About the diversity in Portland........ (appointed, gated, live)

[mindspring78]

Seriously disappointed that residents of Portland will talk about dogs, the weather, traffic, friendliness or aloofness but nothing about ethnic diversity and how everyone gets along.....

[PNW-type-gal]

Originally Posted by mindspring78

Seriously disappointed that residents of Portland will talk about dogs, the weather, traffic, friendliness or aloofness but nothing about ethnic diversity and how everyone gets along.....

To talk to people who might give you a first-hand opinion, try the POC (People of Color) forum on the Portland Craigslist.

I gave you my impression in the other thread, and I think most people might feel constrained about presenting a "majority" opinion about minority affairs. Dogs and traffic, now, everyone has first-hand experience with....

[Splendid]

I lived most of my life in the Portland area. Until I moved last year I had no idea that discrimination or segregation still existed. Portland is a melting pot and everyone is the same and equal no matter what color you may be, religion, sexual preference etc. Compared to what I saw in FL Portland is amazingly open to everyone. I was disgusted when we moved to fl and I saw how segregated it felt and it just was nothing like what I was used to. I do not know why people do not want to talk about this; I think that Portland should be proud to say that everyone is welcome- maybe they just don’t know how good it is there because like me, they just think it is normal.

I don’t want it to come across as total utopia, there are still segregated classes, as far as poor lives with poor and rich lives with rich, but I don’t know how you ever get away from that. Anyway, Portland is a great place, it just rains a lot.

Good luck- I hope that this helps.

[zilfondel]

Portland is the whitest city in the USA with a population of 500,000. Salt Lake city has more diversity than we have. So what did you expect a city that is 87% white to talk about?

On the other hand, 60% of new residents to Oregon are supposedly non-white, so it is rapidly changing... we get huge influxes of asians, hispanics, and even Russians and Africans, interestingly enough. But this state was never a hotbed for racial struggles.

[mindspring78]

Thanks for your input. I did not mean to put Portlanders on the defensive. I looked at the statistics, but it only gives you a small part of the picture. My intention was to incite Portlanders into sharing what they think about the diversity in their city. Personal experiences mean so much more than numbers.

Originally Posted by zilfondel

Portland is the whitest city in the USA with a population of 500,000. Salt Lake city has more diversity than we have. So what did you expect a city that is 87% white to talk about?

On the other hand, 60% of new residents to Oregon are supposedly non-white, so it is rapidly changing... we get huge influxes of asians, hispanics, and even Russians and Africans, interestingly enough. But this state was never a hotbed for racial struggles.

[mindspring78]

To PNW-type gal...thanks...my intention was to incite some conversation about what people are thinking...especially if they never think about this subject....

[mindspring78]

Thanks for your input. I did not mean to put Portlanders on the defensive. I looked at the statistics, but it only gives you a small part of the picture. My intention was to incite Portlanders into sharing what they think about the diversity in their city. Personal experiences mean so much more than numbers.