‘These People Aren’t Coming From Norway’: Refugees in a Minnesota City Face a Backlash

[Deleted member 8741]

St Cloud is the armpit of Minnesota and is legit one of the worst places in the country.

It's a fucking dump.

Like it's kind of weird it even exists.

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The only challenge now is that there is a substantial Somali population there too. So it's not completely fair to alienate it even though it is a racist shithole for the most part. There are some good things going on there too now. But wow, the old school racists there are deeply rooted.

 

[Disco Stu]

Seriously fuck you assholes who are shitting on St. Cloud. A lot of good people live here. I'm sure there are some racists (like anywhere) but by in large that's not the population.

If you don't live here you don't know. We have plenty of interaction with people from all nations and a group (UniteCloud) that just got a fantastic write up in The NY Times for their work.

Strong arts scene here. You have no clue what you're talking about.

Love how many people are telling old stories and things they've heard. Just complete nonsense.

If you wanna be part of the solution great. If you wanna describe problems you're clueless about GFY.

 

[Deleted member 8741]

Seriously fuck you assholes who are shitting on St. Cloud. A lot of good people live here. I'm sure there are some racists (like anywhere) but by in large that's not the population.

If you don't live here you don't know. We have plenty of interaction with people from all nations and a group (UniteCloud) that just got a fantastic write up in The NY Times for their work.

Strong arts scene here. You have no clue what you're talking about.

Love how many people are telling old stories and things they've heard. Just complete nonsense.

If you wanna be part of the solution great. If you wanna describe problems you're clueless about GFY.

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I think you have some fair pushback and I am truly sorry that I said some things too strongly about St. Cloud. I'm not going to edit anything, because I think that'd be unfair to your post. You're right I don't live there. I also think there are many good people there. There are also good people in Alabama, Arkansas, and many other places. That doesn't mean we can take a general sampling of the culture and actions in those areas and judge them to be problematic. St. Cloud IS statistically a very racist place still. Unless we can admit that, it's not going to change. There are a lot of good people in St. Cloud and a lot of great things happening AND there are a lot of racist and bad things going on too.

I grew up in the Deep South, so I do get it a bit. There are (as I said in my post) many great people, but let's not pretend Minnesota (and St. Cloud to a higher degree) doesn't have some major issues with racism that are above the average.

I'm really glad St. Cloud is making some good strides. I have been there quite a few times. Frankly, I've had most of my issues with racist in that city or the areas surrounding it.

UniteCloud itself talks about the racial problems in St. Cloud: https://unitecloud.org/st-cloud-grandmother-grieves-local-racism/

Institutional Racism is a big problem in Minnesota, but St. Cloud itself admits it's a big problem there: https://www.sctimes.com/story/opini...nal-racism-plagues-st-cloud-schools/70575366/

It has a deep history of racism: https://www.tcdailyplanet.net/st-cloud-racism-rarely-right-never-doubt/

Or we can read the account of this Somali woman's experience living in St. Cloud: http://www.citypages.com/news/st-cloud-is-the-worst-place-in-minnesota-to-be-somali-7976833

It has been the district that elected Michelle Bachman and now Tom Emmer.

And has consistently voted red at a margin that is far higher than the state margins:

2016	President	Trump 59 - 33%​	Republican Party (United States)
2012	President	Romney 57 - 42%​	Republican Party (United States)
2008	President	McCain 53 - 45%​	Republican Party (United States)
2004	President	Bush 57 - 42%​	Republican Party (United States)
2000	President	Bush 52 - 42%​	Republican Party (United States)

I'm really glad there's people like you working to change it. Keep up the good work! But let's also not pretend like St. Cloud is "just like everywhere else."

 

[gcwy]

The sooner old people die off, the better.

 

[Deleted member 25600]

"They were just —" she said, searching for the words to describe the offending behavior of the Somali-Americans. "They were just walking around."

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[linkboy]

Minneapolis resident here. Minnesota as a whole has big challenges with racial inequality. Minneapolis is very progressive in many ways, but still very white. We have a long way to go.

Even so, St. Cloud is considered a racist vortex in the state of Minnesota. People here shit on it.

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Yep, my fiancee graduated from the college there and she told me St. Cloud has always had that racist part to it.

 

[darkwing]

is it just me or more racists are coming out nowadays

 

[linkboy]

is it just me or more racists are coming out nowadays

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They're emboldened by the asshole in the White House. Their logic is if Trump can get away with it and become President, so can we.

 

[Deleted member 7130]

Gee, lemme guess how these folk's regard for Norway would change if Norway was majority black and Muslim country... hmmm

I wish these fucking cowards would just own up to it. Stop being little bitches and just say it. "I'm a fucking racist. I'm a white nationalist. I hate brown people."

