mexican visiting oregon. will i face racism? (appointed, movies)

[turtleneck77]

Hello, everyone! I will be visiting Oregon in July. I have family there from my husband's side. I'm a little conserned about the racism issue/tolerance against hispanics. I have heard from many people and online sources that Oregon is still a bit racist. I dont want to make any assumptions but I'm a little scared. My husband is white and so is his family. I am mexican and look it. We have a 16 month old. I dont want to have a bad trip because people will look at me weird or because we are a biracial couple. Will the color of my skin affect my trip? Will people treat me different or make racial slurs in a negative way? Im just asking for some input because I have been discriminated many times as a child and it was very painful. I certainly dont want to feel unwanted. There is also a possibility of us moving there in the future. We live in new jersey and we dont like it here. my hubby wants to move to OR with his family. So, will I be welcomed?

[hamellr]

Originally Posted by turtleneck77

Hello, everyone! I will be visiting Oregon in July. I have family there from my husband's side. I'm a little conserned about the racism issue/tolerance against hispanics. I have heard from many people and online sources that Oregon is still a bit racist. I dont want to make any assumptions but I'm a little scared.

Yes, but more frequently it goes both ways. Keep in mind that a lot of what you read about Oregon being racist is from historical laws that don't make sense a hundred years later. Those laws were targeted towards Blacks, Chinese and to a lesser extent Japanese. Oh and Native Americans, but never Mexicans.

I believe, for the most part, that you're not going to have any issues. Just don't try to come off as dumb and not understanding and you'll be fine. Don't speak with a thick accent on purpose, "miss" every other word, and pretend to not understand what's being said to you.

Those are the types of immigrants "we" don't like.

IE, I witnessed a wreck where a Hispanic fellow ran his brand new Cadillac SUV (tags were still on it,) into a guy on a motorcycle. He instantly started speaking only Spanish and pretending to not understand English as he was being interviewed by the cop. All it did was make the process longer and waste everyone's time.

Another time we were having some work done on the house. I was talking to the foreman in English perfectly fine about what was needed, he didn't even have an accent. The next day I asked him some questions about the work that had already been done, he instantly started speaking Spanish, pretending to not understand what I was saying. That was frustrating to me and lost that company further work and recommendations.

[kapetrich]

Originally Posted by turtleneck77

Hello, everyone! I will be visiting Oregon in July. I have family there from my husband's side. I'm a little conserned about the racism issue/tolerance against hispanics. I have heard from many people and online sources that Oregon is still a bit racist. I dont want to make any assumptions but I'm a little scared. My husband is white and so is his family. I am mexican and look it. We have a 16 month old. I dont want to have a bad trip because people will look at me weird or because we are a biracial couple. Will the color of my skin affect my trip? Will people treat me different or make racial slurs in a negative way? Im just asking for some input because I have been discriminated many times as a child and it was very painful. I certainly dont want to feel unwanted. There is also a possibility of us moving there in the future. We live in new jersey and we dont like it here. my hubby wants to move to OR with his family. So, will I be welcomed?

Hmm....I'd say you'll be welcomed for sure, but who knows - if you do experience racism I'd imagine it'd be covert rather than overt. Let us know how your visit goes. I'm very interested.

I personally don't hangout with anyone who is racist, but I make a point of it. That said, I haven't really had to drop many people here due to racism. Definitely less than other parts of the country I've lived - the southeast. Buuuuut the northeast, when around those pockets of racism, can be pretty overt about it since the culture up there is so in your face in general as you well know.

This perspective is coming from a white male so take that for what it is.

[delta07]

Personally, I don't think you will have many problems. There's isn't a large Latino population in Central Oregon compared with other parts of the country, but there is still a community here. I'm not sure where you are coming from that you are worried about racism, but here in the PNW I just don't see much of it. Of course, I am a white woman who, like kapetrich, doesn't associate with racist people, but in general, tolerance is the norm here.

[Larry Caldwell]

I am a white man, and many times in my life people have been rude to me, aggressive and outright offensive. Don't assume that just because someone doesn't like you, it's a racial thing. Some people just don't like anyone.

I worked with a young female architect once who pitched a fit when her boss asked her to keep minutes of project meetings. We wasted almost an hour convincing her that the Architect in Charge of a project always kept the project meeting minutes. Her boss was mentoring her with an eye toward giving her more responsibility, but she was positive she was being pigeonholed because she was a woman.

There are people out there ready to be offended at just about anything. I generally try to avoid them.

[Hawk J]

Sometimes when i pass through town i get some chicken enchiladas, burritos, or tacos from Lupe, a nice lady who has a mobile restaurant in Wolf Creek. She gets a lot of local business (for a small town) & business from the truckers & tourists from the I-5 freeway. Lupe has been in this location about two years, if i remember correctly....

[Larry Caldwell]

Originally Posted by Hawk J

Sometimes when i pass through town i get some chicken enchiladas, burritos, or tacos from Lupe, a nice lady who has a mobile restaurant in Wolf Creek. She gets a lot of local business (for a small town) & business from the truckers & tourists from the I-5 freeway. Lupe has been in this location about two years, if i remember correctly....

That taco stand in Wolf Creek is a good meal. It has a really good rep among the truckers and the locals.

As for the OP, it's not like there aren't a lot of Mexicans in Oregon. Generally they are a better class of people than the ones who cluster near the border.

[turtleneck77]

Thanks for the input guys. I can see what you guys mean. Trust me, I wont try to act dumb in advantage because im not dumb and i hate it when people in my current town do it. It's ridiculous! It makes all hispanics look dumb. I dont really have any mexican culture in me so not being around it is the least of my problems. I was just curious if my skin color would be an issue. I will definitetly reply back after my trip. It's in July. Im pretty exited! I want to experience a different scenery. I live in an urban area. I don't like it at all. From what I've seen in pictures Oregon is a beautiful state, has great landscapes and a lot of geological activity. I Can't wait to visit Crater Lake. I want to experience the state's nature and breath fresh air. Ever since I saw ' A River Runs Through It ' and ' Legends of the fall ' I've wanted to visit the Northwest since both movies were shot in Montana, haha. I suppose people won't mind a tan skinned chick touring around a beautiful state appreciating nature, collecting rocks and taking pictures, right?

[kapetrich]

Originally Posted by turtleneck77

Thanks for the input guys. I can see what you guys mean. Trust me, I wont try to act dumb in advantage because im not dumb and i hate it when people in my current town do it. It's ridiculous! It makes all hispanics look dumb. I dont really have any mexican culture in me so not being around it is the least of my problems. I was just curious if my skin color would be an issue. I will definitetly reply back after my trip. It's in July. Im pretty exited! I want to experience a different scenery. I live in an urban area. I don't like it at all. From what I've seen in pictures Oregon is a beautiful state, has great landscapes and a lot of geological activity. I Can't wait to visit Crater Lake. I want to experience the state's nature and breath fresh air. Ever since I saw ' A River Runs Through It ' and ' Legends of the fall ' I've wanted to visit the Northwest since both movies were shot in Montana, haha. I suppose people won't mind a tan skinned chick touring around a beautiful state appreciating nature, collecting rocks and taking pictures, right?

Not at all. They'd encourage it!

I can pretty much guarantee you will not be disappointed. If anything your expectations may be blown away especially with Crater Lake in July.

Just be prepared. Since you do not like your urban setting as is, you will most likely want to move out here after your trip. Fair warning. Start arming yourself now....read all the negative threads to help ease your pain

[joeandmich]

So how to folks tend to react to Cubans and Israeli's?