South Seattle - a Model of Diversity (Rainier: friendly, area)

[415_s2k]

Originally Posted by CarawayDJ

It might be. On my last scouting trip to Seattle, my son accidentally walked into an elderly Pakistani man. He laughed, we laughed, and in all of the laughter did not notice a car about to drive through a nearby puddle. We got drenched. We hadn't even had time to get mad before the car stopped, and out came this wonderful black man to apologize. He insisted that we stop by for coffee at his condo just down the street. We took the fine man up on his offer. Well, it seems as if the guy dropped his keys when he got out of his car to apologize. We were stuck outside, and unable to get into his condo. We were in luck though. An Albanian locksmith happened to be walking by and overheard our dilemma. He offered to open up the guy's door for free. It took the Albanian locksmith about 5 minutes before the door was opened. It was all for nothing. No sooner did he unlock the door when a young Mexican girl ran up to the Black condo owner with his keys. She was apparently chatting outside with her Ethiopian neighbor and noticed the keys being dropped. So there we were, a white family, black guy, Pakistani guy, Albanian locksmith, and a young Mexican girl all brought together by chance. We all couldn't help but laugh. And that's when the black condo owner's dog ran out and scared the heck out of the Mexican girl. Out of concern, the Mexican girl's Ethiopian neighbor ran to us. She was not alone. Two of the condo owner's neighbors also came out. One was a nice young Romanian couple and the other was a middle aged man that just moved there from Berkeley California. Technically he was white, but since he had just moved from Berkeley he was essentially from another planet.

Before we knew it, more and more people came out to converse. We stayed until 1:00 AM that night in a spontaneous block party celebrating diversity.

That is the most abnormal social situation I've ever heard of occuring in Seattle...

[CarawayDJ]

Originally Posted by 415_s2k

That is the most abnormal social situation I've ever heard of occuring in Seattle...

Unfortunately it didn't happen. Just engaging in a little fun to break the monotony of the programming task I'm currently working on

[415_s2k]

Originally Posted by CarawayDJ

Unfortunately it didn't happen. Just engaging in a little fun to break the monotony of the programming task I'm currently working on

Well that would explain it then!

[zitsky]

Originally Posted by tobester

I live in the 98118 and am white. Last night at dinner, I had a fun conversation with the African-American woman sharing the counter with me and spoke broken spanish with the mexican family nearby. I find (at least for me) this seems to be the norm. You only need to try.

I have these experiences myself, but I still wonder if this is real diversity. If "we" all go back to our segregated neighborhoods after work, is our city diverse? I've lived in neighborhoods where there were Armenian, Swiss, Japanese, Chinese, Mexican and US citizens all getting together. Those are just the neighbors I would socialize with on a regular basis. In my current neighborhood people are more stand-offish. On paper we have a large Indian population but they socialize almost completely with each other, except for once a year when they host a Diwali celebration at our clubhouse. (I am not kidding.) I would much rather get to know my Indian neighbors throughout the year, not just on special occasions.

* I would love to live in Seattle, especially after hearing how diverse it is. I lived in Eugene, OR for 2 years. I loved it there, but I always preferred Seattle over Portland. Seattle is such a beautiful city it always takes my breath away.

[Jack Mayne]

Just what does diverse mean? Race? Income? Language?

[Ira500]

Originally Posted by Jack Mayne

Just what does diverse mean? Race? Income? Language?

I think when the 98118 zip code is being discussed, they're talking about racial and ethnic diversity, as supposedly 60 different languages are spoken in the zip code. But there's also a lot of income diversity in the 98118. Some of Seattle's poorest are in Rainier Valley, and some of Seattle's richest are in the zip code,both along Lake Washington and along Cascadia in Mount Baker.

[usernametaken]

zitsky, I am of East Indian ethnic origin, and unfortunately, even East Indians from various states and regions of India only socialize and marry within themselves -- partly because each state has its own language that the natives wish to prevent from becoming extinct, and partly because people in large parts of Southern India think that the fairer skinned Northerners are not part of the same Dravidian race (due to invasions --and mixing, largely in northern India -- from Greeks, Turks, Iranians, Mongols and Arabs over many centuries). South Indians also speak a very different language from North Indian dialects. The Greeks under Alexander came into what is now Pakistan, and parts of Northern India have the same genetic mix as parts of Pakistan (e.g., Punjab and Haryana). There is even a theory that southern Siberians and white Aryans migrated to Northern India many years ago, and that is why some North Indians have green and blue eyes. Hitler got the Swastika symbol from India. I doubt this Siberian/Aryan story is true, but have heard it a few times. I think most East Indians at Microsoft are South Indians and generally of darker skin color than North Indians.

My best friend in Seattle moved into an East Indian majority apartment complex, hoping to meet an East Indian woman. He initially befriended me hoping that I would introduce him to one, but I can't speak the same language as the majority of East Indians here :-)

[Anders15]

But you guys say South Seattle is "crime ridden".. what am I to think?

[tobester]

I wouldn' say south seattle is "crime ridden" - there's crime, but then there's crime everywhere. I think statistics show there's more crime in other areas than south seattle.

[Inkpoe]

Originally Posted by Anders15

But you guys say South Seattle is "crime ridden".. what am I to think?

That Seattleites are quite... indulged in this regard. We're very paranoid but relatively wise... Seattle (and WA) is quite safe.