 

[TRS8088]

I'm going to be in this area later today, my parents live about 10 miles west of St. Cloud and I grew up there. Not surprised at all. I've rid my FB of almost anyone I went to high school with. My best friend in high school kept posting about needing to keep the muslims out of the country, and he lives on a farm in the middle of nowhere. My dad did piss off one of the neighbors when the guy was all "you ready for Donald Trump to be president?" and he told him over his dead body. Needless to say they haven't spoke since. My dad can be pretty racist, and all his relatives in New Hampshire are as well, but at least he votes Democrat thanks to my mom.

I left for Chicago when I was 18 and have no plans on ever living in Stearns County again.

 

[Tuppen]

Nah they believe he's a Hebrew who spoke Aramaic at best. He had lighter skin which made him unattractive because of the message he taught at the time.

I wonder why Norway though. Seems really specific. Did Trump say that once?

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Norwegians, well the majority in any case, are extremely white.

And they ain't ever gonna come from Norway as long as it has a more functional society and democracy than the US. Last time the US had European immigration on a large scale, Norway (As well as the rest of Europe) was a totalitarian/Absolutist kingdom and Europe was one of the most dangerous places in the world on account of constant warfare and banditry. The exact same conditions as where most refugees are coming from today.

But uh don't tell El Donaldo that because he'll obviously interpret that as "Start a war in Europe". Which would definitely spark a migration of Europeans to America. Into Canada, that is.



Except not.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/...woven-myth-islam-uppsala-sweden-a8003881.html

And a whole thread on how that "VIKINGS WERE SECRETLY MUSLIM, CHECKM8 RACISTS" thing was a total Carnival of Stupid with no credibility or Peer-Review to its vast extrapolations that was prime meat for Clickbait Pop-"Journalism". From someone who actually studies Arabic history:



...Also Vikings are the worst possible examples to point to when trying to make anything look good by association. Y'know, with their penchant for mass murder and Rape/Pillage/Burn on a scale far in excess of literally everyone else's tendency to do so and all. The things White Supremacists like to project onto Muslims.

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The whole burial fabric thing was really a lot like listening to records backwards listening for secret messages. I mean the researcher expanded the pattern and mirrored it to show what she wanted.

 

[RM8]

Hmmm, I wonder why Norwegians are not tripping over themselves to migrate to the US.

 

[Shelbyville Milhouse]

"A phobia is an irrational fear, there's plenty of reasons to be afraid of them"

List of reasons:
- they're brown

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Please, they are also walking around

 

[mclem]

imagine escaping the terrors of your homeland to end up in minnesota.

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Go far... to Fargo?

 

[RestEerie]

I dont get the norwegian thing. Some context that i missed?

 

[Nacho Papi]

I dont get the norwegian thing. Some context that i missed?

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Whenever Trump wants to emphasize any arbitrary example of """good""" immigrants/immigration he mentions Norwegians.

 

[Infinity Times Two]

I dont get the norwegian thing. Some context that i missed?

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I think Trump and maybe Fox News has used it as a model for white society, since neighboring Sweden has taken in a lot of refugees per capita. The difference being that Sweden is part of EU, and its obligations towards immigration while Norway isn't.

 

[HamSandwich]

They were just —" she said, searching for the words to describe the offending behavior of the Somali-Americans. "They were just walking around."

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I feel like she was planted there to make the group look bad.

...eh I tried.

I love how some of these morons are like "don't publish my name pls"

 

[Sirhc]

Seriously fuck you assholes who are shitting on St. Cloud. A lot of good people live here. I'm sure there are some racists (like anywhere) but by in large that's not the population.

If you don't live here you don't know. We have plenty of interaction with people from all nations and a group (UniteCloud) that just got a fantastic write up in The NY Times for their work.

Strong arts scene here. You have no clue what you're talking about.

Love how many people are telling old stories and things they've heard. Just complete nonsense.

If you wanna be part of the solution great. If you wanna describe problems you're clueless about GFY.

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Eh...as someone who lives in the St. Cloud area it's very both sidesy. Yes there is alot of great people, and alot of great orgs, but god damn there are alot if openly racist shit bags as well.

You can hear it every day just going about your business. Granted things will get better as alot of the older generation dies off, but they sowed some strong seeds in some of the younger generation. I notice it alot more among the working class young people I interact with, love to blame everything on the Somali population.

 

[Lentic]

Fucking scum. These immigrants deserve better.

 

[Teh_Lurv]

I dont get the norwegian thing. Some context that i missed?

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When Trump made his infamous "shithole country" remark, he asked why the US couldn't accept more immigrants from Norway: https://www.thedailybeast.com/trump-wants-less-shthole-immigrants-more-norwegians

IIRC, Trump was just coming off from meeting with a Norwegian government official which I think is why he chose that particular nation.

