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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region Forumsa friend just had to flee for his life....from Idaho
Two years ago a friend and his girlfriend and new baby, moved to Hayden, Idaho to be near her family, so she had support while he underwent cancer treatment....
He just moved back...without them. He's Puerto Rican...
He said when the first moved there it wasnt quite as bad but once Trump got elected...they went nuts.... He said every time he went and public someone made a comment about his race, he said a couple in a store, all decked out in camouflage walked up as he was pushing his baby and said 'oh what a cute beaner baby'
Said his car was spit on every day....he couldn't make any friends because their 'reputation' would be ruined if they were his friend....his girlfriend's family told him he 'didnt fit the image' for the family....it actually broke them up for 9 months, after which the mother told her daughter '..well, now that I got rid of him...'
He said he was certain that if he stayed there, he would have been hung.
So he left...he will set up a place here and bring them home...
Trump's America..... festering like flesh eating bacteria in Idaho.....
Wtf....seriously....this shit is so obviously wrong...
MLAA
(17,288 posts)lunasun
(21,646 posts)hurt a brown or black child as they are deplorable
Alice11111
(5,730 posts)Shameless, ignorant racists. Very sorry.
maddiemom
(5,106 posts)stewing in their ignorance, and just waiting for the chance to tell all of us "libtards" how they REALLY feel. It was getting more and more that when they expressed their beliefs, someone would shame them about it. Now they feel free, and there are more of them than we had naively fooled ourselves into believing.
Alice11111
(5,730 posts)Closet, they think they are PC.
The younger ones are the scariest, as in general, I thought this college and post college 10 years generation, loathed racism and intolerance. I think, I hope, the younger nazi types are ignorant. I had assumed the racists and bigots would eventually die off, but there is this aggressive, angry resurgence, as you alluded to. The numbers are huge too.
What I observe is many with wealth sending their children to expensive private schools, where they are not exposed to diversity, amd at home they are groomed to be bigots, who believe they are better than others.
oasis
(49,382 posts)his retirement in disgrace.
Right winger Bruce Willis also calls it home.
They can have it
Nay
(12,051 posts)racists, white nationalists and other similar trash. If you were anything other than white, you did NOT travel there. So sorry to hear it's still hell.
kimbutgar
(21,137 posts)The wedding was in the evening so my hubby and I spent the day driving around. Happened upon a white supremist event accidentally. The looks I got were terrifying. It so upset me I immediately went back to the hotel and stayed there the rest of the day. Found out Hayden lakes the next town over was a white extremist conclave near Coeur d'Alene.
jmowreader
(50,557 posts)He doesn't actually live here; it's vacation and investment property, in the Sun Valley area.
If you want to point your finger at one person to blame for Idaho turning into a cesspool, the name is Ronald D. Rankin. Ron Rankin was one of the first wingnuts to leave California, back when land was extremely cheap here. He got his real estate license and marketed the shit out of this place to house-rich Orange County Republicans. Then he got elected to the Kootenai County Board of County Commissioners. Pretty much everything that went wrong up here is because of him.
Alice11111
(5,730 posts)oasis
(49,382 posts)Hoyt
(54,770 posts)your friend was treated.
MissB
(15,807 posts)a fairly conservative guy. He's also pretty religious- he does have a strong sense of social justice.
Anyway, he was planning a few years back to move down to the lower 48 states and thought maybe Idaho would be a good choice. It offered cheap land and great outdoor activities.
The parts of Idaho he was looking at had way too much racism for his comfort level. And he's white as white can be. He chose to settle not far from me in a lovely liberal bubble.
I'm sorry your friend had so many incidences of blatant racism. I'm hoping wherever he's settled he finds a welcoming community.
TalenaGor
(1,104 posts)Misses his family though....
roamer65
(36,745 posts)I'd bet a C-note they'd get all bent out of shape.
No Vested Interest
(5,166 posts)naïve(?), ignorant in that way.
