Is Boulder racist? (Denver: home, neighborhoods, living)

[sd_bookworm]

I 'm in town to attend an event and I've already received two racist insults within the first 12 hours of my stay here. Granted, both came from homeless people that yelled at me as I walked by, but they disturbed me nonetheless. Some may feel that I shouldn't draw any conclusions about the city from incidents involving the homeless, but it's difficult not to when this sort of thing almost never happens to me back home, from the homeless or otherwise (and we have our fair share of the homeless). Coupled with the fact that the population here seems to be overwhelming white, I'm left feeling out-of-place and unwelcome. Quite frankly, I can't wait to go home.

Many of my friends and coworkers raved about Boulder and assured me that I'll love it here, but they aren't ethnic minorities and perhaps they experience Boulder differently. To me, it doesn't seem like a very friendly or welcoming city. What do you guys think? Are there any ethnic minorities who live here who feel differently?

[Mike from back east]

Boulder is not known to be racist.

Ignore homeless people, they're usually jerks.

[scorpioqueen]

Originally Posted by sd_bookworm

I 'm in town to attend an event and I've already received two racist insults within the first 12 hours of my stay here. Granted, both came from homeless people that yelled at me as I walked by, but they disturbed me nonetheless. Some may feel that I shouldn't draw any conclusions about the city from incidents involving the homeless, but it's difficult not to when this sort of thing almost never happens to me back home, from the homeless or otherwise (and we have our fair share of the homeless). Coupled with the fact that the population here seems to be overwhelming white, I'm left feeling out-of-place and unwelcome. Quite frankly, I can't wait to go home.

Many of my friends and coworkers raved about Boulder and assured me that I'll love it here, but they aren't ethnic minorities and perhaps they experience Boulder differently. To me, it doesn't seem like a very friendly or welcoming city. What do you guys think? Are there any ethnic minorities who live here who feel differently?

I have never been to Colorado, but have been warned by other minorities who are natives of Denver and other parts of the state as well as some whites that it is very racist and to avoid it at all cost. Their words have always remained the same, "If you are a minority stay far away from Colorado there is no place for you there." But I am sure they were only speaking based on their personal experience and is probably not reflective of the views of the entire state.

[sd_bookworm]

Interesting. I have a coworker from Denver and I haven't gotten that impression from him (he happens to be Taiwanese American). I didn't do any exploring in Denver so I don't have an opinion either way.

Once I ventured out of Downtown Boulder and went shopping at the new big lot shopping malls, I started to see a lot more ethnic minorities, both among the customers and the employees. I like the scale and the aesthetics of Downtown Boulder and much of it reminds me of the urban neighborhoods of San Diego, but urban SD is much more diverse, and IMO, friendlier.

I think my most positive experience today was at a Burger King, where a hispanic employee taking my order asked me how my day was going and we had a little chat.

[Idlewile]

I am part of an interracial relationship, created a mixed family while in CO, and I spent 13 years in the Denver metro and Boulder; I never once experienced any form of racism on any level in CO or Boulder specifically. More importantly, spending a long weekend in a city does not constitute an accurate assessment of 'how racist' it is.

I've been verbally harassed by homeless people remarking on my interracial relationship in DC and Atlanta as we were walking down the street but never even gave it a second thought. They are 1) homeless and 2) antagonistic because they are homeless. Even if I had given it a second thought I would certainly not assume that the whole city is racist.

[mic111]

I can't speak to whether Boulder is racist or not (I would say not because the people are too wrapped up in being health nuts but then I don't live there) but I can say that being harassed, insulted and yelled at by the bums on Pearl Street Mall in Boulder has happened often enough that I don't go anymore unless I'm meeting someone at a restaurant and they chose the restaurant. I never go on my own initiative any more. I'm middle aged and white. However this has been the case even when I was younger and had first moved to the area so they don't limit themselves to specific groups. Even 16th street mall in Denver I get harassed less but I don't go there either because I just don't like being harassed. People say to just ignore it etc. But I say I have choices on where I spend my time and money and I choose not to spend them in the areas where anyone harasses me.

Try Cherry Creek in Denver for a similar small store, good restaurant, older architecture area with no one to harass the consumer.

[sd_bookworm]

Yeah, these incidents happened to me at or near the Pearl Street Mall. We have homeless (I don't like the word "bums" because it's dehumanizing) in downtown SD, but they're more of the grizzled, old, chronically homeless type who may ask you for money but seldom harass people. The ones I encountered here were more of the younger, "don't-give-an-F" type, and I used to run into those types in Berkeley.

I'll try to forget those incidents and try to stay open-minded about the city. I'm leaving soon, anyway, so I should try my best to enjoy my time remaining here.

[mic111]

Originally Posted by sd_bookworm

Yeah, these incidents happened to me at the Pearl Street Mall. We have homeless (I don't like to call them "bums" because it's dehumanizing) in downtown SD, but they're more of the grizzled, old, chronically homeless type who may ask you for money but seldom harass people. The ones I encountered here were more of the younger, "don't-give-an-F" type, and I used to run into those types in Berkeley.

I'll try to forget those incidents and try to stay open-minded about the city. I'm leaving soon, anyway, so I should try my best to enjoy my time remaining here.

Personally I don't think they really are homeless. I think they are probably trouble makers, goof offs, malcontents etc. I don't think they are living on the streets unless it is by choice. To me homeless are those who used to have a home and maybe lost it because they couldn't pay. These are not those folks. My guess is they go home at night to live with their mom and dad (probably in the basement or their childhood room while their parent plot ways to dislodge them).

[cocaseco]

Yes, but it is not overtly so. It is subtle because nobody tehre would think they were racist in any way. But the reality is racism is alive and well in Boulder, just like the rest of America.

[lurtsman]

Boulder is not racist. I'm sorry about the bad experience, but it was probably an isolated incident from a few upset homeless people. The entire front range is the most open minded and non-bigoted place I've ever lived.