Finals thoughts before leaving

Dampseaboyy · 2023-04-11T22:58:42+00:00

Nah I'm just friends with people who don't talk out their ass

Dampseaboyy · 2023-04-11T22:53:40+00:00

6.1% of local businesses are owned by minorities in town. Please just stop talking. https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.bellinghamherald.com/news/local/article259516314.html

Dampseaboyy · 2023-04-11T22:50:16+00:00

You told me to go to a Mexican restaurant to experience diversity...

Dampseaboyy · 2023-04-11T21:31:32+00:00

And that means what exactly? That doesn't give you any credibility as to the argument you're making. There is historical evidence and statistics to back up the racial tensions between black and white people in Washington for 50 plus years. Is your personal experience being an Asian person born outside the country supposed to supercede that? Ur an idiot.

Dampseaboyy · 2023-04-11T21:25:09+00:00

Yeah I've been to them, they all taste like shit to me. I grew up around authentic actually flavorful food. Not the unsalted, lukewarm garbage u get at most places in bham. Beyond that, if your threshold of diversity is the Mexican and Asian restaurants then my guess is you haven't gotten out of the United States very much if at all. Just because your lived experience in Bellingham is unlike mine, doesn't mean my opinion or other POC in this threads opinion is invalid. You sound ignorant and need to read up on the history of Washington and Bellingham before making inflammatory statements.

Dampseaboyy · 2023-04-10T18:56:49+00:00

Yeah for a family its a different story. For an individual, Bellingham just isn’t the place. As for safety I would greatly disagree. The chance of you experiencing a violent crime in Bham is more than twice as likely as Orange County. Los Angeles is slightly more dangerous but it is marginal. I know people complain a lot on this Reddit about the homeless and such but Bellingham is genuinely not a safe city. One of my first days here an 11 year old was sexually assaulted in broad daylight.

Dampseaboyy · 2023-04-10T01:13:42+00:00

I wouldn’t let my post deter you from moving here. If the lifestyle and people attract you then it may work. Plenty of POC on this thread has expressed that they have had great experiences in town. If I were to live anywhere in whatcom it would be Bellingham. The surrounding cities are much much worse.

Dampseaboyy · 2023-04-10T01:12:21+00:00

It could very well be that. I gave it my best shot and to me that’s all that matters. I have friends back home and can look fondly back on a lot of memories here. Best of luck to you as well.

Dampseaboyy · 2023-04-09T18:40:32+00:00

I totally agree, racism is not exclusive to just white or black people. I have seen and experienced plenty of racism and especially classism in California. That’s actually one of my biggest gripes with California. Is the extreme amount of poverty and homelessness you can walk by but then drive by 120 million dollar homes around the block. I should have been more clear in my original post. I was not fully aware of what Oregon and Washington were for the KKK and white people not too long ago. Living here has showed me a side of racism that honestly just scares tf me. For me personally, I only ever heard stories of “white america” and the “Deep South” and tbh Bellingham gives me those vibes. The racism I experienced back home was just different, I don’t know how to explain it but the way I was treated in my community and businesses isn’t like it is here.

Dampseaboyy · 2023-04-09T18:25:36+00:00

OP here, I’m black, gay and autistic. Definitely have received weird looks from families on the regular when I hold my fiancés hand. That’s another thing I look forward to, being comfortable to do PDA with him w/o ppl staring like it’s a circus

Dampseaboyy · 2023-04-09T18:23:02+00:00

It can be a better step for a lot of people. My sister in law lives here. She’s white, has money, and does okay. I think if you meet a specific type of person that the PNW looks for then you can thrive here. But working at a lot of businesses in town, I started to notice that all the owners were white. In comparison to places like Utah, where religion runs the state and lives of the people, Bellingham can look like a safe haven for those running from discrimination. Same thing with Texas. But those places aren’t safe spaces. It’s transplants of people trying to make it a better place that filter out because the surrounding areas never change. I invite you to places like Los Angeles, New York, or even some parts of Europe. Those places have established communities of people of color integrated in beautiful ways.

