Whites become minority in Kansas county

[RamboLiberal]

Source: CNN

FINNEY COUNTY, Kansas (CNN) -- U.S. communities are changing complexion as ethnic diversity grows in the American heartland.

Though not new in California, Arizona, Texas or Florida, the change of demographics is a bit more surprising in southwest Kansas.

Finney County, Kansas, is one of six counties across the nation that became majority-minority between 2007 and 2008, the U.S. Census Bureau recently announced. The agency defines majority-minority as a county where more than half the population is made up of a group that is not single-race, non-Hispanic white.

Nearly 10 percent (309) of the nation's 3,142 counties were majority-minority as of July 1, 2008.

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In the last couple of decades, massive meatpacking plants in Garden City have drawn workers from Southeast Asia and Somalia.

Read more: http://www.cnn.com/2009/LIVING/wayoflife/05/22/garden.city.kansas.minorities/index.html

[kestrel91316]

1. I was gonna say, must be a packing plant there........

Betcha Americans can't even get hired there (because they know their workplace rights). Betcha the packing house employees are being subjected to all sorts of abuses, too, and only make part time minimum wage with zero benefits. Betcha the meat isn't clean.

[DBoon]

13. as in "The Jungle"

described an unregulated industry staffed by an exploited immigrant work force

We have gone back to 1905

[amandabeech]

16. Those were probably good paying union jobs at one time, too.

It's just one more sign of the lack of respect for workers in this country.

I don't know if a celebration of diversity is all that appropriate when it means that we're back to exploiting workers, 19th century style.

And of course, this article says nothing about that.

[XemaSab]

28. My vision for America:

Open up a small lumber mill and slaughterhouse in every county in the US.

It would create jobs, promote animal welfare, and grow the economy.

[AlphaCentauri]

38. Meatpacking $12 P/H, Kansas minimum wage $7.25, 4 Available Positions

Finney County has 4 Available Positions

Intensive Supervision Officer I

PAY GRADE BEGINNING AT $12.00/HOUR


Mobile Intensive Care Technician

Pay Range $11.25 - $21.72/hour

Detention Officer

Pay Range: $11.25 - $21.72

Food Service Assistant

Pay Range: $7.40 - $12.73/hour

CLICK HERE TO APPLY FOR THIS POSITIONS
https://www.hrepartners.com/jobs/PositionsListing.cfm?PartnerCode=45

[MineralMan]

2. Hispanics are not a race.

People with hispanic heritages come from several human groups, for pete's sake.

[dipsydoodle]

3. Neither are

Jews but they seem to get classed as such. :shrug:

[MineralMan]

6. Incorrect classifications need to be pointed out.

Non-hispanic white is not a racial description. It's a racist description.

People of hispanic heritage can be caucasian, american indian, semitic, black, or any mixture of that group.

Non-hispanic white is a meaningless description, and may also be made up of several groups and mixtures of those groups.

Personally, I am a member of the human race, and no other.

[dipsydoodle]

11. Fair comment

:hi:

[imdjh]

12. I disagree

One of the defining elements of "Jews" is as a nation, a people who are set apart from the whole through intermarriage and familial relation. It's not simply a religion. Yes, there are converts to Judaism, and have always been converts, but the genetic commonality is sufficient to set them apart as a people. Jew is not simply a language group, even if many Jews do speak Hebrew or Yiddish. While there are select Jews of various races, the Jewish people as a whole would qualify as a racial identity within the larger racial category.

Of course, if we would trash the major racial terms, then everything would make more sense if being a bit more work. Then we would see the US as being 2% Gambian, 4% Tutsi, 14% Celtic, 21% Nordic, 20% Saxon, 15% Slavic, 3% Japanese, 1% Vietnamese, 4% Chinese, 3% Mestizo, 2% American Indian, 1% ethnic-Hawaiian, 1% ethnic-Alaskan, .5% Filipino, etc...

What a mess accuracy would be- and those of mixed ancestry would still be in the "other" world.

[dipsydoodle]

17. It's a religion

n/t

[imdjh]

19. It is, but it's also an ethnicity. Perhaps it's its own category?

More than once I have heard it said, "Jews are not members of the Jewish religion, Judaism is the religion of the Jewish people." People who have four Jewish grandparents are still Jews, and identify as such even if they have never set foot inside a synagogue. People who have four Christian grandparents who have never set foot inside a church, rarely identify as Christian.

