop was Georgia.

0:08:08.231,0:08:13.014
In Georgia, I stayed in an exurb[br]north of Atlanta.

0:08:13.014,0:08:14.895
In Utah, I found poker.

0:08:14.895,0:08:16.775
in Idaho, I found guns.

0:08:16.775,0:08:19.469
In Georgia, I found God.

0:08:19.469,0:08:22.627
The way that I immersed myself[br]in this Whitopia

0:08:22.627,0:08:26.690
was to become active[br]at First Redeemer Church,

0:08:26.690,0:08:30.033
a megachurch that's so huge[br]that it has golf carts

0:08:30.033,0:08:35.908
to escort the congregants around[br]its many parking lots on campus.

0:08:35.908,0:08:38.439
I was active in the youth ministry,

0:08:38.439,0:08:40.505
and for me, personally,

0:08:40.505,0:08:43.245
I was more comfortable in this Whitopia

0:08:43.245,0:08:48.794
than say, in a Colorado, or an Idaho,[br]or even a suburban Boston.

0:08:48.794,0:08:52.068
That is because here in Georgia,

0:08:52.068,0:08:56.991
white people and black people are more[br]historically familiar to one another.

0:08:56.991,0:09:01.726
I was less exotic in this Whitopia.

0:09:02.819,0:09:05.001
But what does it all mean?

0:09:05.001,0:09:07.904
Whitopian dreaming, Whitopia migration,

0:09:07.904,0:09:10.481
is a push-pull phenomenon,

0:09:10.481,0:09:14.753
full of alarming pushes[br]and alluring pulls,

0:09:14.753,0:09:21.812
and Whitopia operates at the level[br]of conscious and unconscious bias.

0:09:21.812,0:09:25.039
It's possible for people to be in Whitopia

0:09:25.039,0:09:27.129
not for racist reasons,

0:09:27.129,0:09:30.052
though it has racist outcomes.

0:09:31.795,0:09:35.603
Many Whitopians feel pushed by illegals,

0:09:35.603,0:09:38.854
social welfare abuse, minorities,

0:09:38.854,0:09:41.849
density, crowded schools.

0:09:41.849,0:09:46.284
Many Whitopians feel pulled by merit,

0:09:46.284,0:09:49.535
freedom, the allure of privatism,

0:09:49.535,0:09:52.019
privatized places, privatized people,

0:09:52.019,0:09:55.456
privatized things.

0:09:55.456,0:09:58.358
And I learned in Whitopia

0:09:58.358,0:10:01.121
how a country can have racism

0:10:01.121,0:10:03.350
without racists.

0:10:03.350,0:10:06.067
Many of my smug urban liberal friends

0:10:06.067,0:10:09.410
couldn't believe I would go[br]on such a venture.

0:10:09.410,0:10:12.800
The reality is that many white Americans

0:10:12.800,0:10:15.795
are affable and kind.

0:10:15.795,0:10:17.908
Interpersonal race relations,

0:10:17.908,0:10:20.486
how we treat each other as human beings,

0:10:20.486,0:10:25.130
is vastly better than in[br]my parents' generation.

0:10:25.130,0:10:29.262
Can you imagine me going[br]to Whitopia 40 years ago?

0:10:29.262,0:10:33.163
What a journey that would have been.

0:10:33.163,0:10:35.857
And yet some things haven't changed.

0:10:35.857,0:10:38.434
America is as residentially

0:10:38.434,0:10:42.126
and educationally segregated today

0:10:42.126,0:10:47.420
as it was in 1970.

0:10:47.420,0:10:51.715
As Americans, we often find ways[br]to cook for each other,

0:10:51.715,0:10:53.770
to dance with each other,

0:10:53.770,0:10:55.883
to host with each other,

0:10:55.883,0:10:59.784
but why can't that translate[br]into how we treat each other

0:10:59.784,0:11:01.688
as communities?

0:11:01.688,0:11:03.800
It's a devastating irony,

0:11:03.800,0:11:06.517
how we have gone forward as individuals

0:11:06.517,0:11:09.963
and backward as communities.

0:11:12.031,0:11:14.260
One of the Whitopian outlooks

0:11:14.260,0:11:16.002
that really hit me

0:11:16.002,0:11:18.486
was a proverbial saying:

0:11:18.486,0:11:21.969
"One black man[br]is a delightful dinner guest,

0:11:21.969,0:11:26.172
50 black men is a ghetto."

0:11:28.910,0:11:31.837
One of the big contexts

0:11:31.837,0:11:34.391
animating my Whitopian journey

0:11:34.391,0:11:36.899
was the year 2042.

0:11:36.899,0:11:39.592
By 2042, white people

0:11:39.592,0:11:43.423
will no longer be the American majority.

0:11:43.423,0:11:47.812
As such, will there be more Whitopias?

0:11:47.812,0:11:53.709
In looking at this,[br]the danger of Whitopia is

0:11:53.709,0:11:57.587
that the more segregation we have,

0:11:57.587,0:12:00.002
the less we can look at and confront

0:12:00.002,0:12:03.657
conscious and unconscious bias.

0:12:06.282,0:12:10.369
I ventured on my two-year,[br]27,000 mile journey

0:12:10.369,0:12:15.872
to learn where, why, and how[br]white people are fleeing,

0:12:15.872,0:12:19.912
but I didn't expect to have[br]so much fun on my journey.

0:12:19.912,0:12:23.162
I didn't expect to learn[br]so much about myself.

0:12:23.162,0:12:26.901
I don't expect I'll be living[br]in a Whitopia

0:12:26.901,0:12:30.059
or a Blacktopia, for that matter.

0:12:30.059,0:12:34.726
I do plan to continue golfing[br]every chance I get.

0:12:34.726,0:12:40.554
And I'll just have to leave the guns[br]and megachurches back in Whitopia.

0:12:40.554,0:12:43.665
Thank you.

0:12:43.665,0:12:47.665
(Applause)