Rochester and Racism (fit in, crime, house)

[HighFlyingBird]

We are moving to Rochester in a few months and I think I am pretty well preped. But I had a little panic moment yesterday.

I live in a very white neighborhood in a very diverse city and yesterday and I saw a likley case of WWB (walking while black) on my way home yesterday. A nicely dressed young black man with a clip board was being harrassed by the cops. It happens a lot in my neighborhood. In defence of my neighbors calling the police on every minority that knocks on their door, there has been a rash of serious violent robberies, muggings, etc. It doesn't makeit right, people have gotten very paranoid.

So it got me thinking...my children are hispanic (hubby and I are white) and suddenly I got the visiual of my son walking through his friends neighborhood in 5 or 6 years and being cuffed and searched on the basis of his skin color.

I know hispanic people are about 5% there. What are the likelihood they will run into racism there? Trouble with cops (while doing nothing)?

Maybe I am looking for something else to be worried about.

[rzzzz]

Walking while black is indeed a crime in Minnesota.
Walking while hispanic is a lesser offense, so it's hard to predict exactly how often your kids will be harassed.
I'm not sure if Rochester is better or worse than anywhere else in the state. Probably a little better since the cops never know whose kids belong to the doctors.

[fromupthere]

I should look into this for you. I know someone to talk to who might have good insight. I'll have to get back to you. My kids are young enough still (and white) that we don't have friends who have older teens black/Hispanic to see what they say. We do have friends who are black and Hispanic so mixed kids. They have never said anything to us about that kind of issue, although they are water off a duck's back type of people. There are so many people here that I imagine it isn't really a big issue, although I can't say for sure; hence, I'll try to find out more info. Like rzzzz said, you never know whose parent is a Mayo doctor or other well-respected individual there.

[HighFlyingBird]

Is being a doc at mayo (or the kid of doc at mayo) really a status thing there?

[rzzzz]

Originally Posted by HighFlyingBird

Is being a doc at mayo (or the kid of doc at mayo) really a status thing there?

yes

[drishmael]

Originally Posted by HighFlyingBird

"Is being a doc at mayo (or the kid of doc at mayo) really a status thing there?"

I had an acquaintance in college (U of M) who was an altogether unassuming, blue jeans-and-flannel sort of fella. Only later, when we ran into a couple of his classmates from high school, did I learn that his parents were surgeons at the Mayo Clinic and his house was the size of city block. I don't know how things are in Rochester, but elevated status wouldn't surprise me. Mayo is one of the top medical institutions in the world, and it's located not in NYC or Chicago, but in a city of 100,000 surrounded by farmland. To have the most elite members of any profession living in such a place undoubtedly confers a great deal of awe.

[r_shackleford]

There are a few Hispanic families in my neighborhood. I see the kids walking around all the time. I hardly ever see police unless something has already happened. In general, I doubt Hispanic teenagers will attract any unwarranted attention from law enforcement. There has been a pretty solid Hispanic delegation in southern Minnesota for a few decades by now. For the most part, they seem pretty well integrated. I'm about as stereotypically Minnesotan as they come, though, so I can't comment from personal experience.

Originally Posted by HighFlyingBird

Is being a doc at mayo (or the kid of doc at mayo) really a status thing there?

Rochester is kind of weird. You never really know if the person in front of you at the grocery store is a world-renowned expert in neurosurgery, bus driver, lab tech, community college professor, nurse, farmer, distinguished researcher in medical imaging, or construction worker. To further complicate things, that elite doctor might also be a farmer. When in doubt, it's a lab tech. Rochester has a disproportionately large middle to upper middle class consisting mainly of Mayo employees in non-glamorous roles. There is, no doubt, a significant delegation of elite physicians and executives with plenty of money. And then there's everybody else. Rochester is small enough that in many contexts, everybody just blends together. I'd even guess that some of the doctors choose Rochester because they want to blend in.

In general, parking privileges are far more important than your W2 in determine your place on Rochester's social ladder.

[fromupthere]

Walking while black is not common, and there is a committee in place to prevent such things from happening.

[HighFlyingBird]

Thanks for all the input. I'll try not to look for things to worry about.

My husband is a doctor and will be at Mayo. Its funny, where we live now there are so many doctors, no one really cares. No prestige being related to them. Perhaps its being associated with the mayo brand. We are down to earth people, I think we will fit in fine from what I could tell from our visit

[fromupthere]

Yes, it is the Mayo brand. A lot of (but not all of course) people who work for Mayo in any position have a sense of entitlement. I laugh when people blame the bad drivers on visitors when half the time the signature Mayo tag is on the license plates of the vehicle.

You'll be fine.