The U.K. is 87 percent white.

While a number of factors are obviously involved, many observers believe that the Brexit “Leave” vote is in part attributable to the resentment that many white Britons feel towards nonwhite immigrants. Donald Trump’s United States presidential campaign, as it happens, is motivated almost entirely by such resentments. It’s thus natural to suggest, as the Washington Post did Friday morning, that the surprising success of “Leave” should be taken as a warning about the potential upset potency of Trump’s candidacy. If it could happen there, it could happen here, etc.

Here’s the thing, though: The United Kingdom is much, much whiter than the United States. Non-Hispanic whites account for 62 percent of the U.S. population. (Trump has made it pretty clear how he feels about individuals who might consider themselves both white and Hispanic: They are “Mexican,” and they are suspicious.) By contrast, 87 percent of the U.K. population is white. (It doesn’t appear that there are a statistically significant number of Hispanic whites in the country.) Or, in visual form:

So there you go. It should be a lot harder for a campaign reliant on white resentment to win a national election in the U.S. than in the U.K. So don’t worry about it! Don’t even bother voting, things will probably be fine. Hell, vote for Trump if you want, just as a goof! LOL.

Just kidding. Please don’t do that!

Read more Slate coverage of the Brexit vote. 

• Brexit

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