Is Baltimore an asian friendly town? (high crime, house, schools)

[LRG]

Originally Posted by NYMTman

Whites in Baltimore are anything but WASPy....

I was going to say the same thing. I think the poster is interchanging WASP with white. Not the same thing. Martha Stewart is a WASP; John Waters is white. Not the same background or social circles at all.

[BeauCharles]

Originally Posted by LRG

I was going to say the same thing. I think the poster is interchanging WASP with white. Not the same thing. Martha Stewart is a WASP; John Waters is white. Not the same background or social circles at all.

Martha Stewart is Polish.

[Infinite_heights77]

Assimilated and Americanized Uncle Tom Chinese??!! You should hear yourself Tom!!

"It shoudl be noted, though, that I was born in America and very assimilated and Americanized so I do not need to have Chinese restaurants, Asian grocery stores or a large Asian population to feel comfortable or fit in"

SMH!

Originally Posted by Tom Lennox 70

I'm Chinese American and have lived in Baltimore since August for grad school at the Univ of Maryland campus downtown and I like this region a lot. . Since I moved here I've done like 90% of my shopping at a single Wal-Mart Supercenter in the suburb of Arbutus. I'm going to base this on the entire region not just the city since while I dislike living in the city its more than I hate city living living than Baltimore specifically.

The Baltimore area (city plus subrbs) is definitely less cosmopolitan than Montgomery County or New York or California. I've had two racist encounters in the area (more abotu that later) but I would not classify this area as racist. This area feels more "middle American" or southern compared to other parts of the East Coast. Most peopel here will accept you if you are willing to respect and local culture and assimilate rather than expect others to cater to you (like all the PC "diversity" stuff in California and NY.) You will get different experiences depending on your English skills and accent for example in whether you are perceived as an American or a foreigner. Most of the suburbs are predominantly white and conservative which suits me just fine.

There are many good things about this region. People are much more laid back and friendly compared to where I used to live in Montgomery County and the pace of life is slower. You deal with less liberal BS and your surrounded by ordinary hard working down to Earth folks rather than the liberal elites and illegal immigrants that dominate the DC area. When you go shopping you actually deal with people who know how to speak English. The area is also more affordable than many on the East Coast. I hope Baltimore's nice qualities is not diluted by the increasing number of transplants from DC, New York, and New Jersey.

I've had two racist incidents since i've lived here. One was from a black youth in the ghetto near Greenmount Cemetery when I was making a U-turn around his block. He shouted a racial slur at me. In the second incident it was a a store in the suburb of Dundalk where an elderly white woman called me a "foreigner" when she thought I had cut in front of her in line. But these are only two incidents and most people here will accept you at least if you are willing to assimilate, respect the culture and not impose yourself on others (i.e. demand people say Happy Holidays vs. Merry Christmas etc).

[Infinite_heights77]

"The area is also more affordable than many on the East Coast. I hope Baltimore's nice qualities is not diluted by the increasing number of transplants from DC, New York, and New Jersey."

Baltimore has no nice qualities!! That is a subjective term, and to $hit on DC, and the tri-state area says alot about your character. DC, NY and New Jersey have some very outstanding qualities that I wish Baltimore had.

[Infinite_heights77]

"I've had two racist incidents since i've lived here. One was from a black youth in the ghetto near Greenmount Cemetery when I was making a U-turn around his block. He shouted a racial slur at me."

*Black youths see Asian shopkeepers as economic pariahs who open up corner stores with all their outrageous prices for outdated and moldy foods, plus the level of disrespect most Asian shopkeepers have towards Black communities. They never give back to the communities. They take, take and take and Black folks in Baltimore don't have sense enough to make these people pay for doing business in their neighborhoods. This damn sure wouldn't happen in a Jewish enclave.

[LRG]

Originally Posted by BeauCharles

Martha Stewart is Polish.

Beau, from Wikipedia re: WASP:

White Anglo-Saxon Protestant (WASP) is an informal term, sometimes derogatory or disparaging,[1] for a closed group of high-status Americans mostly of English Protestant ancestry. The term implies the group controls disproportionate social and financial power.[2] The term WASP does not describe every Protestant of English background, but rather a small restricted group whose family wealth and elite connections allow them a degree of privilege held by few others.[3]

When the term appears in writing, it usually indicates the author's disapproval of the group's perceived excessive power in society. The hostile tone can be seen in an alternative dictionary: "The WASP culture has been the most aggressive, powerful, and arrogant society in the world for the last thousand years, so it is natural that it should receive a certain amount of warranted criticism."[4] People seldom call themselves WASPs, except humorously; the acronym is typically used by non-WASPs.[5]

Most people use WASP really to mean someone of a social stature and not really the religious and nationality connotations. These days it really means someone of wealth and connections, always white. I would not say Baltimore has a lot of WASPy people as the white people in the city are definitely more blue-collar. Martha being Polish is not a determining factor in the conversation.

[BeauCharles]

Originally Posted by LRG

Beau, from Wikipedia re: WASP:

White Anglo-Saxon Protestant (WASP) is an informal term, sometimes derogatory or disparaging,[1] for a closed group of high-status Americans mostly of English Protestant ancestry. The term implies the group controls disproportionate social and financial power.[2] The term WASP does not describe every Protestant of English background, but rather a small restricted group whose family wealth and elite connections allow them a degree of privilege held by few others.[3]

When the term appears in writing, it usually indicates the author's disapproval of the group's perceived excessive power in society. The hostile tone can be seen in an alternative dictionary: "The WASP culture has been the most aggressive, powerful, and arrogant society in the world for the last thousand years, so it is natural that it should receive a certain amount of warranted criticism."[4] People seldom call themselves WASPs, except humorously; the acronym is typically used by non-WASPs.[5]

Most people use WASP really to mean someone of a social stature and not really the religious and nationality connotations. These days it really means someone of wealth and connections, always white. I would not say Baltimore has a lot of WASPy people as the white people in the city are definitely more blue-collar. Martha being Polish is not a determining factor in the conversation.

She's Polish Catholic from a middle class family in New Jersey. Her upper crust affectations adopted as an adult don't change fact. Sorry the comparison in your Stewart/Waters post is kind of flawed and doesn't make sense any more than saying Michael Bloomberg is a WASP.

[molukai]

Originally Posted by emmy814

Hi..

I'm a single 30 something yr old chinese-thai born female professional and considering a job in Towson, MD. However, it seems to me that there are very limited Asian exposure given that the place I interviewed is quite predominant with older white/jewish men with only a few white/jewish women, a few Indian, which raise my concern about how easy it would be for me to adjust to living and working there?
Is there a place or area that is more asian (chinese/thai/vietnamese) friendly? Areas that I could find asian grocery stores very easily and can go pick up thai food? Since my job would be in Towson, I guess it might be too far for me to live in Howard county esp. Columbia given the traffic there. Where do you suggest would be a good community for me?
Any suggestions would be very appreciated.

Hi. Pretty much the entire Chinese population concentration in the region is in Rockville and parts of Bethesda.

[B.K.]

Originally Posted by LRG

I was going to say the same thing. I think the poster is interchanging WASP with white. Not the same thing. Martha Stewart is a WASP; John Waters is white. Not the same background or social circles at all.

I think it's a measure of their level of desire. Martha Stewart yearns to be a WASP; John Waters (who grew up solidly upper-middle class) yearns to be white trash!

[LRG]

Originally Posted by B.K.

I think it's a measure of their level of desire. Martha Stewart yearns to be a WASP; John Waters (who grew up solidly upper-middle class) yearns to be white trash!

I can see that!