But, things change. Fewer and fewer Jews have four Jewish grandparents. The last stat I read was that marriage to non-Jews is running above 50%.

[iamthebandfanman]

36. what about amish folk?

they tend to even keep reproduction within the group...

[imdjh]

40. I'd say that the Amish are missing critical points of similarity.

While they are endogamous, they don't have the belief that Amishness physically passes from the parent to the child. Technically, you aren't Amish until you choose to join the church as an adult. Until then you live under the rules of the church, but you are not a member. Amishness isn't hereditary by their understanding, Jewishness is hereditary by their understanding.

[AlphaCentauri]

39. Could it be a cultural manifestation?

a culture may include a lot elements of religion, ethnicity and tradition

[imdjh]

41. I think it's really as simple as the statement.

Judaism is the religion of a tribe of people we know as Jews. A tribe can be a racial designation, a subrace of a larger race. What screws all this up is the notion of there only being three races. If we look at black Africans, who would argue that the Pygmies and the Zulus are merely insignificant geographically defined subgroups? No one. Clearly we are talking about two races of people. Just as we are talking about different races when we look at Slavs and Celts, or Basques and Rus.

[Mari333]

30. strange tho..I am almost 90 percent Ashkenazi DNA (genetic testing)

but am told I am not Jewish since I wasnt raised Jewish. go figure.

[imdjh]

42. Out of town Jewish.

It's a joke from Torch Song

[IDFbunny]

21. Muslims aren't a race either until they are maligned

[WriteDown]

4. Neither are African Americans

but lines have to be drawn somewhere.

[MineralMan]

7. Why do lines need to be drawn?

Are we not all of the human race? I see no reason for any division of humans by color, nose shape, or the shape of one's eyes. Do you?

[WriteDown]

9. As a Native American..

yes, I do.

[imdjh]

14. What does that mean?

I'm not trying to taunt you. I know that "Native American" is a proper noun in some circles, especially when capitalized, but it could be viewed as "culturally aggressive" (a term which I despise BTW) by other native Americans who are not descendants of Sioux, Cherokee, Apache, etc... There are ethnic first-peoples who are not of your race.

Out of curiosity (because it is a function of race in this country, though not the only or most important function), if I met you on the beach, would I visually identify you as Native American?

How do you feel about Mexican and Central American immigration activists identifying themselves as Native American with the intent of defining 'American Indian' to be a single nation spanning two continents?

[izquierdista]

22. You shouldn't

Race is an artificial distinction used by the few to accrue wealth and power and set the many quibbling among themselves.

[Zynx]

34. Statisticians need numbers to work with.

In all seriousness, the classifications have a purposes in actually determining if systematic discrimination is occurring in education, other social programs, job preferences, etc.

[proud2BlibKansan]

5. What makes this noteworthy is this is a largely rural county

There are urban counties in Kansas which may already be majority minority or close to it.

[MineralMan]

8. And what is the significance of that?

I'm serious. I have neighbors of several "races." Some are nice people. Some are assholes. Their skin color or eye shape is no indication of which category they fall into.

[proud2BlibKansan]

24. Rural Kansas has been very white for as long as people have lived there

That's the significance.

[MineralMan]

29. Has it, now? Let's go back 500 years. Were the people

living there then what you'd call white?

Do think beyond the european population of North America, and avoid saying things that aren't true.

People lived there long before white europeans arrived. You did know that, right?

[proud2BlibKansan]

31. There probably weren't any people living there 500 years ago

I take it you don't know much about Kansas.

[MineralMan]

32. Actually, you are incorrect.

You're probably thinking of the Native Americans who came to Kansas in the 1800s. Native Americans populated Kansas as long ago as 14,000 years. The French explorers in the 17th century encountered stable populations along rivers there, and even the name of the area, given to it by the French, comes from a Native American word.

Here's some info:

"Kansas, a word readily recognizable as derived from the Native American tribal name Kansa, or "Wind People," is a state possessing a rich Indian heritage spanning from the time of Paleo-Indians, perhaps 14,000 years ago, to the very present. Identifying "Kansas Indians," however, is a task involving ambiguity. Clearly the arbitrary rectilinear borders of Kansas mean nothing in describing Native American perceptions of geography. It is rather the nature of the place; the grass, the streams and rivers, the bluffs and rolling prairie, the animals and plants, the earth and rock, the torturing heat and biting cold, the omnipresent wind and sky, that defines Kansas to its first people. Yet, in a real sense, these first Kansans add meaning to the state for those who came here later, as well as for those of us born into this place."

http://www.emporia.edu/cgps/tales/o93tales.htm

Other resources on Native American populations in that part of North America are easily found, using Google. So, would you consider those folks among the "whites" you mention? I doubt it.

