People in Minnesota/moving there

[knke0204]

Originally Posted by marmac

You get an " F" for your feeble attempt at being sarcastic .

What are you talking about? It's the truth, why would I lie in a internet forum? It was the BP on the corner of 25th and Roosevelt Road across from Tenvoorde Ford.

The Somali merchants NEVER did anything to show me that I should be accepting of them OR their culuture. A few examples:

--All men had Birthdays on their licenses as 1-1-1980. All women had same birthdays too.

-- Extremely horrible smelling. They have no sense of respect- I was raised to not going out in public if i wasnt presentable. I'm not saying they needed some expenisve cologne, but a simple shower once a month would help

-- Extremely clueless... I had a gentleman (who came in with his Stearns County $25 gas voucher for free gas, convenient right?) and bought Anit-Freeze and put it into where the windshield fluid was supposed to go...Or was it the other way around?

--An extremely confused Somali customer who had become outraged at the fact that he COULD NOT put Diesel fuel into his Vehicle... I told him that the nozzle wouldnt fit into your unleaded tank because its Diesel Fuel... He became exteremely angry that "we wouldnt let him put Diesel fuel into his car"

--I witnessed a 16 year old get brutally beaten by a group of Somali students who were laughing at the fact of him getting kicked in the head

-- I have over 10 counts of families of Tech High Students stressing their concern over the safety of their children at school, because somali students would tell them that it is Now THEIR school.


I'm not trying to be Mr. hardas*s....I'm just saying that I'm not going to lie or sugar coat anything, because my experience with the Somali population in St. Cloud has been anything BUT appealing.


With that being said, I have a handful of Somali friends from the Twini Cities (along with Ethiopian and Kenyan friends). One of the most intelligent, soft spoken, articulate people I know is from Somali, he came here in 1994 by HIMSELF when he was 12.

[tancee]

I have lived here almost 8 years. I've learned that just because there may be a diverse racial mix. It doesn't mean you will be accepted. Most people grow up here and stick to those that are the same. They will smile and be friendly one day and look through you the next. Minnesota is not for the outsider unless you can find others that are not from here like you. That can be hard because they start to form an attitude of staying to themselves as well. Sometimes you can find genuine friendly people that are native Minnesotans. I've only met one person I could call a friend that has lived here all her life and she is not the majority. People say their is no racism but, they find underhanded ways around it. It looks obvious to the person being discriminated against but, the outsiders don't see it. Just because a place is labeled liberal doesn't mean its always accepting.

[knke0204]

Of course there is racism. Racism is everywhere. Racism has been around since the pyramids... Especially in MN where its 90+% white. It's just how it is...

As for meeting people- Moving to a new area and trying to meet and sustain friends is hard no matter where you go. Most people don't feel like investing in a friendship if they don't feel like its real

[Cruz Azul Guy]

Originally Posted by golfgal

Having lived all over the state I would say the best town for diversity and acceptance is probably Marshall, MN.

If that's the best town for diversity in Minnesota it would be difficult to determine that from 2000 Census data:

Marshall Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 12,735 people
91.35% White
2.79% Black or African American
0.35% American Indian or Alaska Native
1.52% Asian, 0.03% Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander
2.61% from other races
1.34% from two or more races.
Hispanic or Latino of any race were 5.93% of the population.

golfgal, be perfectly honest with me, do you really consider that a diverse area?

[golfgal]

Originally Posted by Slig

If that's the best town for diversity in Minnesota it would be difficult to determine that from 2000 Census data:

Marshall Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 12,735 people
91.35% White
2.79% Black or African American
0.35% American Indian or Alaska Native
1.52% Asian, 0.03% Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander
2.61% from other races
1.34% from two or more races.
Hispanic or Latino of any race were 5.93% of the population.

golfgal, be perfectly honest with me, do you really consider that a diverse area?

Be honest, Slig, those numbers are 10 years old and just MAYBE things have changed. Given the original criteria for RURAL MN, YES, I think it is the best option. Why don't you try getting out of your neighborhood and visiting other parts of the state and see that there is a world beyond your neighborhood.

