Diversity in the Suburbs (Buffalo, Amherst: schools, colleges, gated)

[CincyExpert]

I've been visiting Buffalo a few times a year since I was born to visit family and I've been curious for quite some time to know why there is such little racial diversity in Buffalo's suburbs. Now I'm not quite familiar with the whole metropolitan area but I've noticed that in alot of the places I've visited (Orchard Park, Hamburg, West Seneca, Lancaster, Depew, Cheektawoga, Kenmore) that there is little to no racial diversity. Why is this?

[The city is watching]

Originally Posted by CincyExpert

I've been visiting Buffalo a few times a year since I was born to visit family and I've been curious for quite some time to know why there is such little racial diversity in Buffalo's suburbs. Now I'm not quite familiar with the whole metropolitan area but I've noticed that in alot of the places I've visited (Orchard Park, Hamburg, West Seneca, Lancaster, Depew, Cheektawoga, Kenmore) that there is little to no racial diversity. Why is this?

The people in these suburbs you have mention want it that way.

They grew up not really knowing other cultures and used stereotyping to gauge who minorities were and how they would act towards them.

Racism is so strong , that people don't even know that they are racist.

[CAugust]

Those are the southtowns mainly, if you come out to the Northtowns, you will see just the opposite, Williamsville, East Amherst are majorly diverse!!!!!
Colleen

[CincyExpert]

I'm familiar with Williamsville and Amherst and compared to many of the suburbs where I live around Cincinnati they are very "white-bread" even if they are more diverse than many other places in the area.

Are there more suburbs like Lackawanna that have greater diversity?

[BuffaloTransplant]

Originally Posted by The city is watching

The people in these suburbs you have mention want it that way.

They grew up not really knowing other cultures and used stereotyping to gauge who minorities were and how they would act towards them.

Racism is so strong , that people don't even know that they are racist.

City is watching is incredibly biased -- or if you put it -- racist.
S/he finds diversity ONLY by the color of a person's skin and has no ability to judge other cultural aspects.

This entire area is incredibly diverse in the locations people came from. First off, there is a huge Native American population in this area. S/he declines to recognize that. Then, there are people here from 1800 on.... My husband's family and mine are English/Irish/German. There are tons of Polish, Ukrainians, Greeks, Italians, Hungarians.... you can go on and on. However, generally, most people have assimilated and refer to themselves -- even if we celebrate our heritage -- as AMERICANS, not a hyphenated version w/American nor by a color. If you want to judge diversity by the current standards ( as in govt. minority categories ) fine, do it. Then, FWIW, go back to the censuses of 100 years ago and find out what they said: coutry of birth, mother's country of birth and father's country of birth..... also, it asked if you spoke, wrote and read ENGLISH.

Racism is in the mind of the person's definition. By your definition, anyone who is not listed as a govt. minority is a rascist. Are you listed as one?? Is that why you feel as you do??

[The city is watching]

Originally Posted by BuffaloTransplant

City is watching is incredibly biased -- or if you put it -- racist.
S/he finds diversity ONLY by the color of a person's skin and has no ability to judge other cultural aspects.

This entire area is incredibly diverse in the locations people came from. First off, there is a huge Native American population in this area. S/he declines to recognize that. Then, there are people here from 1800 on.... My husband's family and mine are English/Irish/German. There are tons of Polish, Ukrainians, Greeks, Italians, Hungarians.... you can go on and on. However, generally, most people have assimilated and refer to themselves -- even if we celebrate our heritage -- as AMERICANS, not a hyphenated version w/American nor by a color. If you want to judge diversity by the current standards ( as in govt. minority categories ) fine, do it. Then, FWIW, go back to the censuses of 100 years ago and find out what they said: coutry of birth, mother's country of birth and father's country of birth..... also, it asked if you spoke, wrote and read ENGLISH.

Racism is in the mind of the person's definition. By your definition, anyone who is not listed as a govt. minority is a rascist. Are you listed as one?? Is that why you feel as you do??

I'm sorry that you think i'm being biased, but in the WNY area being diversed does not mean as much when you only include people who can easily be taken as just being "WHITE".

