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Why do so many of you let this kind of characterization yank your chain? These articles always speak out of both sides of the same mouth... and why is it off the table to include Hispanics? I mean... if Hispanics were counted towards diversity there is no way one could claim "the rest of cities all clock in at 90% white.." The overwhelming majority of black Americans never left the south. Those that did are now returning. I'm very black and I live in a part of Portland with a rather low representation of black people. I'm not sure what black people are supposed to add to a city but I'm hanged if I can fathom why we are so important. I'll bet money that the kind of black people a white person would most want to live near (the kind like me) would have zero impact on "diversity". Other than black pigment I am indistinguishable from any other middle-class American.
Even with as small a black population as Portland has the majority of them are holed up in what is left of black North Portland. I just don't get it and suspect it is just something to use to justify having left. Don't sink to the stinkbait. New York is about as diverse as a city can be and I don't see what the presence of the largest African American population outside of Atlanta, GA does for New York in any way shape or form. It's not good, not bad, not indifferent. The major soul food establishment is owned by Japanese. The minor ones as well. I've been here just over three years and I haven't yet met another black person I'd want to meet a second time. I'm not a snob but I don't do the hip hop thing. I've encountered the odd black professional but they have been strangely aloof. Most (like myself) are in interracial relationships and do all their socializing with white people. I'd love it if someone white could explain this fascination with "diverse" cultures that, yet, must be kept at a distance. Why have them? Is it really such a bad thing that there are not more black people here? I would argue that if the only thing Portland intends to do with an increase in black people in the city is stuff them in the jail in Hillsboro then its probably for the best that they stay away. 76% white is not far from the national average. I don't think it is anything to be ashamed of.
When I left NYC I could have gone to any city in the country to start over. I chose Portland. The Portland intrinsics that I value are not shared by a majority of black Americans. Don't hold your breath waiting for a sea change. It isn't happening. I suggest learning to love yourselves as the whitest big city in America. Maybe even use it as some kind of brag line. Oh oh.. try this: "Keep Portland White!" What?
I know of one NE Portland upper-middle class black family who stayed in the neighborhood because they want to be an example for those who are struggling. In many ways that reflects Portland's values in all ethnic groups.
Portlanders aren't invested in a person's race or ethnicity. Inter-racial relationships are very common. Kids whose parents know they are Hispanic don't buy into the gig. I know a student who was entering Stanford while her dad was still negotiating tuition. He checked the box Hispanic and she took exception.. he reminded her that his parents emigrated from Mexico, lived in LA, and all spoke Spanish at home. It just never occurred to her that she was Hispanic. Ethnicity never played a role in their lives - until dad wanted to reduce her college tuition.
Why do so many of you let this kind of characterization yank your chain? These articles always speak out of both sides of the same mouth... and why is it off the table to include Hispanics? I mean... if Hispanics were counted towards diversity there is no way one could claim "the rest of cities all clock in at 90% white.." The overwhelming majority of black Americans never left the south. Those that did are now returning. I'm very black and I live in a part of Portland with a rather low representation of black people. I'm not sure what black people are supposed to add to a city but I'm hanged if I can fathom why we are so important. I'll bet money that the kind of black people a white person would most want to live near (the kind like me) would have zero impact on "diversity". Other than black pigment I am indistinguishable from any other middle-class American.
Even with as small a black population as Portland has the majority of them are holed up in what is left of black North Portland. I just don't get it and suspect it is just something to use to justify having left. Don't sink to the stinkbait. New York is about as diverse as a city can be and I don't see what the presence of the largest African American population outside of Atlanta, GA does for New York in any way shape or form. It's not good, not bad, not indifferent. The major soul food establishment is owned by Japanese. The minor ones as well. I've been here just over three years and I haven't yet met another black person I'd want to meet a second time. I'm not a snob but I don't do the hip hop thing. I've encountered the odd black professional but they have been strangely aloof. Most (like myself) are in interracial relationships and do all their socializing with white people. I'd love it if someone white could explain this fascination with "diverse" cultures that, yet, must be kept at a distance. Why have them? Is it really such a bad thing that there are not more black people here? I would argue that if the only thing Portland intends to do with an increase in black people in the city is stuff them in the jail in Hillsboro then its probably for the best that they stay away. 76% white is not far from the national average. I don't think it is anything to be ashamed of.
