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I have lived in Gower for Five years now with my husband...........I have only come across a few poeple that I have noticed that have made racial comments
I really find that hard to believe. If that is the case, you are fortunate. I have spent a ton of time in Gower, Plattsburg and that entire area as my stepdad has land on 169 right between them and both my brother, sister, and stepbrothers grew up there. My uncle has also lived in Plattsburg my entire life. I've never in my life encountered so much racism as I have in those areas. I had to stop going up there because of it.
Those are old slave towns and the animosity between races still exist. Groups of my brothers friends use to go out and look for black kids to beat up. I even had to intervene in a beating that took place right inside of Gower by the trailer park and it damn near got me beaten but I may have saved a kid permanent damage.
My stepbrother started dating an African American girl and got complete shunned by his friends. He end up having to move down to Clay country to get away from it all.
It's really like the civil war never ended up there. The bad part is that even the adults have the same attitude. I thought maybe it was just the high school and college age kids but after hearing some of the parents talk, it seems to be the attitude of most.
Things may have changed in the last 7-8 years but I highly doubt it has much.
Things may have changed in the last 7-8 years but I highly doubt it has much.
This is what I was referring to earlier in this thread, but being from JoCo, my opinions and observations are often dismissed. And I get that.
Truth is, I have extended family in that area and visit up there frequently. I don't believe there is the kind of violence you describe anymore. But the racism is overt and can make you stop and wonder what century you are in sometimes.
No area is exempt from racism. JoCo has its share to be sure. But I couldn't live in the more rural areas of MO (nor KS) for that reason.
It's unfortunate too, because I don't think everyone in that area is like that. Far from it. But those who are like that are vocal about it and they can drown out the voices of everyone else. That's too bad.
One thing I have learned since moving out here is this is not just a rural Midwest thing. Even though metro DC is very diverse, rural Maryland, right outside the DC Baltimore area has places like this. I have seen more confederate flags and decals on pick trucks in rural Maryland or small exurbia towns that I ever saw in the rural areas around KC. Same with some of the rural pars of Pennsylvania, Virginia etc.
My wife is from a small town in mid Missouri and they seem to be pretty racist there. Not violent or anything, but they are not afraid to say what they think about those black people in KC and St Louis.
But I couldn't live in the more rural areas of MO (nor KS) for that reason.
As a product of rural/small town Arkansas (and a few other states in the south) which isn't all that different than rural/small town Missouri (and have relatives in rural MO which we visit frequently), I think the only difference in racism between the city and rural areas is in how it's acted out. The level of racism seems to be exactly the same from what I can gather. In the city, people have the option to move to large areas full of other people that look like them. That in and of itself is a product of racism in many cases.
People's true feelings then get swept under a rug and forgotten about... until someone who is different-looking moves into the neighborhood.
As a product of rural/small town Arkansas (and a few other states in the south) which isn't all that different than rural/small town Missouri (and have relatives in rural MO which we visit frequently), I think the only difference in racism between the city and rural areas is in how it's acted out. The level of racism seems to be exactly the same from what I can gather. In the city, people have the option to move to large areas full of other people that look like them. That in and of itself is a product of racism in many cases.
People's true feelings then get swept under a rug and forgotten about... until someone who is different-looking moves into the neighborhood.
I would also recommend Platte City as a great option for you! Smithville does have rentals, but I think it is more homes than apts. I think Platte City has a few more stores and options in the town, but still small- I have also heard really great things about the schools there!
If you want to live in a smaller community that's within a short of commute of KCI and shopping I would say that Smithville is an excellent choice. It isn't really as "rural" as the poster KCMO would like you to believe though.
If you look up the data available to you on this site, you'll notice that the population grew by 54% in the last decade which would easily make it one of the fastest growing communities in or near the KC metro. An up and coming suburb is really what Smithville is.
Smithville is fairly quiet. Not much going on there. However, it becomes quite active in the summer time since it's butted up against the largest lake in the area.
Another area you may want to consider is Platte City. It's characteristics are similar to Smithville but even closer to the airport. Much like Smithville, you would be able to commute to your job at the airport with almost zero traffic to deal with.
But if schools are the major priority, I would definitely check out the Shawnee Mission school district on the KS side. There plenty of affordable rental properties in Shawnee/Lenexa and Shawnee Mission Northwest HS is a very good school. (I usually recommend the Blue Valley district as well since I think SM and BV are the best in public schools in the region, but that would probably put you further South than you want to be.)
If you are within a couple of miles of 435 (which you could easily be in Lenexa/Shawnee) you can be up to KCI in about 20-25 minutes.
Good luck to you!!
There are far better schools within a shorter commute than those of the Shawnee Mission district. Smithville is actually fine in that regard. So is Platte County in Platte City. If she wanted to live within the main suburbs themselves then anywhere in the Park Hill district is far closer than Shawnee Mission and the schools are also much higher rated. However, it sounds as if she wants to live in a smaller town nearby.
Of course there is no escaping racism altogether. KS has its share as well. But for the most part, you will find the Lenexa/Shawnee area to be somewhat more ... well, "refined" shall we say? than in and around Smithville.
There will still be diversity in the schools: black, brown, Asian, Middle-eastern, you-name-it, but you will find the tolerance for racial violence and ignorant comments to be noticeably lower.