[proud2BlibKansan]

33. Have you ever even been to Kansas?

It is not densely populated at all. That was my point. I live here. I know my state. There is a great chance that much of the land in this county has never been populated, by white, black, brown, green or orange people. And most of the towns that are populated in this state were 99% white until recently.

I don't appreciate your implication that I am making racist comments. I am a native, making comments I thought would educate. That is all.

[MineralMan]

35. Yes, I have been to Kansas.

I am not implying that you are a racist. I am merely pointing out that white europeans are a very, very recent addition to Kansas, and have no real historical presence in that state, compared to a 14,000 year presence by Native Americans. That hispanic people have moved there and make up, perhaps, a majority in one town of about 3,000, is irrelevant.

And yet, it seems to be a cause for alarm by some. Why? Because they have darker skin and speak Spanish as their first language? Kansas, as it is now, was settled by europeans, many of which didn't speak English either when they arrived. But, long, long, before that, it was populated by dark-skinned native americans, who, no doubt, considered the white european caucasians to be invaders.

Populations change over time. Thus has it always been. Thus it will always be. Visit my neighborhood in Saint Paul sometime. In a 20 square block area, centered on my home, the most populous group are Hmong immigrants. That's a very recent thing, since that area, known as Hayden Heights, was once exclusively caucasian working class who moved into the subdivision when it was built up in the 1950s. Now, it is changing, and european-heritage caucasians are a minority in the district.

And, so what? I speak Spanish (poorly) with my neighbor directly behind my house and with the nice young family directly across the street from me. Hmong families occupy about half of the rest of the homes on my block, with three or four "white" families, and several black families.

Everyone cuts their lawns. Everyone's children play together in the street. If someone's ill, a neighbor takes over the chores until they are better. We all watch out for suspicious activity in the neighborhood. I can say a few polite words in Hmong, and hope to learn more. One Hmong neighbor family comes to our backyard cookouts, and we have attended a couple of their extended family parties.

And yet, I hear about the alarm in some rural town in Kansas because a bunch of dark-skinned hispanics have come there. Piffle. The world is not ending. If the slaughter house and packing plant close, most of them will move on.

Kansas isn't special. It's just another place. I hope my historical information is of benefit to you. I'm sure you'll be motivated to learn more about the people who lived there for 14,000 years before your ancestors arrived.

[imdjh]

44. 14,000 years ago falls into the category of speculation

Kennewick Man, found in Washington is about 9300 years old. Other estimates make him out to be about 8000 years old. Either way, those who have analyzed him have concluded that he is no relation to any existing population in North America. This is, of course, nothing short of infuriating to those who tried to stop the testing from taking place and insisted on the assumption that Kennewick Man was an ancestor of existing American Indian descendant populations. The foundation for the Umatilla claim on the remains was RELIGION. They maintained in court that since their religion maintains that they have been where they are since the beginning of time, that to allow government scientists to discover and proclaim that this is not one of their ancestors was the equivalent of the US govt. formally denying the truth of their religions, and a violation of the First Amendment. Cute, huh? And we thought that only Christian fundamentalists played that sort of game.

The stakes are very high in these things. A lot of people are emotionally invested. Where it gets ugly though, is when politicians pander to groups by passing laws to pervert science. John McCain supported a law which would create the legal assumption that any relics found in the US were of extant American Indian populations.

[imdjh]

10. I'm having a problem with defining out hispanics

I've lived around hispanic people most of my life who might well identify by an ethnicity of national origin but who include themselves and/or are included in the very broad category of caucasian people. Hispanic is a language group, and while language is part of the racial classification system, it is not a freestanding criterion.

There is something that smacks of racism, in trying to redefine "white" as a subset of the broader category of caucasian. I realize that the major racial classifications were born in a time when racism was unapologetic, but when you consider who was included in the racial categories, the scientific detachment presents itself more obvious than the presumption of irrational racism.