When I left NYC I could have gone to any city in the country to start over. I chose Portland. The Portland intrinsics that I value are not shared by a majority of black Americans. Don't hold your breath waiting for a sea change. It isn't happening. I suggest learning to love yourselves as the whitest big city in America. Maybe even use it as some kind of brag line. Oh oh.. try this: "Keep Portland White!" What?
H
Because we as a nation have this mistaken belief that we are all supposed to get along together in some kumbayah moment together. So instead of allowing people to say "This person has different values than me, or I just don't like their personality" we dissect everything into some sort of anti-tolerant statement about race, gender, age, on and on... Oregon has a unique culture that is very different than the east coast, and much different than the south. Forget race for a minute and just talk cultural differences and we all know that Oregon isn't for everyone.
New York and Chicago are very diverse but if you look at where people actually live, they aren't particularly diverse and integrated. Neighborhoods have strong racial/ethnic holds, even in NYC. What we aren't okay with as a nation is saying it is okay to be with others like you. So if an Hispanic family wants to live around other Hispanics that isn't okay because they should want to be integrated or there is something wrong with them. Pick any race, religion, etc and it applies. If you want to be around people with similar culture, religion, ethnicity you can only do that to a certain extent before you are called racist, etc.
Mmmmm I'm not sure if I agree. I don't think it is a good thing for groups of people to stick together? In the case of blacks, it allowed the city of Portland to redline Alberta and leave it for dead, and all that that entails. Next, it isolates that minority community in a cultural ghetto, which makes it impossible for residents to later mix in the wider society. I don't want to live in North Portland! Not even now with all the gentrification going on. IMO Hillsboro and Forest Grove are making a huge mistake in allowing a separate but equal Hispanic culture to flourish alongside the white one. Assimilation... mixing in... a free integration across racial lines should be the goal of any community. The natural tendency of individuals is to seek their own and reside in clusters. I submit that that tendency should be thwarted by policy and dispersal should be mandated. People can always get together socially after the fact. Maybe I feel this way because the reality is that most other racial groups are not treated the way blacks are. Asians certainly are not. I might feel differently if I were Asian, but I am not. But I look at Europe and their undeniable problem with a minority faction committing atrocities in and among the white community they despise and whose values they do not share. They absolutely should be dispersed within the greater community and required to assimilate culturally, or leave. Am I wrong for feeling this way?
Mmmmm I'm not sure if I agree. I don't think it is a good thing for groups of people to stick together? In the case of blacks, it allowed the city of Portland to redline Alberta and leave it for dead, and all that that entails. Next, it isolates that minority community in a cultural ghetto, which makes it impossible for residents to later mix in the wider society. I don't want to live in North Portland! Not even now with all the gentrification going on. IMO Hillsboro and Forest Grove are making a huge mistake in allowing a separate but equal Hispanic culture to flourish alongside the white one. Assimilation... mixing in... a free integration across racial lines should be the goal of any community. The natural tendency of individuals is to seek their own and reside in clusters. I submit that that tendency should be thwarted by policy and dispersal should be mandated. People can always get together socially after the fact. Maybe I feel this way because the reality is that most other racial groups are not treated the way blacks are. Asians certainly are not. I might feel differently if I were Asian, but I am not. But I look at Europe and their undeniable problem with a minority faction committing atrocities in and among the white community they despise and whose values they do not share. They absolutely should be dispersed within the greater community and required to assimilate culturally, or leave. Am I wrong for feeling this way?
H
I value different cultures and would prefer a more diverse neighborhood, but the fact remains that most people feel comfortable with people of similar faith, culture, race, etc. Just like you wouldn't want to be forced to live in NE Portland, someone that wants to cluster together shouldn't be forced to not cluster. I guess I think there is enough space for everyone to do their own thing...as long as the choice is theirs. When it is no longer their personal choice, then I have a problem with it.
