I didn't really want to ambush you all with this cry for help from the dark, but I finally had to cave in to the strict policies of my former internet provider and register under a new name.
I used to be (although perhaps not very well) known as Trondheim. Early this year I had to move house and consequently lost my internet provider. At exactly the same time, my former laptop broke down, and I had to get a new one. Suddenly I lost all access to Hatrack, because I didn't have my password anymore (it was stored on my old computer, and I never used to type it in because of my Opera Wand) and I couldn’t use my old mail address to retrieve the password anymore. I've been fighting my former internet provider for almost 9 months now to gain access to my old mail account, even for just a little while, but to no avail. I've been reading here, but I haven’t been able to post. I could have signed up under another name at once, but that would have been chicken!
Today I realized that if I were to get the help I need right now, I would have to cave in, so I've reregistered. I was hoping for number 9000, but no… Still, I’m really happy to be able to say hello to all of you again! And I know what you’ve been up to
So – back to my need for help: I would like to write something about next years Governor Elections in California, linked to the recent launching of Mel Gibson as a possible Republican candidate and Warren Beatty as the possible opposing Democrat. Everything I can find online just seems so... skeletal. I would like something fleshier – something concerning people’s reactions to this. I'm a foreigner and can never hope to understand the underlying reasoning and background for all of this.
If you would consider and maybe try to answer any or all of the following question, I would be very grateful. This is neither school nor work related, so it's not like you’re doing my homework for me. If you answer, you'll be giving me insight into something that only you could know about.
1. What makes California different from other US states? Any reasons: geography, history, economy, demography, patriotism, industry, immigration, legislation, racial issues, religion, values, or other - you choose. 2. What do you think is the reason people in California keep electing showbiz people to positions of political prominence and responsibility? Is it only about the recognizance factor? Or are there other underlying factors? 3. Why do you think that Mel Gibson would be perceived as a good candidate by some? And by whom? 4. Same question for Warren Beatty.
And just for fun:
5. What movie director would make the best movie from the elections? Why? How? With what actors? Posts: 3 | Registered: Dec 2005
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posted
1. What makes California different? IMO, California is not just the most multicultural, it is also the most culturally/racially accepting state. California (Los Angeles) is pretty much the cultural center of the world. (Sorry Paris, and sorry, New York, but Broadway just isn't enough) Religion...hmmm...California is different about religion. Hard to explain. California is also an immigrant center and import center. We get 'em from everywhere. Patriotism? There's a strong current of patriotism in California, but it stays underground. The last time I saw it was after 9/11. There's more, but I think it's sufficient to say that the movie and music industry is centered in California and has a tremendous influence.
2. It's primarily the recognizance factor, but it's also an effect of the prominence of the industry in Cali.
3. Mel Gibson has strong beliefs and sticks by them, which is usually something to engender admiration. His characters, at least, paint him as a strong leader type. His willingness to make the Passion despite all the opposition confirms it. I think that the Passion will win him a lot of votes from the Hispanic community in California.
4. Not a Warren Beatty fan, neither the movies nor the person. But my impression of him is that he's an outspoken, reasonably charismatic liberal, and would be attractive to the Democrats for that reason. I rather doubt, however that Warren or Mel will run.
5. Oliver Stoned. With Baghdad Sean Penn. The movie will bear no resemblence to reality, but will be great entertainment.
Posts: 561 | Registered: Feb 2005
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quote:What makes California different? IMO, California is not just the most multicultural, it is also the most culturally/racially accepting state
I would argue that Hawaii wins this award.
Not to argue, but I became friends with several Hawaiians last summer when I was in France. They were taking classes in the same program I was studying in. One of the polynesian girls told me that Hawaii was not as racially tolerant than some would think. According to her, the "natives" were seen by some people in the same light that blacks are seen in some segments of the South today--no overt racism, but subject to the same negative stereotypes "cultural" racism left over from darker times. This was confirmed to me by another girl who described herself as "hapa," which meant part asian, part white.
I also observed that about 75% of the girls in the group were snobby, stuck-up types, but that probably had more to do with the fact they were from all girls from a incredibly expensive private high school than cultural upbringing.
Posts: 786 | Registered: Jun 2003
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Wow, I'd be surprised to hear any state called "racially tolerant" where its citizens voted to deny education to the children of illegal immigrants.
it may surprise some people, but having lived in the NE, South, West, and Central portions of this country, the most racially accepting folks as a group I've known have been in and from the South.
