Austin's Diversity (Houston, New Braunfels, Pflugerville: 2015, to live, restaurants)

[NoClueWho]

Originally Posted by Novacek

What's even funnier is that Ethiopian is one we have.

Taste of Ethiopia Restaurant - Home

...and what's even funnier than that is that you are lucky enough to have one in Austin, and it isn't even really known or popular to folks who live there, despite the fact that Ethiopian food has become popular across America for several years now. Again, doesn't say much about Austin's diversity or cultural offerings.

[homeinatx]

there are seven or so Ethiopian restaurants in Austin???

Best Ethiopian in Austin, TX

Austin is demographically a majority minority city, with a growing foreign born population. Is it the most diverse city in the nation? Or even the state? No. Is it one of the most diverse metros between 1.5 and 2 million population. Probably.

[NoClueWho]

Originally Posted by homeinatx

there are seven or so Ethiopian restaurants in Austin???

Best Ethiopian in Austin, TX

That's nice. Enjoy them now while you can, because with Austin's track record on diversity and being open to different cultures, they'll probably pack up and move to Houston or Dallas (where people would REALLY appreciate them) in a year or two.

[CarnivalGal]

Originally Posted by centralaustinite

Ok. I don't get this at all. The lack of eastern European restaurants is a directly product of a specific history. It isn't random that Poles in the 1830-1910 went to Chicago and other cities in the upper midwest not a speck of a town in the middle of Texas. And history has consequences which ripple through time and affect things like the establishment of museums and the type of restaurants that exists and are popular even decades and decades later. You are not going to get "authentic peirogies" or even "real" Italian food here in Austin without a time machine and an alternative history machine.

Yet cities like Houston have a similar history and tons more diversity. I think Austin tends to be more concerned with being trendy than being genuine.

[Aquitaine]

I could go dig up the thai restaurants, the Sushi restaurants (like the two we're famous for), the numerous Indian restaurants and food trucks - but that's not the point, is it? You've hijacked 'diversity' to mean 'something more boring places haven't got that I like,' or else you wouldn't be excluding Mexican as sufficiently un-diverse diversity.

You are welcome to be the arbiter of your own taste, but you don't get to dismiss hundreds of hard-working business owners because they don't meet some standard like 'not enough of you are Ethiopian.'

[homeinatx]

Originally Posted by mm57553

Yet cities like Houston have a similar history and tons more diversity. I think Austin tends to be more concerned with being trendy than being genuine.

No, Houston does not have a similar history. It is a port city. Before the hurricane of 1900, Galveston is a huge point of entry for waves of immigrants. Then Houston becomes a massively important oil city, arguably now the energy capital of the world; it has from its inception been a much more international city than Austin which until fairly recently was defined by the university and the state government...

[Trainwreck20]

Originally Posted by homeinatx

No, Houston does not have a similar history. It is a port city. Before the hurricane of 1900, Galveston is a huge point of entry for waves of immigrants. Then Houston becomes a massively important oil city, arguably now the energy capital of the world; it has from its inception been a much more international city than Austin which until fairly recently was defined by the university and the state government...

Yeah, I have to agree - similar history in that both cities are in the same state, not much other than that.

[Trainwreck20]

Gah, this is a dumb thread, isn't it?

Yes, the AA population is very small. If you use the word 'diversity' to be a surrogate for 'black' (as most people consciously or subconsciously assume), then no, Austin is not 'diverse'.

On the other hand, if you expand the meaning of diverse to include other ethnic groups and nationalities (specifically Hispanic and Asian), then Austin comes out as maybe moderately diverse. The school district lists the enrollment as 26% 'white' and 60% Hispanic, with 8% AA and 6% other (mostly Asian). 60% are economically disadvantaged and 28% are limited proficiency in English.

Hutto is 41% Hispanic, 13% AA, 42% Caucasian, and 1% Asian.
Dripping Springs is 82% white, 15% Hispanic, 2% Asian, and 1% AA (2010).
Interestingly enough, an ethnic breakdown is not readily available on the DS ISD web site, had to go elsewhere. I am sure it is there somewhere, but not as part of their demographic reports....

The school my kids go to is 10% Asian and 7% mixed race, but, of course, that is not diverse since only 2% are AA (the HS they will eventually go to is 4% AA).

[Aquitaine]

The intelligentsia's definition of diversity these days doesn't count Hispanics, Jews, or Asians, presumably because they lack sufficient oppressed status. It's sad, really, that the actual counter-culture movement has devolved into pathetic grasping for victimhood - even victimhood invented out of whole cloth. Like they have no other way to define themselves without pointing a finger at someone and denouncing them.

Of course, none of these people would last five seconds under real oppression - whether Vietnam, the gulags, either World War, or even modern-day Russia. The only injustice they're injustice they're capable of fighting doesn't even exist if one relies on dictionaries for the meaning of language rather than progressive kool-aid.

[CarnivalGal]

Here's the thing about the statistics. Although they show a respectable number of minorities, they are essentially the SAME minorities. The vast majority of the population is white or Hispanic. But among those two prevalent demographics, there is little diversity. There are no large German, Italian, Polish, Swedish, Irish, etc. populations among the white demographic. Likewise, there are no large Puerto Rican, Honduran, Venezuelan, Cuban, etc. populations among the Hispanic demographic. To me, that is not diverse.