DRoseDARs
(6,810 posts)No Vested Interest
(5,166 posts)Obviously, Puerto Ricans, like Mexicans, can vary greatly in ethnic appearance.
Thanks for the enlightenment.
CakeGrrl
(10,611 posts)Never mind the ethnic and regional differences:
Brown is brown, black is black, yellow is yellow, and NONE of them are white, so they can all "go back where they came from".
Never mind that they live the big ugly lie that this land is theirs, and they should just as quickly be told to 'go back to Europe' just to make their addled brains spin.
raven mad
(4,940 posts)His beautiful wife is Caucasian.
He, Kara, and his kids have never had an incident here except new imported folks (cheechakos), usually military. At least until he pulls up on his bike in full gear............... (Big guy, about 6'4", 235, ripped - and one of the gentlest nurses I've had the privilege to know.
Of course, at 45 below in ice fog, a snow machine suit, ski mask, hood, bunny boots, and bear claw gloves, you can't tell if it's even human, let alone race or nationality.
I HATE anyone having to go through this, and can promise you that slurs here especially in public get called out by most folks.
Alice11111
(5,730 posts)It was the first.time I had heard an actual person use that term. I had heard it in movies, documentaries. Shocking. My eyes noticeably bugged out. She didn't even know she and her son were being racist.
Very wealthy, educated, but isolated with their wealthy friends.
I think if hospitals required some parenting classes, a few evenings before the birth, that teach parents how to dicipline without abuse (a huge problem & RW teachings make it worse ) and how to raise respectful kids, it would help a lot. High schools and colleges should too, IMHO. Repubs would call it brain washing, but we have to start trying something.
PatrickforO
(14,573 posts)actually believe that it is we, the larger culture, that is committing genocide on white people.
Seriously.
Alice11111
(5,730 posts)onecaliberal
(32,853 posts)SweetieD
(1,660 posts)SergeStorms
(19,201 posts)This is where Randy Weaver decided to make a home after he found so many like-minded white supremacists living throughout Idaho. Then the whole "Ruby Ridge" fiasco made Idaho an even bigger haven for white supremacists, neo-nazis, and every other anti-government, racist movement.
The state book of Idaho is "The Turner Diaries". These people have claimed Idaho as the unofficial "Tora Bora" of white supremacists and militia misfits. They're dug in, and itching for a fight with those jack-booted G-Men.
2naSalit
(86,586 posts)also, there is a prerequisite where if you aren't already LDS, you have to at least be a white supremacist. I lived in Idaho for fourteen years, in a liberal bubble, but it was still pretty hard to get along. I never could find a job there so I moved to another state that also voted for the current agent orange in the White House. Some dyays it's kind of scary. I'm still living in my vehicle and I wonder when I'm going to be attacked.
Bradshaw3
(7,520 posts)And not just in Idaho. My niece is married to a great guy from Morocco who is secular, started a successful business and is a fantastic father - yet they deal with harassment in Texas. Our awful POtuS has just emboldened this bigoted behavior and it is hard to put back in the bottle once unleashed.
democrank
(11,094 posts)and hope his family can join him soon. Sounds like he could use some support.
Initech
(100,068 posts)And the sad thing is we can't do anything about it.
raven mad
(4,940 posts)I am SO, SO sorry about your friend. I hope the family will be okay (in Seattle, it's a good bet)!
RE: Nothing whites can do? Call them out, especially in public. EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. You'd be surprised at the "tough guys" (HAH!) in Wal-Mart, toting open carry pistols, getting totally embarrassed by little ole white ladies, young kids, AND store management.
That's only happened a few times that I know of in our particular crowd, although we embarrassed the shit out of one jerk at a nice restaurant and management made him leave, and once done by my 11 year old grandson in front of the Post Office! No violence has ensued, and the local cops back the sourdoughs (long-timers) way over the military bigots. It's really sorry that there are so many who are "in service" and we teach them how to kill but not how to live with other races/cultures. Of course, the military here doesn't even bother to teach newcomers to drive in the ice and snow, and they mostly account for about 80% of the "first snow of the year" rigs in ditches, trees, telephone poles........ Almost always see the little military sticker in the front window. Don't get me wrong. I LOVE our military folks, most of them, and the problems usually only arise when there's a buildup of troops (we're part of front line for Korea, Russia, etc.).
