What is the reality of living in Northwest Arkansas for a leftie (Fayetteville: to move, racist)

[Bellacatahoula]

Originally Posted by nmnita

Thanks, I am guessing the person who is so upset decided to relocate here for employment purposes but she did say the COL in Ca drove her here and then we are told how ignorant people are here. Yes, many people relocate for many reasons but expect they can bring their old state with them. They tell us how great someplace they lived was and expect everyone to accept what they have to say Everyplace has good and bd, NWA is no exception. We also know as much about the world as people who have lived elsewhere and chosen AR as their home.

Good luck wherever you decide to go and keep us posted. I am sure you would make a great neighbor.

Thanks Nita!
My father had a saying he lived by and passed on to me. "We're all in this world together so we may as well figure out how to have a good time together."

[nmnita]

Originally Posted by Bellacatahoula

Thanks Nita!
My father had a saying he lived by and passed on to me. "We're all in this world together so we may as well figure out how to have a good time together."

diff worth remembering.

[DeanGuitarist]

Wow!

That person from Cali sure left a nasty taste!

Having been a visitor to NWA many times, I find that ol Cali is wrong. Wife and I go and check out areas to relocate to and NWA is in our crosshairs.

Let's see, where to start...

We have seen many Confederate Flags flying, people sporting the Stars and Bars on their trucks, clothes...And I have not once saw any evidence of KKK. I'm sure there are some there, living on long gravel country roads in the mountains, but nope. I haven't been treated any differently either. And I have a dark complexion, mixed male look. And everywhere we went, people we spoke to, not ONCE have I witnessed any hatred or unfavorable attitudes among the people. Except at a gas station. Years back when I wore some unfavorable clothes.
Even then, after I made our purchases and commented on how I enjoyed the scenery and cracked a few one liners that had people laughing and shaking my hand. ESPECIALLY the ones sporting...Yep, you guessed it, the Stars and Bars! Now...could it be yalls attitudes or the way you carried yourselves? Don't know, don't know you from Eve. You treat people how you want to be treated. And if you have a resting _____ face or have a better than thou aura, you just might get called out on it. In more ways than one. Don't know about NWA, but here in SWLA, it happens. (Quite sure that's everywhere).

Ignorance.... aren't you the pot. Coming from out of state, used to your area and coming to a new place? You gotta assimilate. How everything is fast in Cali...all hustle bustle...Yea.... it's a much slower venue there in NWA. If I can understand, many people are educated but refuses to show it off. If you would drop that superiority mentality and take the time to talk to people, you just might learn a thing or two.

And oh, the liberal vs guns argument. I tell you what. My wife and I feels so much safer being with armed men. They're not hiding it. They're not looking for trouble, either. They would be quick to protect you, a stranger, from any danger. Ever notice their eyes are constantly scanning the room? Yes....You should feel safe. Been there, done that many times. And I also give them a thumbs up and go speak to them. And come to find out, whoa, this guy is very concerned about his town, city, state, country, his FAMILY, and heck...Joe Public for not being able to defend himself in case some nut case decides to rob or shoot up the area. And more often than not, they're off duty police. But NO! Thems guns and thems nut jobs are a dangerous bunch! Sheesh...

Now about that nature up there. It sure is beautiful, ain't it? We long to be there, living our lives in such a beautiful, NATURAL STATE. I'm very jealous of the people living up there. The climate, fall colors, trails, nice, down to earth people....

I can't wait to call NWA home.

[nmnita]

I look at the poster this way: either she is a TROLL and one that has posted several times under different screen names or she has a horrible attitude. No wonder she feels people do not treat her well; heck she treats others like dirt. Either way she seems to have vanished, at least for the time being.

[KathrynAragon]

I just want to add something.

First of all, both my parents are from Arkansas and I have a lot of family there, even though I haven't lived there personally. So I'm familiar with many areas of the state, including NWA, which is where my youngest brother lives now. I think that many, many areas of Arkansas are full of natural beauty.

