Marshalltown, Iowa SperlingViews

Once about 99.9% white Anglo-Saxon Protestant, Marshalltown is now a community divided in three parts. There is the majority--the white, working class people who overeat at all the fast food restaurants and weigh about 300 lbs. Then there is a handful of "professionals," unfortunately including some people who think they own the town and are extremely arrogant. Then there is the 15% of new Hispanic immigrants from Mexico, who have totally shaken up the town and changed it forever. These new residents, by the way, are the town's future. Without them, the place would dry up and shrivel away. Lots of old people here and the town needs new blood. Unfortunately, the non-Hispanics here are mean as junkyard dogs and treat Hispanics with a total lack of respect or dignity.

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Marshalltown Iowa and its people. - 6/29/2010

I am well new to Marshalltown, it's not the big city I grew up in (Chicago) and not the small town I came from (Forrest City, AR). It is Marshalltown and the views that are posted are right in the writers eyes. In the 13 months I have lived here I have started to form some thoughts on this matter. This is a community were many different types of people live. We have four types of people the white people, black people, mexican people and the the others to many to list but not enought to make much of a different. Okay, with all that said let me tell you I have a very different family as well. We have Native American, white, black, Canadian so this view is from many. The white people think that there would be more jobs if the mexican were not here.(This is right, but would the white people do those jobs?) Then there is the problems with the schools and why are the signs in anything other then English? If you came here to have a better life then why should we worry about your culture. If you love your culture so much displace it in your home. If you came to America to live our American dream then live it like an American in English. Most of us have no problem living and working with lawful people. Here is a thought if you broke the law to come here why should I or anyone else think you will follow our other laws big or small. If you want respect you should respect the law of the land that you want to live in. (Not much to ask for) We have (my family) paid our dues we filed all the papers and paid all the cost and then waited. We had to have the permission of the US Goverment to marry and then my husband could not work for 4 months. (He is a truck driver and spent 5 of 7 days in the US with work, he could not go to see his sick mother before she died because of the process) But we did it the right way and I am Native American what gives you the right to think you can break the law and then demand respect. If you live in an area where mexican people come to live you see your crime rate go up. I believe this has a lot to do with culture. Small crimes seem to mean nothing to them. When your belonging start to come up missing from your yard or car or garage to most American's that is not right Mexican seem to look right over it. Maybe the problem is not a hate for mexican people maybe it is a hate for how things change with them. People are our future people of all kinds but we will have no future if it does not start with lawful people. If a mexican woman goes to the hosiptal in labor we have to deliver the baby if she does not pay it the community picks up that cost. We have six children no one else has ever paid for one of them to be born. Be accountable for your actions. Do not come here suck the system dry and then flee back to Mexico leaving us the cost. So on that note Mexican people who have the legal right to be here live your dreams build your world and enjoy every minute of it. Mexican people that do not belong here need to go home and do it right. I am sorry if the living conditions in your county are not what you want, that does not give you the right to change the living conditions in my country. If you want your community to respect you, you must also respect your community.[read more...]

on the decline - 9/18/2009

Another contributor's recent comment on the quality of life in Marshalltown was accurate up to a point, in my opinion as a long-time city resident, but did not offer a balanced perspective. Marshalltown people in general do not necessarily treat all Hispanics badly. I suspect that what's happening here in terms of many residents' cool reception of new immigrant arrivals is based on experiences many members of the established Hispanic comminity. So many are unwilling or unable to learn English. Criminal activity increases daily in the form of defacement of public and residential buildings and structures through gang-related graffiti. Aggravated assault, alcohol-related disturbances, domestic violence, rape, theft, and gang activity are on the rise, some of which may be attributed to activity within the steadily increasing population of the Hispanic community. Local law enforcement is weak at best in this area, possibly because officials see no way to eliminate disruptive activity. Local media, for the most part do not report incidences and information relies heavily upon anecdotal reports from city residents and the young people living here. For any community to function peacefully, this requires sincere effort on the part of all residents to respect one another and the community they call home. In Marshalltown, everyone needs to make a better effort to make this happen. I hope this comment is helpful. [read more...]

A Town with 3 Separate Populations - 8/19/2006

Once about 99.9% white Anglo-Saxon Protestant, Marshalltown is now a community divided in three parts. There is the majority--the white, working class people who overeat at all the fast food restaurants and weigh about 300 lbs. Then there is a handful of "professionals," unfortunately including some people who think they own the town and are extremely arrogant. Then there is the 15% of new Hispanic immigrants from Mexico, who have totally shaken up the town and changed it forever. These new residents, by the way, are the town's future. Without them, the place would dry up and shrivel away. Lots of old people here and the town needs new blood. Unfortunately, the non-Hispanics here are mean as junkyard dogs and treat Hispanics with a total lack of respect or dignity.[read more...]