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

[Jay Weigel]

Grace, do you have any idea when the Russians came in and why they chose
Harrisonburg? There's quite a little population and a very active little
Russian Orthodox (ROCOR) Church.

On Sun, Oct 4, 2015 at 4:37 PM, Grace Cangialosi <gracecan at gmail.com> wrote:

> Wow, Jay, what a great description of your area! Having lived near there
> for nine years, I have to say it's spot on! It's also interesting to me
> that, while I shied away from using the terms "hillbilly" and "Redneck,"
> many of my neighbors, even some parishioners, used those terms about
> themselves with pride.
>
>
> > On Oct 4, 2015, at 2:06 PM, Jay Weigel <jay.weigel at gmail.com> wrote:
> >
> > 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
> >>
>