[Magdalen] Related to "Yet Another Case of Race Abuse"

[Jay Weigel]

My only question, Sibyl, is if the guy (not young, older like me) had
problems with crowds, what the heck was he doing shopping on Saturday
afternoon, and why didn't he have any problems going down aisles which were
crowded with Anglo families?

Sorry, but false premise. I am well aware of the prejudice against brown
people here. It's a lot worse than that against African-Americans. We have
a lot of Russian immigrants in this area, also some few from the Middle
East/South Asia, who all somehow get lumped together. Then there are the
Hispanics. The Hispanics get the worst of it but the Middle Easterners and
South Asians aren't far behind them in terms of being looked down on by
certain elements. (I'm excluding the college and university communities
because they are a whole different story. This area is demographically
WEIRD!) The Russians get a pass because, well, "At least they're WHITE!"

A few words about the demographics. There are two higher education
complexes in the area, James Madison University (a state institution), and
Eastern Mennonite University (modern Mennonite and not horribly
conservative) both in Harrisonburg, plus Bridgewater College down the road
in Dayton (Church of the Brethren and pretty conservative). The area is
dominated by the poultry industry and there are chicken and turkey factory
farms all over the place and two big poultry processing plants, Cargill and
George's (the latter supplies KFC). Apples and other produce are also a big
deal and Bowman's is a big produce company. Those three companies are
responsible for the influx of Hispanics to the area, but interestingly, the
children of those families, by and large, do *not* want to work in poultry
or produce! They account for about 15-20% of the school population and are
starting to appear on honor rolls pretty regularly. The companies keep
bringing in young men, but the young men work awhile and either go home,
get married, or bring their families, which is not what the companies had
in mind. <g> As for the locals, the town of Harrisonburg would be nothing
without the universities, but there's an element that won't admit that and
there's a certain amount of town/gown conflict. The "local" element is
eventually going to lose, as it usually does, because the universities
continue to grow. The surrounding areas are heavily agricultural and quite
conservative, overwhelmingly white, with a strong Mennonite influence. We
have Mennonites of all stripes, from the horse-and-buggy kind (mostly down
around Dayton) to the modern ones that you can't tell from the general
population and who most resemble Quakers in their thinking. It's very
normal to see Mennonite women in what I call "uniform dress" with prayer
caps or little scarves, but driving cars. There is also a big population,
again mostly rural, of what can only be described as poorly educated
"rednecks". The area where I live butts up against West Virginia, and the
grocery store where I shop locally gets pretty heavy traffic from the WV
border area. Most of these folks fit that "redneck" category--they are
pretty much the kind with Confederate flag decals on their trucks or cars,
anti-government bumper stickers, and who act kind of loud and ignorant.
(Sorry for the stereotypes, but that's what I see when I shop there). My
immediate neighbors, right here 15 miles from the WV border, are white, and
some are Lutheran, some Mennonite, and some Methodist. They are generally
very nice. The rest of my neighbors are cows.

On Sun, Oct 4, 2015 at 1:22 PM, ME Michaud <michaudme at gmail.com> wrote:

> Several years ago I heard a little blonde kid ask his father about my cane.
> The father explained I used it to help me walk. The kid was maybe four. But
> apparently lived a halcyon suburban life or something.
>
> I do find that children who live in multi-generation households in the city
> are much more aware of elder issues. Also baby issues, We are selling our
> kids very short, binding them in a way, if we don't teach them all.
> Hispanic kids and Chinese kids and Caribbean kids are so much more "with
> it."
>
> Speaking of binding our kids, if you have a few minutes, give this a
> listen:
> http://hereandnow.wbur.org/2015/10/01/spiritual-children-lisa-miller
> -M, currently thinking lots about the church's difficulties with children
> (and adolescents especially)
>
>
> On Sunday, October 4, 2015, Jay Weigel <jay.weigel at gmail.com> wrote:
> >
> > after awhile. I knew what that man didn't......that these young men had
> > mothers and grandmothers back in their countries who had most likely
> > brought them up right and who would likely pop them upside the head if
> they
> > weren't polite to their elders. I hoped the man noticed, but I don't know
> >
> >
> >
>