Seattle's Less Successful and More Resentful Count
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7/26/2011
Spokane does have some great neighborhoods where people are better educated and more tolerant, but most of Spokane is very conservative. And if you aren't white and need to move here, you have my sympathy.
Spokane's conservatism ranges from the meathead, knee-jerk angry Republican sporting some variation of the Calvin urination decal on his jacked up truck to the myopic,whining Tea Party middle class blaming all their problems on the more prosperous west side of the state.
The local daily paper is very conservative - it endorsed the McCain/Palin ticket. And it does not have a problem publishing blatantly racist letters to the editor.
And on the subject of racism, keep in mind this is the city where a bomb was planted on the MLK Day Parade path. We are in fairly close proximity to the infamous city of Hayden Lake.
I know people from Spokane will try to distance themselves from this history, but there are reasons why all these racists have chosen this geographic area. And it's not just for the four seasons of weather.
Unfortunately, the white power history of this part of the country has distorted what locals consider racism. If it's not the blatant shaved head & red braces variety, then someone complaining of racism is just playing the "race card."
I had the good fortune of growing up a military brat - I actually lived at Fairchild for a few years as a kid. As a NCO brat, I got used to living in a racially and culturally diverse environment. Moving to Spokane was a disappointing eye-opener.
Abhd | Spokane, WA