I personally like the Smithville area, and even the areas and towns North of Smithville are quite beautiful with rolling hills and lots of space and friendly people most of the time (if you look like you fit in.) But I do often feel like I have taken a step back in time when I go up there. In some ways this is quite charming. In other ways ... not so much.
Samantha, for one thing, RJ Robb is full of crap. One of those people that likes to pass on tall tales without any evidence to support them. I'd say there's probably a good chance that he's lying about having ever been up there based on his description of the place and his lack of knowledge about the history of those areas.
He's factually incorrect from the get go when he calls them "slave towns". Slavery in the northern half of the state was nearly nonexistent. Also, I have family all over that portion of the state and none of them are anything like what he described. The first clue that would suggest that his comments aren't factual is that Plattsburg, for instance, has a fairly significant black population for a rural area. Now, common sense would tell you that if the black people in this area were subjected to the hate and the beatings he claims happen they would move elsewhere. Yet, they're still there and those families have STAYED there for decades even though it would be easy to move 20 miles south into the city.
That isn't to say that racism is completely nonexistant in those places. Racism is everywhere. I've encountered it when I lived in California where places like Fremont were well known hubs for skinheads and neo-nazis. I've also seen and heard it in places that I've travelled to like Australia and Japan.
Even Robb's tales weren't bologna, the last place a person would want to go to get away from that sort of thing is Kansas. I would highly recommend you check the FBI's statistics on hate crimes for a more realistic picture of the state of Kansas. It's amongst the worst in the country when it comes to such things and far worse than Missouri. Hence the reason you still have incidents like the black kid that was beat to death in Lawrence a couple years ago simply for being black. I believe there was an issue in Olathe in recent years with black kids and latinos clashing at one of their high schools as well.
Remember that, much more recent than slavery was Brown vs. the Topeka board of education where a federal judge had to force the state of Kansas to allow black children to be able to attend the same schools as white children. That doesn't exactly jibe with the picture that you're trying to paint of Kansas being a colorblind utopia. It's far from being that.
In fact, the suburban Kansas side schools are probably the least progressive in many ways. The internet is littered with articles the original poster can read about the fight that is still taking place in Johnson County over teaching creationism vs. theory of evolution in public schools. Something that the Missouri side schools got past long ago.
The reason I called you out on your comments is because I noticed that you seem to have an agenda. This person was asking about Smithville. Yet, you seem to be here to promote Kansas rather than help the original poster find the information that they are seeking. You can claim otherwise, and feign innocence, but the title of the thread made it pretty clear what this person was interested in and you clearly weren't posting to offer information on that topic. Judging by the way nearly everyone on the board jumped down your throat it must be rather obvious in spite of your efforts to sell it as something else. You've even gone so far as to misrepresent facts in your efforts to do so by claiming the schools were better which is contradictory to what the Kansas City Star has posted. For instance, Park Hill and Lee's Summit districts outperformed Blue Valley and Shawnee Mission schools in average ACT scores. So evidently kids on the Missouri side are learning something.
That's neither here nor there because, again, the poster was asking about Smithville. Your goal here seems to be to promote Kansas so here's my suggestion to you. Go hangout on the Kansas boards where your opinions, accurate or not, will be welcome. I'm sure that the majority of us here don't really appreciate it. A person with common sense that isn't here to create a problem would have recognized that and moved on. Yet, you haven't. Hmmm.
Last edited by Thrillcekr; 12-08-2010 at 07:46 AM..
Samantha, for one thing, RJ Robb is full of crap. One of those people that likes to pass on tall tales without any evidence to support them. I'd say there's probably a good chance that he's lying about having ever been up there based on his description of the place and his lack of knowledge about the history of those areas.
Yes, you're right. I am talking about somewhere I have never been. I was just up there on Sunday. I have family in Trimble, and Plattsburgh. But, you're right, I have never spent any time there at all.
You really think I would make that stuff up for the hell of it? I'm sorry but if you think I would make up tales like that for the hell of it, you're an idiot.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Thrillcekr
He's factually incorrect from the get go when he calls them "slave towns". Slavery in the northern half of the state was nearly nonexistent.
Slave towns may not be an accurate term but slaves did exist in that part of the state. I know this because I befriended two black kids from Plattsburgh and both of their families have been there since the early 1800s. Do you know how they got to that area? They were slaves. As you can imagine, that was a huge agricultural area. Who do you think managed those fields?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Thrillcekr
Also, I have family all over that portion of the state and none of them are anything like what he described. The first clue that would suggest that his comments aren't factual is that Plattsburg, for instance, has a fairly significant black population for a rural area. Now, common sense would tell you that if the black people in this area were subjected to the hate and the beatings he claims happen they would move elsewhere. Yet, they're still there and those families have STAYED there for decades even though it would be easy to move 20 miles south into the city.
I know there is a large black population there. I think I even said that in my post. The white and black kids rarely hang out. In fact, Plattsburgh is damn near segregated.
Do you really think I would make up the fact that I had to stop a black kid from damn near getting beat to death? I have the whole episode imbedded into my mind and it is something I will never forget.
You might have family there but have you ever hung out with the teenagers and young adults in that area on a Friday or Saturday night? If you havent, you have no authority to tell me what I am saying isnt true. Go up there and do it if you dont believe me. I bet money you will witness a fistfight between a white kid and black kid.
The racism goes both ways. I never said that black people up there were just victims. The racism is spewed back and forth like venom. I think everyone puts up with it because that is just the way it is and has been.
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