Who in California Supports California Independence?
For an answer to the question in the title of this article, look at the attached image. Yes, based on the available evidence, the primary group that supports California independence is this:
Ages: 18–24. Equal gender split.
Based on preliminary results from the Free California Republic awareness raising campaign, support for California independence is most heavily concentrated among Californians born between 1993 and 1999: The “Millennial Generation.”
This conclusion, preliminary as it is, comes from the tally of clicks on Facebook ads in the Free California Republic awareness-raising campaign. As of the afternoon of Thursday, Sept. 21, 2017, they are as follows.
561 persons reached 4 clicks Ages 18–24: 100%
Although only four clicks are an inadequate gauge of demographic support, this is all the information available now. More information will be released once more people click on the Facebook ads.
What does this mean?
Born during the years of Clinton prosperity, yet with a world outlook shaped by the 9/11 Attack and the events that followed, no one should be surprised that the youngest of adult Americans are the ones most willing to consider a solution to the problems of California that is as radical as independence.
Although Millennials have the least financial resources to contribute to the Free California campaign — or much of anything else — their presence bodes well for the Free California movement, for many reasons.
First, being the youngest American adults, Millennials are not going to age into irrelevance anytime soon, unlike as is occurring with American conservatives. Rather, their educational achievements, skills, and political power will steadily increase over the next four decades.
Millennials are also a numerous cohort, being largely the children of late Baby Boom parents, and thus the “Echo of the Baby Boom.” Just in California, there are approximately 3.9 million Millennials. Put another way, the number of Millennials in California is nearly as high as the 4.2 million senior citizens (age 65 and up), and the future direction of that trend is obvious.
A movement based on Millennials is also likely to be ethnically and culturally diverse, because approximately 66% of Californians between the ages of 18–24 identify themselves as non-white or multi-racial, like the model in the photo. Compare that to Californian senior citizens, of whom only 38% consider themselves non-white.
In many ways, the supporters of California independence resemble the movement for Scottish independence: Young and energetic, but culturally-diverse, who have had relatively few years to develop deep attachment to the larger national government. In the coming months and years, the young adults of California, connected by instantly-activated social networking applications, will play a surprising role in the evolution of this California Republic.
What are your observations about support for California independence? Share your opinions below.