That is not to say that racism doesn't exist in the South either. I've met collossal bigots everywhere.
Posts: 22497 | Registered: Sep 2000
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I just moved from California to Texas, Bob, and in my experience, it's much more racist here in Texas.
Posts: 561 | Registered: Feb 2005
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quote:Not to argue, but I became friends with several Hawaiians last summer when I was in France. They were taking classes in the same program I was studying in. One of the polynesian girls told me that Hawaii was not as racially tolerant than some would think. According to her, the "natives" were seen by some people in the same light that blacks are seen in some segments of the South today--no overt racism, but subject to the same negative stereotypes "cultural" racism left over from darker times. This was confirmed to me by another girl who described herself as "hapa," which meant part asian, part white.
I also observed that about 75% of the girls in the group were snobby, stuck-up types, but that probably had more to do with the fact they were from all girls from a incredibly expensive private high school than cultural upbringing.
I certainly wouldn't say that Hawaii is the utopian Paradise that everyone makes it out to be, but the people you met were very misrepresentative of the general populace. There's always going to be racial tension, sure, but I feel Hawaii incorporates more culture from its inhabitants than can be said in most places - most likely because we have more to draw from. We've absorbed sentiments and limited understanding of several ethnicities that aren't prevalent in the islands - e.g. blacks, hispanics, native Americans, Indians - and have an overrepresentation of several that are more uncommon on the mainland - e.g. Polynesians, south Asians, etc.
What's sad is that I'm willing to bet I can guess what school your friends are from, and I probably graduated from it, too. The school, more than anything else, is the cause of the discrepancy, since it educates the wealthiest 1% of the island's children.
Posts: 4313 | Registered: Sep 2004
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quote: I also observed that about 75% of the girls in the group were snobby, stuck-up types, but that probably had more to do with the fact they were from all girls from a incredibly expensive private high school than cultural upbringing.
A lot of people from Hawaii who leave the islands for the first time experience a kind of culture shock and respond by forming cliques with other people from Hawaii.
Coming from Hawaii and now living in another relatively multi-cultured area - Seattle - I have to agree with Erosomniac on this one. In Seattle, I see many different types of people...but they seldom interact. In Hawaii, I saw a lot more people of different races hanging out together, and a lot more multi-racial people (how many places can you find a Japanese, Chinese, Filipino, Portuguese, Tongan person).
Back in the turn of the century when a whole bunch of different asian populations were imported to work the sugar plantations, many different people were forced to find ways to live with each other, and if we, as a region, are more racially tolerant (read: more, not perfectly) now, it's just because we've had more practice at it.
Posts: 2907 | Registered: Nov 2005
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quote: it's just because we've had more practice at it.
Yes, that is the key...
It's easy to be racially "tolerant" when the interaction is in the abstract. Working, living, and going to school side-by-side with people of different backgrounds is the only way I know of to actually become less focussed on race -- for those people disposed toward loving their fellow man, rather than building barriers.
For others, sadly, it's a way to feed the hatred.
tern, I think it all depends on who you meet in the South...and in California for that matter. I grew up in California so I know people from a broader range than I do in the South, where I lived in middle class neighborhoods and worked in a professional capacity.
I never said there wasn't racism in the South. I said it is where I've personally met more individuals who are racially accepting (even welcoming) than in other areas of the country.
I dare say being LDS you'll find a lot more discrimination against people of your faith in the South (part of the Bible Belt) than you ever would in most of California, where a larger proportion of the population couldn't care less.
Or, at the very least, you'd find more people who dislike you because of what you believe specifically, versus people who dislike you simply BECAUSE you believe something.
I personally haven't found a single place in the US that I would call racially "accepting" from a viewpoint of the dominant cultural "feeling" of the place. I think there are people who've gotten past race as an issue to be found everywhere, and there are those who have not. Until the haves vastly outnumber the have nots, this issue is just something we can't say is resolved at the group level.
Posts: 22497 | Registered: Sep 2000
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I'm not one to really watch tv or the news. I grew up in Ohio and have lived in Cali for nearly three years.
What struck me the most right off, other then oil wells all over Long Beach, was how well mannered people here are. Someone walks past you on the street and there's an 8/10 chance they'll greet u you or hold doors open for you.
Back in Ohio where I grew up, that never happened.
My neighborhood has many races in it, and yeah there are those that make lots of noise on saturday nights or turn July 4th into a noise pollution nightmare, but we all seem to get along very well here.
Posts: 113 | Registered: Nov 2005
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