One of the nice things about Oregon's UGB's is that when an area is left for dead like Alberta was, population growth will force investors into those dead areas to rejuvinate them at some point. NE was going through a lot of rejunivation during the real estate boom because investors want to make money and land was restricted.
Redlining is illegal because it restricts choice. Did you see the racial map that was done from the last census? While there are diverse neighborhoods, most neighborhoods were clearly one race. It was eye opening, in my opinion about how non-integrated we are as a nation.
Living in a ghetto has been a problem for everyone in Oregon. I remember when I was at Oregon State, I never met a Corvallis resident except for a few store keepers and vendors on the north end of campus.
As mass communications have forced our culture to grow more anonymous, children have been forced into a ghetto that sharply limits their adult interaction. When all they know is TV and other children, it's no wonder that when they get older they don't know how to maintain adult relationships, so they can't get along when they get married. Kids nowadays go from school to day care to home to school. When I was a kid, I ran loose in the neighborhood, and often got drafted to help some adult with an adult task like raking leaves, pulling weeds or cleaning a garage. They paid me a kid's wages for a kid's work, but they were real adults teaching me what it means to be grown up. Kids don't learn that in school.
The last 50 years have brought changes. I now have "black" cousins, at least if you adhere to the "one drop of colored blood" apartheid definition. Yes, we are blood relations, and the group includes two licensed professional engineers and an MD. That's not the sort of thing the media pushes on you as a stereotype. I sympathize with Leisesturm. If people weren't shoehorned into stereotypes, who knows what would happen?
I also have a half Korean cousin. She is breathtakingly beautiful, intelligent and a warm, sensitive person. I can't figure out why she doesn't have a boyfriend, but I bet it has something to do with people stuffing themselves into a ghetto.
As mass communications have forced our culture to grow more anonymous, children have been forced into a ghetto that sharply limits their adult interaction. When all they know is TV and other children, it's no wonder that when they get older they don't know how to maintain adult relationships, so they can't get along when they get married. Kids nowadays go from school to day care to home to school. When I was a kid, I ran loose in the neighborhood, and often got drafted to help some adult with an adult task like raking leaves, pulling weeds or cleaning a garage. They paid me a kid's wages for a kid's work, but they were real adults teaching me what it means to be grown up. Kids don't learn that in school.
A sense of community is on the decline in general, IMO. I think the reason for the ethnic/racial clusters is to try and have a sense of that which is so lacking in our nation. Plus people are generally resistant to change. It's a lot easier to stay put then to get up and move to a new place where you don't know anyone. That takes a certain personality type.
Living in a ghetto has been a problem for everyone in Oregon. I remember when I was at Oregon State, I never met a Corvallis resident except for a few store keepers and vendors on the north end of campus.
As mass communications have forced our culture to grow more anonymous, children have been forced into a ghetto that sharply limits their adult interaction. When all they know is TV and other children, it's no wonder that when they get older they don't know how to maintain adult relationships, so they can't get along when they get married. Kids nowadays go from school to day care to home to school. When I was a kid, I ran loose in the neighborhood, and often got drafted to help some adult with an adult task like raking leaves, pulling weeds or cleaning a garage. They paid me a kid's wages for a kid's work, but they were real adults teaching me what it means to be grown up. Kids don't learn that in school.
The last 50 years have brought changes. I now have "black" cousins, at least if you adhere to the "one drop of colored blood" apartheid definition. Yes, we are blood relations, and the group includes two licensed professional engineers and an MD. That's not the sort of thing the media pushes on you as a stereotype. I sympathize with Leisesturm. If people weren't shoehorned into stereotypes, who knows what would happen?
I also have a half Korean cousin. She is breathtakingly beautiful, intelligent and a warm, sensitive person. I can't figure out why she doesn't have a boyfriend, but I bet it has something to do with people stuffing themselves into a ghetto.
One of the reasons i loved growing up an Army brat is, i had the chance to have Army brat sisters & brothers (in school & in the housing area's) who had many different hue's of skin color. The color of one's skin isn't important to me. It's what is in one's heart, that is important to me.
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