NO TOLERANCE FOR HATE SPEECH OR HATE CRIMES. (Map below from SPLC, and the 1 incident was anti-Samoan, in Anchorage.)
https://www.splcenter.org/20161129/ten-days-after-harassment-and-intimidation-aftermath-election
Initech
(100,068 posts)One is too many. But 867? And 99 in my home state alone? That's way too much hate. The sad thing is we can call them out as much as we want, but it's not enough. They'll go back to their hate-filled message boards and chat rooms, and call in on hate-filled AM radio talk shows and complain how their views aren't represented. I don't think they get the hint that we don't want their views.
raven mad
(4,940 posts)They hesitate to crap in the next store/public area.
progressoid
(49,988 posts)Alice11111
(5,730 posts)Sure, it pisses them off, but a rational argument raises a tiny doubt about their beliefs, even if they don't admit it.
Do it appropriately to the circumstances.
Initech
(100,068 posts)Without getting into the censorship debate, and I'm not touching that one.
Alice11111
(5,730 posts)sharedvalues
(6,916 posts)Frustratedlady
(16,254 posts)The situations both smell of Trump. In the short time he was campaigning and now sitting as POTUS, what progress we made has pretty much been erased by his fake macho talk and actions. Just repealing/ending Obama's accomplishments is proof of his racist demeanor.
We aren't born racist, we pick it up from others.
I hope your friend is able to rebuild his marriage.
BigmanPigman
(51,590 posts)or begin, their lives in "blue" cities and states and urban areas. However, that only continues to polarize the geography of the US. So what are the short and long term answers? My sister and I always say that we would never live in a certain state or city yet we know integration and shared viewpoints is the way we should approach the "melting pot" philosophy of our country.
MarvinGardens
(779 posts)CanonRay
(14,101 posts)its just the noon coke wearing off.
Hekate
(90,674 posts)...his speech by early evening.
IronLionZion
(45,435 posts)it's so bad it infects browser tabs on DU
Oneironaut
(5,494 posts)cwydro
(51,308 posts)This confuses me.
I don't get it
Hell Hath No Fury
(16,327 posts)My Mom is Puerto Rican, and there is great pride taken in being "Puerto Rican" specifically. The racial blend is "blanco" (white) from the Spanish, Taino (the indigenous people), and African. The average Puerto Rican would look very out of place in Idaho.
DonCoquixote
(13,616 posts)but keep in mind, we do vary. My Mom has skin that gets her mistaken for irish, my Dad has skin that gets mistaken for Arab, and both fo them are native born Puerto Ricans.
SleeplessinSoCal
(9,112 posts)"Russian operatives hiding behind false identities used Facebooks event management tool to remotely organize and promote political protests in the U.S., including an August 2016 anti-immigrant, anti-Muslim rally in Idaho, The Daily Beast has learned."
http://www.thedailybeast.com/exclusive-russia-used-facebook-events-to-organize-anti-immigrant-rallies-on-us-soil
JHB
(37,160 posts)If it's the same area, no wonder he ran into so much of that shit. AR was a magnet for neoNazis and related varieties of white supremacists.
red dog 1
(27,797 posts)From the late 1970s to 2001, the Aryan Nations headquarters was located on a 20 acre compound 1.8 miles north of Hayden, Idaho.
KY_EnviroGuy
(14,490 posts)The child would probably be better off in an area of racial and cultural diversity. With proper parenting in an open-minded diverse area, the child is young enough to not be impacted by these events.
Shame on those people for causing separation for this couple. Apparently, they don't realize that they are robbing this child of one half of its heritage.
liberalnarb
(4,532 posts)We have to defeat this horror. All you fascists bound to lose.
mythology
(9,527 posts)The aryan nations was founded in Idaho in the 1970s. The only reason they aren't still based there is because they lost their compound in a lawsuit over the beating of a mother and her son.