My youngest brother is, unfortunately, a white supremacist. He's also mentally ill, so there you have it. He is living on 100 percent disability, in a tiny town in NWA. And he often remarks to me how "white" it is, and how nice it is not to have to "deal with" diversity. And this is with him knowing how opposed I am to his beliefs regarding white supremacy.

He definitely gets this unsavory side of himself fed in that area. I don't know if he is part of some actual, organized group or if he just feels super comfortable up there due to a lack of diversity, because if he was part of some local group he wouldn't tell me. But I believe his views on the topic are disgusting so he keeps a lot of it from me. I'm only getting the tip of the iceberg, I'm sure. And it's bad enough.

[duke944]

Originally Posted by KathrynAragon

I just want to add something.

First of all, both my parents are from Arkansas and I have a lot of family there, even though I haven't lived there personally. So I'm familiar with many areas of the state, including NWA, which is where my youngest brother lives now. I think that many, many areas of Arkansas are full of natural beauty.

My youngest brother is, unfortunately, a white supremacist. He's also mentally ill, so there you have it. He is living on 100 percent disability, in a tiny town in NWA. And he often remarks to me how "white" it is, and how nice it is not to have to "deal with" diversity. And this is with him knowing how opposed I am to his beliefs regarding white supremacy.

He definitely gets this unsavory side of himself fed in that area. I don't know if he is part of some actual, organized group or if he just feels super comfortable up there due to a lack of diversity, because if he was part of some local group he wouldn't tell me. But I believe his views on the topic are disgusting so he keeps a lot of it from me. I'm only getting the tip of the iceberg, I'm sure. And it's bad enough.

Maybe he just feels more comfortable around whites because he's white - since you don't talk about it how do you know?

[biscuitmom]

Nice article, kinda touches on the thread topic. Author lives in Fayetteville.
I was a Yankee liberal. It took moving to Arkansas for me to understand my biases.
(Might be behind a pay wall if you don't have a subscription)

[latunafish]

Originally Posted by biscuitmom

Nice article, kinda touches on the thread topic. Author lives in Fayetteville.
I was a Yankee liberal. It took moving to Arkansas for me to understand my biases.
(Might be behind a pay wall if you don't have a subscription)

nice article, thanks for posting it.

[FLKitties]

Originally Posted by biscuitmom

Nice article, kinda touches on the thread topic. Author lives in Fayetteville.
I was a Yankee liberal. It took moving to Arkansas for me to understand my biases.
(Might be behind a pay wall if you don't have a subscription)

Thanks for sharing that. I agree with everyone else who questioned the poster from CA's assessment of NWA as that was definitely not our experience during the time we lived there. I just asked my non-white husband if he was ever made to feel less than during our time there and he said no. Knew plenty of contract IT people working at Walmart and they never had issues nor were they looked at as if they were aliens. That's not to say that person's story was fabricated as none of us can speak to what one individual has encountered, but I do know that NWA is not as super racist and behind the times as that person would like people to believe. I never heard any instances of the Klan in/around Bentonville. If those kinds of things were going on, it never made the news while we were there. I see far more Confederate flags here in SW Florida than I did in NWA which is home to an actual Civil War battlefield (Pea Ridge). Overall, we enjoyed our time in NWA and only moved to pursue certain job opportunities.

As a side note, I hope that people fleeing their current locations in favor of lower taxes elsewhere remember that when they vote in the next election cycle. If you were always voting left and continued to see your taxes increase in a left-controlled state, you might want to keep that in mind so that the problems of the old state don't become the problems of the new state.

[Veritas Vincit]

I don't get why so many people from California and other blue states don't see that the reasons they're leaving their home states are directly the consequence of the presence of people like themselves, and that if they move somewhere else with the same attitudes those places will over time acquire the same problems. Are they just going to keep running from their messes until there's nowhere nice left to go?