Is Iowa still promoting the State to Minorities? (Davenport, Waterloo: crime, house)

[keepitmovin]

Ames has see a rush in people from Chicago and it's been nothing but bad news. Granted most of them are moving here due to the projects of the southside shutting down, so it's not exactly the pick of the litter. But I'm failing to see anything positive yet.

None of the familys I've met have been here for ISU, they're here because our welfare isn't overran and they can take advantage of it. I've had several woman actually say this to me.

As far as people moving from the southside being criminals. I wouldn't be surprised if all of them have a record of some sort. It's damn near impossible to have lived there and not get something. Most of them don't seem to give **** about rising above their current standard of living and a lot of times they have a hard time holding a job. The other big reason they're so poorly received is their children. They do nothing to control them or teach them any mannners and they're some of the most violent this district has seen.

Wow!! Comments like these add fuel to the racism issue.

[Mathguy]

Originally Posted by keepitmovin

None of the familys I've met have been here for ISU, they're here because our welfare isn't overran and they can take advantage of it. I've had several woman actually say this to me.

As far as people moving from the southside being criminals. I wouldn't be surprised if all of them have a record of some sort. It's damn near impossible to have lived there and not get something. Most of them don't seem to give **** about rising above their current standard of living and a lot of times they have a hard time holding a job. The other big reason they're so poorly received is their children. They do nothing to control them or teach them any mannners and they're some of the most violent this district has seen.



Wow!! Comments like these add fuel to the racism issue.

It's a well documented fact that Wisconsin changed their welfare benefit laws in the early 1990's because they paid better benefits and had the career deadbeats move up from Chicago. (Note that I'm not saying anything about race here). Wisconsin instituted something like a 6 month waiting period. (This was mainly a Chicago to Milwaukee sort of thing)

I think it was a bit uncalled for to call the previous poster racist.

[M TYPE X]

California is ungovernable. You don't want to be like California.

Indiana, Iowa, Missouri, etc just need to promote themselves as good, clean-living Middle American places. If people like it, they will come.

[montanamom]

To be a racist is to form unfounded (and unfair) opinions and judgements about a person just because of their color or religious beliefs, and that is wrong. But some things are simply hurtful truths, whether fair, or not. Bringing well-know social problems, sometimes unforunately affilitated more with one race than another, into the open, is not being racist. Maybe if the truth were illiuminated more often, needed social changes would begin to occur. Denying a problem never helps to solve it. Just my opinion (but I'm sure I'm not alone).

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[Bloviator]

The Iowa City area has its fair share of low-income transplants from the Chicago area as well. Some of them bring trouble, crime, poverty. But that is NOT universally true, and dang it, it's good for MY kids to have some diversity for one in their stinking lives. In their elementary school there is ONE PERCENT POVERTY. That is ridiculous. That does not even begin to reflect reality / society. And the same goes for race. There is something like THREE PERCENT minorities in this particular elementary school. (Granted, that changes when the schools all feed into one of two junior high schools.)

The world is not a lilly-white, middle class place. We no longer live in "Green Acres." I see no reason why we should live in such an insular world. It does a disservice to us all, especially our children.

[El Rhino]

Originally Posted by Bloviator

The world is not a lilly-white, middle class place. We no longer live in "Green Acres." I see no reason why we should live in such an insular world. It does a disservice to us all, especially our children.

You're right, the world isn't a lilly-white, middle class place..... but Iowa still is and I see no reason why those of us who want to live in such a place should have to give in. If it is such a disservice to our children to not live in a diverse society, what about places like Japan or Iceland who do just fine (if not better) with a homogenious population? I don't see any danger in exposing the children to other cultures or anything, I just think it's silly to think that you're doing someone a favor by bringing in some minorities on welfare just to show your children "how the world works". Take them on vacation to Detroit instead.


Governor Vilsack has always been big on bringing people from places such as Bosnia, Sudan, Latin America and SE Asia into Des Moines to supposedly fill all of these job openings we have and boost our population. He also wanted to bring in a substancial amount of Katrina refugees, which didn't happen on any large scale.

I've heard of many people moving from the projects of Chicago to places like Cedar Rapids for better access to welfare. There's also a decent Chicago-Waterloo connection in the African-American community. Gangbangers from Chicago will often come to Waterloo to lay low for a while.

[Bloviator]

Why do you want to live in a "lilly white" place? Just curious.

[Chicago60614]

I know Iowa City has seen a huge number of inner-city blacks coming from Chicago since they tore down all the housing projects. My mother was actually laid off from a teaching job at an elementary school in Iowa City because of perpetually shrinking enrollment. They were actually working through plans to close the school. Within 5 years it's now the most overcrowded school in the district, and the % of minority students is now at 60%. Apparantly they have 6 temporary buildings because they're so desperate for classrooms. I think it's a lot of the same at many elementary schools in Iowa City. I know of 2 elementarys with over 25% Asian enrollment, and my own elementary school went from 98% white when I was there to 60% today. 4 schools now have less than 50% white students.

It doesn't mean it's a bad thing by any means, but the state is definitely dealing with changes it hasn't seen in the past. I think it's healthy for a growing economy.

[El Rhino]

Originally Posted by Bloviator

Why do you want to live in a "lilly white" place? Just curious.

The simple answer is because that's my culture.


Right now I live in a part of Des Moines that isn't so lilly white and trust me, I haven't gained anything positive from the experience.

[pirate_lafitte]

Originally Posted by El Rhino

The simple answer is because that's my culture.


Right now I live in a part of Des Moines that isn't so lilly white and trust me, I haven't gained anything positive from the experience.

I lived in a place that was considered "lily white" for a small time and it wasn't that nice for me. I got singled out for being different. Later on demographics changed and racial tensions were the result. From my experience, just because an area doesn't have certain demographics doesn't mean it is any better, just different.(and this was my childhood experience). This happens any many neighborhoods.