Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Oregon > Portland
 [Register]
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
Reply Start New Thread
 
Old 08-03-2015, 11:38 PM
 
19 posts, read 18,754 times
Reputation: 28

Advertisements

Hello, some of you on this board were very helpful with our pending relocation to this beautiful city. Please bear with me, so we've been living in portland for the past few weeks. I want those that live here to voice their opinions. Some of the time I feel totally fine, other times when we walk in somewhere and I feel as if I'm living in the 1950's, people stare....for a length of time that makes us feel unwelcome and uncomfortable. A nice restaurant, cafe, etc. Why? Why do I walk into a coffeeshop with my child and see people turn and stare at us.....and stare..?...and stare even more when I speak another language to my child? I'll be honest, most days I shake it off and just figure it's curiosity, other days it happens so much it really sticks with me. What is it from your perspective?
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 08-04-2015, 08:21 AM
 
Location: Portland Metro
2,318 posts, read 4,606,217 times
Reputation: 2773
It's curiosity, pure and simple. Give them a smile and continue to shake it off.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 08-04-2015, 08:44 AM
 
Location: North Idaho
32,517 posts, read 47,553,130 times
Reputation: 77885
It's a combination of curiosity and nothing else to do.

Smile and nod a greeting. If they are located very close to you, you can say good morning as you walk by.They will nod back and return to what they are doing.

You are new. You still have to slow down to oregon time and learn the culture. Relax.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 08-04-2015, 09:46 AM
 
4,761 posts, read 14,229,709 times
Reputation: 7956
Are you exceptionally good looking? That may be it.

Also note that I once pulled a prank on a bartender friend of taking a nasty looking homeless person into a high class place to buy him a drink - something to REALLY stare at! No one looked, they ignored us!

So it might be a good thing they are staring?
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 08-04-2015, 10:14 AM
 
Location: Portland, Oregon
46,001 posts, read 35,028,156 times
Reputation: 7875
Quote:
Originally Posted by Billy_J View Post
Are you exceptionally good looking? That may be it.

Also note that I once pulled a prank on a bartender friend of taking a nasty looking homeless person into a high class place to buy him a drink - something to REALLY stare at! No one looked, they ignored us!

So it might be a good thing they are staring?
That was my first thought, though it just might be some odd people at that coffee shop, good thing we have lots to choose from.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 08-04-2015, 12:23 PM
 
23 posts, read 34,479 times
Reputation: 25
Downtown I've noticed Portland is very white and homogeneous. There's no denying that so I can see how it may feel weird to you. I've noticed in Beaverton, I will hear Spanish a lot and see non-white people.

That said, in Portland, there are lots of different people everywhere. There's especially a lot of weird people who dress like crazy people and everyone just kind of accepts it. I think maybe people may be looking your way for a reason other than what you think, or they may not even be looking at you. Portland may be very white and had issues with race in the past, but these days it's a very liberal place.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 08-04-2015, 03:15 PM
 
Location: Portlandish, OR
1,082 posts, read 1,904,481 times
Reputation: 1198
I have a child who was born with a physical difference and we get stares occasionally. I tend not to notice it unless they are fairly obvious about it...I take it with a grain of salt. He is different looking and people are going to check it out. I hate to suggest that your prior posts indicate that you are sensitive to any attention at all...but what you are describing seems very odd to me. May I ask what language you are speaking with your child? Could it be that it is a language that is not often encountered by the general population and they are curious? Do you actually hear people saying things about you??
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 08-04-2015, 03:18 PM
 
1,624 posts, read 4,036,940 times
Reputation: 2322
You moved to the whitest part of the USA. People are just not used to other cultures around here. Even my mixed race nieces and nephews get strange looks. It is mostly curiosity mixed with a bit of racism that no one will admit because it is not politically correct. There is a lot of passive racism in the PNW.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 08-04-2015, 07:09 PM
 
3,928 posts, read 4,884,407 times
Reputation: 3072
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ms_Christina View Post
You moved to the whitest part of the USA. People are just not used to other cultures around here. Even my mixed race nieces and nephews get strange looks. It is mostly curiosity mixed with a bit of racism that no one will admit because it is not politically correct. There is a lot of passive racism in the PNW.
Yes, this is so true at PDX as many people unaccustomed to differences in humans still have to pass through the airport to take a flight in Oregon. I just give a stare back. Usually the ignorant look away but sometimes its a stare down. I enjoy it occasionally since my social circle looks down upon stink eye with strangers. just kidding... I actually don't know about this. Maybe my Portland friends get crazy when they are alone. You should walk up to people that stare at you and say, "do we know each other... because you keep staring at me?" Give puzzled face and wait for amswer. It will make you feel better and you can teach someone a lesson. Or ignore the staring. I do both depending on my mood. Don't worry, you are not alone. Welcome.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 08-04-2015, 08:59 PM
 
1,624 posts, read 4,036,940 times
Reputation: 2322
Quote:
Originally Posted by Yankeemama View Post
Yes, this is so true at PDX as many people unaccustomed to differences in humans still have to pass through the airport to take a flight in Oregon. I just give a stare back. Usually the ignorant look away but sometimes its a stare down. I enjoy it occasionally since my social circle looks down upon stink eye with strangers. just kidding... I actually don't know about this. Maybe my Portland friends get crazy when they are alone. You should walk up to people that stare at you and say, "do we know each other... because you keep staring at me?" Give puzzled face and wait for amswer. It will make you feel better and you can teach someone a lesson. Or ignore the staring. I do both depending on my mood. Don't worry, you are not alone. Welcome.
Hehe, We all need to try this.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:


Settings
X
Data:
Loading data...
Based on 2000-2020 data
Loading data...

123
Hide US histogram


Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Oregon > Portland
View detailed profiles of:

All times are GMT -6.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top