'Pioneer Press' Series on Worthington (low crime, unemployment, club)

[Govie]

Anyone reading this 'series'?

A very one-sided piece on this town:

WORTHINGTON, Minn. - Worthington is a small town with a big secret.

The farm county seat has comparably low crime and enviously low unemployment. Instead of tumbleweeds, its downtown strip has plenty of traffic and only two vacant storefronts. The biggest dance club and sole bakery have new owners.

What's not a secret is that more than a third of the town's residents - 35 percent, by the last census count - are Hispanic. City officials still think that's an undercount. Even so, it's by far the highest percentage of any city in Minnesota - a state that's seen a 75 percent growth in Hispanics over the past decade, more than any other ethnic group.

The trend didn't happen in an instant: 30 years ago, many feared the southwest Minnesota town would become a ghost town. Instead immigrants flooded in - and stayed. One weekend last month, the local St. Mary's Catholic Church hosted 14 baptisms in one standing. All Hispanic.

mod cut.

Worthington, Minn., was dying. Then, enter the immigrants. - TwinCities.com

[Cruz Azul Guy]

I thought it was a pretty decent article, what's your issue with it?

[Thegonagle]

I didn't notice anything really wrong with it.

But you must think they're leaving something out.

Help us out here.

[audadvnc]

Worthington used to be the turkey capital of Minnesota; I remember driving through town and seeing massive turkey operations there.

Domesticated turkeys are yummy, but not great representatives of the animal kingdom when it comes to smarts.They say the tame turkeys are so dumb they will drown in the rain - they look up at the sky, water runs into their noses, and they don't have enough brainpower to blow the water out.

[Govie]

Originally Posted by Slig

I thought it was a pretty decent article, what's your issue with it?

Well, it's pretty one sided. If you notice some of the comments on the (link) page, you will see what I mean.

Also, this thread says a bit too (on the one-sidedness):

Comments on Worthington ?

[Thegonagle]

I try to stay far away from the comments on Pioneer Press stories. It's outsourced to [domain blocked due to spam], and therefore not moderated. The amount of racism and general ignorance on proud display is simply astounding.

While the first several paragraphs of the article appear to paint a rosy picture, they DO point out that not everybody is pleased with the situation there. So how is it "one sided?" Because the first commenter to the article on the unmoderated [domain blocked due to spam] forum said so, and then went on to make some mean-spirited, racist generalizations? I don't think that person read the whole thing. Did you?

[Govie]

Originally Posted by Thegonagle

I try to stay far away from the comments on Pioneer Press stories. It's outsourced to [domain blocked due to spam], and therefore not moderated. The amount of racism and general ignorance on proud display is simply astounding.

While the first several paragraphs of the article appear to paint a rosy picture, they DO point out that not everybody is pleased with the situation there. So how is it "one sided?" Because the first commenter to the article on the unmoderated [domain blocked due to spam] forum said so, and then went on to make some mean-spirited, racist generalizations? I don't think that person read the whole thing. Did you?

Why are you getting condescending? That will do nothing for you if you want to be taken seriously. I read the entire story and the second piece in the series. Heck, a MODERATOR on this very site has said it is entirely a different story than all hunky dory in Worthington. Whatsayyou?

As far as the comments section, your personal identity is out there with Facebook, which is good enough for me. You can't go off on nasty, hateful spewing sprees. That's total BS.

[Thegonagle]

So you read the whole article. Then you came on here, pasted the link, and called it "one-sided" without supporting your position. Two of us asked you to explain. You again called it "one-sided," and pasted a link to five year old thread here where people were bickering about illegal immigration, Hispanic "gangs," and lack of safety, all of which the PiPress article touches on, and supports with numbers and facts. Icing on the cake in that old thread was some guy who "ain't racist" (probably "has a black friend") complaining that "gangs of them" drive to his town to "date their kids," and he doesn't like it. Again, no facts, and no explanation of your opinion of one-sidedness.

So then I got snarky.

But you still haven't explained your opinion. So please do.

P.S. Our moderator GolfGal does a fine job moderating, and I support her in that role here. I'm not going to comment on opinions she wrote 5 years ago, when she is still active here today.

P.P.S. I was able to comment at PiPress before I had a Facebook account. I don't think I even needed to log in. I've seen some ugly, thoughtless stuff there. That's why I try to stay away.

[Govie]

Originally Posted by Thegonagle

So you read the whole article. Then you came on here, pasted the link, and called it "one-sided" without supporting your position. Two of us asked you to explain. You again called it "one-sided," and pasted a link to five year old thread here where people were bickering about illegal immigration, Hispanic "gangs," and lack of safety, all of which the PiPress article touches on, and supports with numbers and facts. Icing on the cake in that old thread was some guy who "ain't racist" (probably "has a black friend") complaining that "gangs of them" drive to his town to "date their kids," and he doesn't like it. Again, no facts, and no explanation of your opinion of one-sidedness.

So then I got snarky.

But you still haven't explained your opinion. So please do.

P.S. Our moderator GolfGal does a fine job moderating, and I support her in that role here. I'm not going to comment on opinions she wrote 5 years ago, when she is still active here today.

P.P.S. I was able to comment at PiPress before I had a Facebook account. I don't think I even needed to log in. I've seen some ugly, thoughtless stuff there. That's why I try to stay away.

And your condescension is equally prevalent in this post. I've no need to respond to you further. Because one guy says some off-color things you seem to think that anyone that opposes the change in Worthington is automatically "racist" or "bigoted" - that tells me all I need to know about you.

The PP painted a (relatively) rosie picture in Worthington; forgive me for not taking every piece of journalism that I read as Gospel and never questioning the portrayal in said pieces of journalism.

[Thegonagle]

Originally Posted by Govie

The PP painted a (relatively) rosie picture in Worthington;

And you disagree, correct? Why didn't you say that in your OP?

The only criticism you had of the PiPress article was that it was "one-sided," which was far too ambiguous to be meaningful. When asked what you meant, you pointed to other people's opinions in flame-filled comment threads, rather than telling us yours.

It kind of looked to me like you just came in here to blow on a smoldering campfire. When race and immigration is involved, individual sensitivities are easily inflamed. If that is something you're not aware of, consider yourself informed.

Since this is going nowhere, I agree to end this sub-conversation.

If anybody with recent first-hand experience with Worthington agrees or disagrees with the content of the Pioneer Press article, and has something meaningful or insightful to add, please do.

Otherwise, let's drop it, or lock it.