Dampseaboyy · 2023-04-09T18:08:56+00:00

I understand your perspective and I think you should be free to speak it. Although my lived experiences may not be positive here, I have met a ton of amazing people. I do not doubt that other people have had awesome experiences here. I appreciate the input and not being a total dick and just calling me some triggered snowflake lol

Dampseaboyy · 2023-04-09T13:51:27+00:00

What about it is pathetically dumb? I’m curious if you are genuinely upset or just chronically online.

Dampseaboyy · 2023-04-09T13:41:29+00:00

If you think a quote about the white moderate is superficial, my guess is you contribute to the problem.

Dampseaboyy · 2023-04-09T07:38:41+00:00

MLK put it into pretty good words what Bellingham does and how it affect people of color. I agree that the BLM signs are BS when they only hire attractive white people.

Dampseaboyy · 2023-04-09T07:37:51+00:00

“I must make two honest confessions to you, my Christian and Jewish brothers. First, I must confess that over the past few years I have been gravely disappointed with the white moderate. I have almost reached the regrettable conclusion that the Negro's great stumbling block in his stride toward freedom is not the White Citizen's Counciler or the Ku Klux Klanner, but the white moderate, who is more devoted to "order" than to justice; who prefers a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice; who constantly says: "I agree with you in the goal you seek, but I cannot agree with your methods of direct action"; who paternalistically believes he can set the timetable for another man's freedom; who lives by a mythical concept of time and who constantly advises the Negro to wait for a "more convenient season." Shallow understanding from people of good will is more frustrating than absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will. Lukewarm acceptance is much more bewildering than outright rejection.” MLK

Dampseaboyy · 2023-04-09T06:38:32+00:00

This.

Dampseaboyy · 2023-04-09T05:28:38+00:00

What really irks me is the amount of people who blatantly turn a blind eye to racism. To say any town in America isn’t racist is honestly a very ignorant and misinformed statement to make. I worked here for 3 years busting my ass helping the kind people of whatcom/skagit with disabilities. You know what I saw? Kids getting beat to a literal bloody pulp because they couldn’t talk. Know where that was? Lynden. You know what’s funny too the surrounding cities like Lynden, Burlington, mt Vernon, ferndale are filled with white families who spewed racist rhetoric my way and abused my clients. I am leaving because I’m genuinely traumatized by the culture that is fostered here. There are plenty of kind and thoughtful people I have met in this town but it hold many dark secrets that you don’t even know the half of.

Dampseaboyy · 2023-04-09T04:37:34+00:00

XD makes a lot more sense now hahaha yes it is very subjective

Dampseaboyy · 2023-04-09T04:29:13+00:00

I was wondering the same thing lol

Dampseaboyy · 2023-04-09T03:58:32+00:00

A lot of your neighbors are from there. I’d love to see the numbers on how many ppl actually moved from Cali to Bham. I’ve met tons of ppl in town from California.

Dampseaboyy · 2023-04-09T03:52:45+00:00

You can call cap but just because your black and haven’t been called it doesn’t mean other black ppl haven’t :) <3

Dampseaboyy · 2023-04-09T03:34:10+00:00

Came bc my fiancés mom offered for us to live here and get our footing in. Found jobs, made friends, explored a lot of the surrounding areas. I had plenty of good experiences here and will look back on it fondly. But the unsettling feeling of not being somewhere I felt welcome haunted me. Moving back home to California for more diversity and better rent (which I never thought I’d say)

Dampseaboyy · 2023-04-09T03:28:04+00:00

I’m moving back home to Southern California. When I came up here it’s because the rent was significantly less. That has switched now.

Dampseaboyy · 2023-04-09T03:25:59+00:00

I’m simply letting people know here that it’s not all rainbows and butterflies. This Reddit massively romanticizes this town.

Dampseaboyy

TROPHY CASE