There is no denying that this effort is political driven, the rise of the practice of reclassifying hispanic people as "brown" as opposed to black or white. I don't have a problem with anyone who wants to do that doing that, even if I see their effort as a new form of racism. It is the right of an individual to identify as he sees fit. What is not his right is to express that at the macro level when it comes to culture, economics, and politics. It's especially difficult in this regard to determine where the line is between white and brown, or brown and black, or brown and red. Disturbing are the games that people play to promote the underlying politics.

The absurdity, of course, is the idea that a line needs to be drawn, but if political lines are being drawn on race (and they are) then where is the line drawn?

[OneBlueSky]

15. until we can get past these bogus distinctions, we'll never move forward . . .

I know it's horribly cliche and has been said millions of times, but couldn't we just agree that we're all part of a single HUMAN race? . . .

what's the purpose of making all these distinctions, particularly when intermarriage is blurring them to the point of being meaningless -- i.e. distinction without a difference? . . . we're still applying 1940s thinking to a 2009 world, and that's just nuts . . . imo . . .

[imdjh]

18. There are people who believe that wealth is distributed based on race.

So naturally, they want to radically reform the way things are done, to redistribute wealth based , on , race. Meanwhile, as the whitest person in America, I am still waiting for my share of the great white wealth. Mind you I am not living in a mud hut and eating worms, but no one outside of Biafra would consider me wealthy.

The funny thing is, that while being the whitest person in America, on paper, I actually got all the Eastern genes lurking in the far recesses of the Celtic/Nordic pool. My viking ancestors' Turkish wives have come back to visit in my black hair and dark brown eyes and skin that tans brown like dull varnish.

Just the other night, when a stranger in a store asked me if I were Italian, to see if it would fly I answered, "No, I'm Mexican. My parents are from Jalisco." , and he bought it. Thank god he didn't start speaking Spanish.

[Bonobo]

20. Disgusting, racist headline.

[mitchum]

23. That's where the Clutter killings of "In Cold Blood" took place

yes, i do know that's completely off topic...

[proud2BlibKansan]

25. It's also where they are building that humongous coal plant

We fought it for years and our new governor made a 'compromise' with the companies that are building it and it is a reality now.

I miss Sebelius. A lot.

[NickTheGreek]

26. the human race

To those of you who insist we should only recognize one race, do you oppose Affirmative Action?

[proud2BlibKansan]

27. Are you talking to me?

My post you replied to was about the coal plant. :crazy:

Enjoy your stay! LOL

[Judi Lynn]

37. For Kansas DU'ers who've never heard of Finney County, here's a map:

http://pix.epodunk.com.nyud.net:8090/locatorMaps/ks/KS_4629.gif

Close to Oklahoma, Colorado, Texas. Its largest town is Garden City, according to Wikipedia. The total population for the entire county in 2006 was 39,097!

Really flat out there, which makes it so much easier to spot the tornadoes!

http://npg2.com.nyud.net:8090/krdo/weatherblog/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/garden-city-tor.jpg

[RainDog]

43. this probably has a lot to do with out-migration by younger people

there's a book coming out in the fall about the dwindling population of the midwest, esp. places like Kansas.

&imgrefurl=http://www.dailyyonder.com/speak-your-piece-farm-bill-rural-middle-class&usg=__jTJsPpEbiNKQR2QbkqDpY627GA4=&h=444&w=508&sz=200&hl=en&start=3&sig2=kJKnjcX0sc70XaD1Laro7Q&um=1&tbnid=g0j2qygG0A2M6M:&tbnh=114&tbnw=131&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dpopulation%2Bloss%2Bin%2Bmidwest%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dsafari%26rls%3Den%26sa%3DN%26um%3D1&ei=tnMYSo77LYuONfyD-dAL">this link includes the map below.

<a href="http://photobucket.com" target="_blank"><img src="" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

people are leaving the red states because the jobs aren't there anymore - younger people who go to college go where jobs are - and, as Richard Florida noted, people who are better educated are more tolerant and more interested in living in a more diverse environment - one in which gays, atheists, various ethnicities co-exist and create a more interesting place to be - with better food, cultural activities, and access to travel.

So, the formerly very white rural population areas of the midwest are increasingly left with older and less affluent/educated populations.

Jobs that are available may not be suitable for the skill sets of the residents who remain. If someone is willing to move there for a job, no matter what the color of a person's skin, then they'll be hired. - and, yeah, I would imagine the hope of cheap labor makes them attractive for some industries that are left in the area.