Diversity in it's true meaning in WNY would mean people of color, whether they are hispanic or african american or asian.

This is a big deal in WNY, this area is very segregated when it comes to the people of color when you mention african american or hispanic.

Those areas it would be very hard for you to find my definition of diversity and they like it that way.

Get your facts straight !

[BuffaloTransplant]

Originally Posted by The city is watching

I'm sorry that you think i'm being biased, but in the WNY area being diversed does not mean as much when you only include people who can easily be taken as just being "WHITE".

Diversity in it's true meaning in WNY would mean people of color, whether they are hispanic or african american or asian.

This is a big deal in WNY, this area is very segregated when it comes to the people of color when you mention african american or hispanic.

Those areas it would be very hard for you to find my definition of diversity and they like it that way.

Get your facts straight !

My facts are straight. See the definition from the dictionary:
di·ver·si·ty [ di vúrssətee, dī vúrssətee ] (plural di·ver·si·ties)

noun Definition:1. variety: a variety of something such as opinion, color, or style
a city of great cultural diversity

2. social inclusiveness: ethnic variety, as well as socioeconomic and gender variety, in a group, society, or institution
a company committed to diversity

3. discrepancy: discrepancy, or a difference from what is normal or expected

[14th century. Via French< Latin diversitas< diversus (see divers)]

Your defition is entirely on racial boundaries. [That is rascism.] You fail to allow (or refuse to acknowledge) for cultural, ethnic, economic, gender, opinion [or anything else in the definition.] What is a big deal is that people who are pushing YOUR agenda are totally biased in reverse of what the area has historically been.

I have no problem with diversity of any kind. I simply don't want it rammed down my throat in the "politically correct" way you want to.

[Go Buffalo!]

I moved from California. So I understand what Cincy meant by 'diversity'. If you compare with CA, of course, this area is pretty 'white' but I see diverse culture that I didn't see on the West Coast .... And now this area is full of Canadian people too. I think it's pretty 'diverse' anywhere in this area.

[sent]

I understand what the OP is referring to. Sorry Buffalotransplant, but WNY is not as ethnically diverse as other parts of the country, or even other parts of the state (based on your definition). I grew up in East Amherst because Amherst/Williamsville/Clarence were the only suburbs (in the Northtowns) where most of the Asian families live. When I went to Canisius, my roommates were from Lancaster, West Seneca, Newfane, and Gowanda. Although they came from Polish/Irish/Italian backgrounds, I was the first non-white person they had ever interacted with on a personal level. They had a lot to learn about racism and cultural diversity and I'm glad I was able to teach them something about non-European cultures and families.

[BuffaloTransplant]

Originally Posted by sent

I understand what the OP is referring to. Sorry Buffalotransplant, but WNY is not as ethnically diverse as other parts of the country, or even other parts of the state (based on your definition). I grew up in East Amherst because Amherst/Williamsville/Clarence were the only suburbs (in the Northtowns) where most of the Asian families live. When I went to Canisius, my roommates were from Lancaster, West Seneca, Newfane, and Gowanda. Although they came from Polish/Irish/Italian backgrounds, I was the first non-white person they had ever interacted with on a personal level. They had a lot to learn about racism and cultural diversity and I'm glad I was able to teach them something about non-European cultures and families.

I grew up in a town that was originally settled way before the Revolutionary War [on LI]. It was extremely diverse; we had white, black, hispanic and some asian islanders (mostly Filipino) . My best friend in HS was Bermudan. I never thought anything of it. I moved here and I have been here since the 60s. I went to college here, have lived in the Northtowns and the city as well as east of the city; my colleges were very diverse. I taught close to 30 years in the city schools...you can't get any more exposure to diversity than in schools in this area, with all races and backgrounds.. I have friends from diverse cultures, and my children do as well. However, when going out to meet others, I do not go "look for" a person based on diversity; I find a friend and if the person is of a different background, fine.

The only thing worse than a person who is ignorant of other cultures is one who is yelling "this area is racist and not diverse". [Yes, it is mainly European but it is changing.] Whether you teach others your culture or not, you need not step on other's cultures doing it.