Keep in mind that diversity doesn't mean the number of black people in the area, it means that there is a MIX.

[Cruz Azul Guy]

Originally Posted by golfgal

Be honest, Slig, those numbers are 10 years old and just MAYBE things have changed. Given the original criteria for RURAL MN, YES, I think it is the best option. Why don't you try getting out of your neighborhood and visiting other parts of the state and see that there is a world beyond your neighborhood.

Keep in mind that diversity doesn't mean the number of black people in the area, it means that there is a MIX.

I'd be extremely surprised if the white population doesn't still make up at least 85% of Marshall's population, and what would be the point of going out to these small boring towns? No offense, but there are no draws to most of these places that would make it worth my time to make the trek out to them, it'd be a complete waste of time. I mean we went out to the apple orchards a few months ago and it was basically in and out, no reason to spend any more time in a one horse town. The next mini-road trip I'd do in Minnesota would be a local wine tour, but it'd be strictly for the wine.

[City Data Guy]

Originally Posted by knke0204

Of course there is racism. Racism is everywhere. Racism has been around since the pyramids... Especially in MN where its 90+% white. It's just how it is...

l

It seems to me that you think only whites can be racist. *sighs* How can you be that misinformed? Why are people still misinformed about this crap? It's really saddening and angering to be honest.

There are racists from every ethnic background. Whites aren't the only ones who can be racist.

Read those sentences over and over again until you understand.

Oh, and Minnesota isn't over 90% white. According to the Census Bureau's estimates, non-Hispanic whites make up 85.6% of Minnesota's population.

[uptown_urbanist]

To be fair, the posters weren't looking for a city, they were looking for rural Minnesota, so in the context of "what rural areas can I find people who are tolerant of people with different backgrounds," then maybe Marshall is a good fit. A high percentage of white people (which is going to be inevitable in most MN small towns) doesn't necessarily translate to lack of tolerance or being open to change, new experience, or new friends of different races.

[golfgal]

Originally Posted by Slig

I'd be extremely surprised if the white population doesn't still make up at least 85% of Marshall's population, and what would be the point of going out to these small boring towns? No offense, but there are no draws to most of these places that would make it worth my time to make the trek out to them, it'd be a complete waste of time. I mean we went out to the apple orchards a few months ago and it was basically in and out, no reason to spend any more time in a one horse town. The next mini-road trip I'd do in Minnesota would be a local wine tour, but it'd be strictly for the wine.

Originally Posted by uptown_urbanist

To be fair, the posters weren't looking for a city, they were looking for rural Minnesota, so in the context of "what rural areas can I find people who are tolerant of people with different backgrounds," then maybe Marshall is a good fit. A high percentage of white people (which is going to be inevitable in most MN small towns) doesn't necessarily translate to lack of tolerance or being open to change, new experience, or new friends of different races.

Exactly--they wanted a rural, accepting town-not Minneapolis. Also, there is no boring place on the face of the earth, only boring people. It is what you make of it and quite frankly, we always had WAY more to do in Marshall than hours in the day. Take the reverse and the only reason to go into Minneapolis is to catch something at the Dome or Guthrie-there is nothing else there to do that I can't do here.

[Cruz Azul Guy]

Originally Posted by golfgal

Exactly--they wanted a rural, accepting town-not Minneapolis. Also, there is no boring place on the face of the earth, only boring people. It is what you make of it and quite frankly, we always had WAY more to do in Marshall than hours in the day. Take the reverse and the only reason to go into Minneapolis is to catch something at the Dome or Guthrie-there is nothing else there to do that I can't do here.

This never had anything to do with Minneapolis, I was replying to this post by you:

Having lived all over the state I would say the best town for diversity and acceptance is probably Marshall, MN.

I've decided I'm not going to continue this argument, it is completely counter-productive. You are entitled to your opinion and I will respect that.