TexasBushwhacker
(20,185 posts)Javaman
(62,528 posts)a buddy of mine was stationed at Mountain Home AFB in Idaho.
He told me that probably at least once a week, the base would have some sort of run in with the nazi/skin heads in the area trying to breach the perimeter.
the northwest has long been a hot bed for white racists.
smirkymonkey
(63,221 posts)These assholes have always been there, but it's like Trump has given them the green light to act on their worst impulses.
Initech
(100,068 posts)When you have people driving into protests one day and then innocent people getting harassed the next, something is very fucked up. And we have a president and his precious news network of choice that enables this behavior. It's wrong.
Madam45for2923
(7,178 posts)weissmam
(905 posts)tell them to go stick it , pound salt , take your pick
That's a slap in the face of every individual in the US Military from Puerto Rico past and present
IronLionZion
(45,435 posts)Trump really brings out the worst in people. It's like there was stuff simmering below the surface but he has made it acceptable to open about it now. Trump is definitely festering like a deadly infection or snake bite or something.
I know the feeling. My adorable little niece was called a half breed where she lives in Tennessee.
I recently met a bartender who when she cards obviously underage college students, they respond with where's your green card? She's a US citizen.
And there are a large quantity of idiots who still don't know that Puerto Ricans are Americans too.
PatSeg
(47,421 posts)Every day a new and outrageous story about hate and racism in America. Trump has brought out the worst in us and it is far worse than I could have imagined.
Where did he move back to?
TalenaGor
(1,104 posts)L. Coyote
(51,129 posts)cwydro
(51,308 posts)Certainly not like the states many of us live in, but sorry, I just find this story odd.
People in Camo approaching a baby to say, "what a cute beaner baby." Makes no sense at all to me.
onetexan
(13,040 posts)especially those in the panhandle - a hot bed of RW extremists and nazi-esque rambos. Tell your friend to hang in there, idiot 45 will get what he deserves and the goons will crawl back to whatever crevices they came out of. This too shall pass.
fleur-de-lisa
(14,624 posts)Cousins, aunts, uncles. They are all racist asshats!
Mind you, I have lots of family in Mississippi and Louisiana . . . all are now liberals or independents. Racism is not confined to the former confederacy.
dembotoz
(16,802 posts)you hear the stories
hell i have SEEN a number of jaw droppers
liberalmuse
(18,672 posts)Seriously! This is unacceptable. Racists need to crawl back into their holes.
I'm at a loss. Your friend and his family do not deserve this. The people responsible are reprehensible.
awesomerwb1
(4,267 posts)in Idaho.
After all they have this excuse of a human being called Raul Labrador as their rep and possibly future governor.
Terrible story by the way.
cemaphonic
(4,138 posts)I know some very good people there, fighting the good fight for decency and tolerance. And I know that there isn't a corner of the world where intolerance and bigotry isn't some sort of problem.
But Idaho is the only place I've ever been where random strangers at gas stations have chatted me up about how the Jews are taking over America.
Glaisne
(515 posts)are coming out thanks to Trump.
MariaCSR
(642 posts)yuiyoshida
(41,831 posts)I was run off a tenis court because I wasn't Mormon, white and male.
red dog 1
(27,797 posts)DFW
(54,370 posts)I only have vague memories of him and his son, Forrest, coming out to our house for the weekend. He and my dad were friends, and about the only thing I DID know was that he was from Idaho.
How times have changed, and not for the better.
Ken Burch
(50,254 posts)Who discussed how she left the state out of fear as well.
samnsara
(17,622 posts)..trumper and had to relocate back here to wash state for her own cancer tx and left her hubby up there ( near ruby ridge).. I thought once she got out of there ( and away from HIM) she'd be at least normal but she's in dire need of deprogramming. its so sad too because I have waited for 15 years to have my little sis back in the same town so we could do stuff together.... but I have basically distanced myself from her.