"Boom Town" - Book about Bentonville (Fayetteville, Bella Vista: transplants, credit)

[joebaldknobber]

The writer, Margorie Rosen, from New York comes to Bentonville in search of intolerance towards minorities, and is basically shocked that everyone; whites, blacks, Jews, Muslims, Hindus, etc. all seem to get along fine in their capitalist quest for profits.

The Wall Street Journal article says Ms. Rosen often creates caricatures to reinforce stereotypes about Arkansans. Here's a quote about the locals "cold stark fear—at least among a segment of the white Christian majority, which sees its comfortable, all-white way of life fading."

This book sounds like something you might read in an Anthropology Course in college. Sounds kind of like this book's target market is the academic crowd on the coasts.

Book Review: Boom Town - WSJ.com

[ridicter]

Cue self-congratulatory "rah rah Arkansas" replies.

[ridicter]

Reading the review of the book, Ms. Rosen does seem to have a pretty sloppy agenda, trying too hard to project her own stereotypes of the south in her writing...

Though I do think she could have made a reasonable case for apprehension on the part of locals towards new immigrants, the excerpt quoted by WSJ shows that she is prone to hyperbole.

[Dr. Foosball]

A liberal writer who is prone to hyberbole? I refuse to believe such a thing.

[bluenoter]

What effect will the Crystal Bridges Museum have on growth in NW Arkansas when it opens next year?

[ILWoods]

Another spin to this story is how WM forced all their vendors to live in their backyard thus giving birth the NWA bubble. The bubble is the area from southern Bella Vista (maybe including Pea Ridge) to Fayetteville where the native AR population built the McMansion communities to accommodate this melting-pot mixture that transferred into the area. More and more transplants came demanding similar luxuries (comforts of "home") found in their native states, such as TX, NY, IL, SF etc. More of the local pop. sought to meet these needs and other times big franchises came in and offered, their svcs to the bubble communities. Travel OUTSIDE the bubble and life is different and not as luxury-filled for the generational families or the migrants. Because of the low taxes, lovely scenery and quality of life afforded to the bubble residents, they do not want to leave even when the world largest retailer has thrown the vendor exec. out of the acct.

This is a more interesting story.

[Dr. Foosball]

Originally Posted by ILWoods

More of the local pop. sought to meet these needs and other times big franchises came in and offered, their svcs to the bubble communities. Travel OUTSIDE the bubble and life is different and not as luxury-filled for the generational families or the migrants.

You are giving the NWA area too much credit. If you are comparing that area to the very rural parts of Arkansas, I can see your point. But the few other populated areas in the state offer the same things that the NWA area offer.