Is it just me? (Billings: houses, schools, to live in)

[dangerousdan]

Or are there a lot of people posting about how they want to move to Montana because they believe it will be a comfortable place to be a bigot. Of course no one ever says this (i.e. "does Montana love bigots?" or "I'm a hateful SOB, is it ok if I run *****s over with my giant truck?") but it's pretty apparent that many people want to move to (what they imagine to be) the whitest most conservative place possible. It's a sad stereotype I think that Montanans are backwards racists and that we welcome bigots to the clan. These people perpetuate the stereotype but I hope it's not a self-fufilling prophecy.

I've found people to be relatively unpolitical in terms of party politics but people do have their beliefs -- which are all across the board -- but I think this state is great because people are pretty-open minded -- a libertarian style "live and let live" attitude -- and I just don't think "Montana" (which is obviously a large state with different areas) is the place people think it is.

I could be totally wrong.

[NYMTman]

I agree entirely. Montana has always been more libertarian, with ***** houses in Butte, resistance to prohibition, legalized medical marijuana, legislative opposition to the Patriot Act, opposition to the REAL ID, etc.

PBS even made a documentary about the folks in Billings running racist outsiders out of town back wherever they came from: Not In Our Town - About - NIOT 1 | PBS

Montana's also one of the least religious states in the nation, with the second highest population of atheists after Washington State. If you want deep-red Bible-belt conservatism you'd be better off in the South or Midwest.

[jdavid93225]

I don't know that I would classify newcomers to Montana as "racists," though there are many that relocate from California (as well as other areas), and are very prejudiced in their views. I think most of that has to do with the illegal alien and gang problems found especially in California, but in other areas, too. People have seen the damage caused by illegal aliens and gangs, and tend to blame everyone of the same race for those problems. Obviously, in California, that means that people have a somewhat distorted view of hispanics and blacks being the cause of all of the state's problems. The biggest problem I see with all of this is that the government has done nothing to curb the tide of illegal immigration, and has done very little to address the gang problem, so the problems are getting worse. When people get tired enough of these problems, they leave the state to find a better area. This is what is commonly referred to as "White Flight." What you may be seeing is the influx of these folks whose view of other races is tainted by their personal experiences in the places they came from.

[elevenhounds]

Wow! I hope I am not included in this assesment of racist/bigots just because I want to relocate to Montana from socialist Vermont. My husband and I are pretty conservative and we are Christians. We do NOT want to live in a racist area.

Why do people automatically assume that Christian conservative means racist bigot??

[JoeJoeMan]

Funny that you should bring up this topic, I didn't want to touch it but.......I've notice that a lot of people that want to move here from elsewhere always say the reason is wanting to get away from "people" where they live.....and you know what that means. They say it's the crime, etc...so is it the crime/etc or is it the people they really want away from....or is it both and are those old stereotypes not really stereotypes at all, but actualy based in fact, I just pose the questions......you give the answers

[jimj]

JoeJoe, definately could be the 3rd rail of forum subjects couldn't it?

Here's my 2 pesos. I don't think that people that want to move here to "get away" are mostly bigots. I think they want and are willing to live with a mixture of people. What I do think they mind is having to live in a barrio or having to speak a foriegn language when they go to McDonalds just to order food or being robbed and killed by people who should not be here. I think they mind having their schools tailored to foriegn speaking students which slows down learning for others.
I think people are frustrated by the takeover of our country and the lack of response by the governments (state and federal) and are running as a last resort.

[JoeJoeMan]

jimj.....I must say I do agree with you.

What I find really really find troubling, is that our leaders allowed this to go on for so long, no one can tell me that they all didn't know about it....even the politicians that are now coming out against the invasion, knew it was going on for all these years, so they are just as much to blame. It is really a sad and sick day in America when your leaders will just allow millions upon millions of people to invade your country.
And all that crap about....jobs americans won't do, and we need the labor, is just that, crap, a bunch of crap. When you think about it, what they've done is really treasonist and should be jailed for it.
I often think, and ask other people to think, think what alot of our larger cites and townswould be like today if they didn't have all the invaders, still still be lovely places like we remember them, but that's all they are now is just a memory. It is one of the sadest things I can ever recall happening to our country.....the impact of the invasion, out strips 9-11 by a long shot, when you really thousands upon thousands of american citizens are killed and abused and made to remake theirs lives because of the invaders, AND OUR GOVERNMENT STILL WON"T ENFORCE THE LAWS ALREADY ON THE BOOKS !
You have to say WHAT IN THE HELL HAS OUR GOVERNMENT COME TO.
But they'll certain fight and work on legislation for same sex marriage, what a sick country we live in, I guess the 60's hippy hate the establishment sex-drugs-R&R genertation finally got what they want, and the government they deserve, yea I guess we are getting what we deserve a bunch of sc*m bag politicians to run our country, run it into the ground.
I can't help but repeat what a sad day for america and all that the great generation did for use and left us to carry on, and what did the hippies do with it........I've really come to dispise my own generation

[montanamom]

If African Americans want to live in predominantly African American areas, that's perfectly o.k. If Hispanics prefer to live in areas with a predominantly Latino culture, why of course that's o.k. If Mormans want to live in Salt Lake City, Utah where there is a large Morman population, that's always been ok. If the Amish want to have their own communities without intrusion from "outsiders", it's "charming". If white Americans have a desire or preference to live in an area (or state) where there are mostly other white people, and if that is in fact, the DESIRABLE REASON why we want to live there, we are racist bigots. Isn't that right?

[RideLikeTheWind]

Right on ! MontanaMom and JJM

[jdavid93225]

Originally Posted by montanamom

If white Americans have a desire or preference to live in an area (or state) where there are mostly other white people, and if that is in fact, the DESIRABLE REASON why we want to live there, we are racist bigots. Isn't that right?

This statement seems to sum it up pretty well. There are those that think this very thing of the folks that leave an area they've lived all (or most) of their lives, that has slowly and steadily been taken over by those of other (and I might add, Non-American) cultures. When these people arrive in a new area, and talk about the problems that came into the area they left, the discussion often contains references or inferences to people of other cultures, so someone who hasn't been affected in this way, might perceive this person as being a racist or a bigot, even if all they are doing is citing the facts behind their reason for moving.

What I find to be truly sad is that these people are perceived this way, just because they want as good a life as they used to have, and also that the area they left behind was invaded in the first place.