Minorities living in Idaho, How is it??? (Hayden, Sandpoint: house, school)

[norcalmom101]

Originally Posted by Yellowfin240

There is way more racial strife here in Hawaii than you will find in most places in Idaho.And Hawaii is touted as a true melting pot.It's not.

I have to agree, though it's been a long time since I lived there, it was way more an issue than anything I've encountered here.

[im5150too]

Originally Posted by wehotex

I've always thought that Idaho is racist b/c i would always hear that retired so cal police officers move there. i heard this a few times from several, coeur d'alene in particular. in fact, mark fuhrman (avowed racist) of the OJ trials moved there. there was also much press about aryan nations having a compund there. that in combination with an overwhelming white population and mormons just adds to the notion that idaho is racist.

Ah yes.... cops.

One of the last groups it's acceptable to be openly prejudiced and hostile towards...

[norcalmom101]

Let's change that here and now. It is not acceptable to be openly prejudiced and hostile towards cops. And in fact it's real stupid, too. All the reasons anyone would hate cops get way more real when people villify them. It's an inhuman and dangerous thing to do, and it makes whoever engages in it as monstrous as they imagine the target of their animosity. Cops are people too.

[Sandpointian]

I don't follow. Why be prejudiced and openly hostile toward police? After all, they are sworn to uphold the law which is written by the People. Most police departments operate with explicit civilian oversight and all with at least implicit oversight. Maybe it is because we as the People break our own laws time and time again that the police seems like the "bad guys," Instead, we should take a hard look at ourselves in the mirror.

It is easy to have an unsullied image if you are tasked with sheriffing Mayberry. It would be another thing altogether to patrol the inner city, where they are blamed for everything, or in scarier rural situations where they can be just as vulnerable. I don't think I would want to be protected by police who have not mixed it up and had a few questionable calls...

[Sage of Sagle]

Sandpointian,

Your post brings a smile to my face. I spent most of my law enforcement career being sued, second guessed, investigated, and called names. Never disciplined, and received two commendations and one citation (I used to catch an awful lot of car thieves in the act). And good police work involved plenty of force...bad guys don't go to jail because you ask nicely and say the magic word. Force is never pretty, and usually involves blood, force memos, torn uniforms, etc. And regardless of how it sounds in the movies, force is never our first option...trust me. You get someone to comply with forceful words...no paperwork. You have to fight someone, now you got paperwork. Seriously injure a bad guy, lots of paperwork. You can do the math...and cops hate paperwork. So all the guys I worked with had the view that the most you can get done with the least amount of force necessary, we're all good.

Point is...I appreciate your post. It wasn't an easy job...

Lots of people like to hate cops. But when I worked other suburban areas, people treated us awfully good, and my faith in people was restored. Saved a baby once, and got birthday cards for 7 years....

Oh...back to the topic...the point I was coming to in a roundabout manner was that when I told people I was moving a couple miles down the road from mark Furhman, the very next thing I got from people was all the racial misconceptions thrown at me...you know, "you must be just one more racist cop going to idaho"...etc.

[pll]

Originally Posted by associationhater

Wondering how minorities are treated in Idaho? Considering it being a 92% white population.

Better then they were 15 years ago. The town was very "vanilla". I'm seeing more ethnic groups. Makes me happy.

[Dwatted Wabbit]

Originally Posted by pll

Better then they were 15 years ago. The town was very "vanilla". I'm seeing more ethnic groups. Makes me happy.

How does more ethnic groups necessarily make a place better? Is that the implication?

Even in all white, or all black, or all asian, etc. areas there is plenty of cultural diversity. I grew up in a white area for a while. There were Irish/Micks, Italians/wops, Poles/Polloks, Hungarians/hunkies, French, French Canadian, etc. and believe me, they all did not get along.
There was all the "diversity" you could hope for.

Diversity is a code word now for superficial differences. And if the preferred minority is not politically liberal, they are not diverse but just an Uncle Tom or an oreo or a sellout. Love the way that works.
Just make up new rules as needed.

Take a walk in downtown Detroit sometime if you want to feel like a threatened minority. Even the great Jessie Jackson said he'd cross the street if walking along and he saw a group of black youth ahead. Black on black discrimination and crime are as common as any other discrimination or crime.

People need to get a grip, racial or ethnic tension go back to mankind's origins.
It is nothing new and its certainly not exclusively a white issue.
Whining about being a victim vs. pulling up your socks and going to work are two different ways to accomplish a goal. One leaves you stuck, one gains you respect.

[Trace_Rinaldi]

Originally Posted by Dwatted Wabbit

How does more ethnic groups necessarily make a place better? Is that the implication?

Even in all white, or all black, or all asian, etc. areas there is plenty of cultural diversity. I grew up in a white area for a while. There were Irish/Micks, Italians/wops, Poles/Polloks, Hungarians/hunkies, French, French Canadian, etc. and believe me, they all did not get along.
There was all the "diversity" you could hope for.

Diversity is a code word now for superficial differences. And if the preferred minority is not politically liberal, they are not diverse but just an Uncle Tom or an oreo or a sellout. Love the way that works.
Just make up new rules as needed.

Take a walk in downtown Detroit sometime if you want to feel like a threatened minority. Even the great Jessie Jackson said he'd cross the street if walking along and he saw a group of black youth ahead. Black on black discrimination and crime are as common as any other discrimination or crime.

People need to get a grip, racial or ethnic tension go back to mankind's origins.
It is nothing new and its certainly not exclusively a white issue.
Whining about being a victim vs. pulling up your socks and going to work are two different ways to accomplish a goal. One leaves you stuck, one gains you respect.

Thats a great post, and its unfortunate that thinking that way makes you a racist by todays standards... The "melting pot" sounds great, but seeing how extreme "diversity" has effected places like California it just shows that the melting pot can and usually will boil over...

[Greensleeves]

It seems to me that diversity is more about values than it is about color. I'm half white, but it's the white half that relocated from the Seattle area that felt more like a minority than the red half.
Go figure!

At any rate, feeling out of place because you are 'different' is just plain nasty and I don't wish it on anyone!

[Sandpointian]

You know,
We in Idaho have an opportunity rare among modern states. We can literally create the state we desire within a <10 years time of any such commitment. Every race and ethnicity has cause to rise up in arms against some other group. We as Idahoans can rehash old debates that are entirely circular in logic. We can choose to be ostriches and stick our heads in the sand wishing the world were simpler, nicer and closer to our own private views. We can do these things and more....or...

We can work together (or independently) to build a state that fits the Idaho of our dreams.

I am of different three different races and 5+ ethnicities. It took me a while to find myself. There were periods that in order to understand on part of myself, I had to effectively deny the others. When the learning was complete, I would go the next. Very tiring. Now, with the Self on board, I simply want the best for Idaho and her people...us. Not my view imposed on them, mind you. But rather that we all get to live the Idaho life as we see it and revel in each other's diversity of experiences & realizations.

I cannot help but think that the crossroads we face are those faced by America--what do we want to be when we grow up?

Given the maturity of responses on this board I would like to think that we can lead the way. And being able to discuss race and ethnicity without devolution into nonsense and hatred is a good start. I hope the rest of America can learn from us and we will have earned the right to be such a role model...

Have a nice weekend!
S