 

[Deleted member 17092]

imagine escaping the terrors of your homeland to end up in minnesota.

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*St Cloud, Minnesota.

And Mpls/St Paul has the largest Somali community in the US.

Must be working out alright.

You might notice MN pretty consistently makes top 5 lists for best state to live, best state to xyz.

It even made top 10 for most fun. I've been to damn near all 50 states. Most of them are far worse than MN.

 

[Deleted member 8741]

imagine escaping the terrors of your homeland to end up in minnesota.

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Yah, and then becoming elected to Congress!:

 

[Hickbilly]

As someone that lives in MN, and has actually dealt with somolian immigrants in the state first hand...

If they can all go away and be replaced with people from Kenya I'd be okay with that. Better food, far less likely to completely destroy apartment complexes, and they actually try to learn english.

 

[moblin]

As someone that lives in MN, and has actually dealt with somolian immigrants in the state first hand...

If they can all go away and be replaced with people from Kenya I'd be okay with that. Better food, far less likely to completely destroy apartment complexes, and they actually try to learn english.

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I see you haven't tried Somali-cooked goat, that shit goes hard

 

[Hickbilly]

I see you haven't tried Somali-cooked goat, that shit goes hard

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I have. Kenyan food still beats it, same with Ethiopian.

 

[Wraith]

Seriously fuck you assholes who are shitting on St. Cloud. A lot of good people live here. I'm sure there are some racists (like anywhere) but by in large that's not the population.

If you don't live here you don't know. We have plenty of interaction with people from all nations and a group (UniteCloud) that just got a fantastic write up in The NY Times for their work.

Strong arts scene here. You have no clue what you're talking about.

Love how many people are telling old stories and things they've heard. Just complete nonsense.

If you wanna be part of the solution great. If you wanna describe problems you're clueless about GFY.

Click to shrink...

Really, these attitudes are present everywhere in the state, and are especially prevalent in small town/rural areas, where their chances of meeting a Somali refugee are next to nothing. If a significant refugee population was settled in any one of those areas, we'd see the same anti-immigrant/refugee sentiment (as depicted in this article) get that much louder, and increasingly less-casual racism. It's not a problem unique to St. Cloud, by any means.

 

[Powdered Egg]

These people and other Midwesterners came over here, probably through the Homestead Acts. They got to come here, get land on the cheap and own it after several years time iirc. Meanwhile Blacks were barred for 4yrs from the program, and when it opened up to Black applicants, those applications were predictably processed slower than White applicants.

The Black farmers that owned land had no protection from the Klan and other White farmers and were met with violence and intimidation for their land. FHA and the White citizenry religated Blacks to ghettos and the rest is history. 3-4 generations later everyone swears they had nothing to do with racism and never benefitted from it while the Midwest continues to produce terrible stats for Black quality of life.

 

[SurrenderDorothy]

As someone that lives in MN, and has actually dealt with somolian immigrants in the state first hand...

If they can all go away and be replaced with people from Kenya I'd be okay with that. Better food, far less likely to completely destroy apartment complexes, and they actually try to learn english.

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Fuck you, you prick.

 

[linkboy]

Gee, lemme guess how these folk's regard for Norway would change if Norway was majority black and Muslim country... hmmm

I wish these fucking cowards would just own up to it. Stop being little bitches and just say it. "I'm a fucking racist. I'm a white nationalist. I hate brown people."

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That would require them to admit they're hypocrites.

These dipshits really believe their shit doesn't stink, that they're better then everyone else.

They don't want to look into a mirror and see the crap beliefs they have, so they lie to themselves (or hide behind their religion).

 

[BLOODED_hands]

As a Hmong-American that lives in the Twin Cities (young Hmong guy 27), was there such shit like this when my people came into Minnesota? Not to detract from this and more of me getting some knowledge. Sorry if it came across like that.

 

[FaceHugger]

Well, the woman had a point. Who are they to be walking around and stuff?

Anyway, these people would have a heart attack if they walked through an average neighborhood in a coastal city. They'd probably feel like Luke walking into the Mos Eisley cantina.

 

[Pet]

As a Hmong-American that lives in the Twin Cities (young Hmong guy 27), was there such shit like this when my people came into Minnesota? Not to detract from this and more of me getting some knowledge. Sorry if it came across like that.

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I'm like 100% sure the answer is yes.

 

[SteveWinwood]

the norway comment has extra context when you understand a majority of immigrants to the state came from germany, denmark, and mostly... norway

it's that they aren't like me or any of my neighbors

there is also a major religious component that is missed in the conversation because 1. lutherans (elca) sponsor most of the immigrant familys to come here and 2. there has been a major conservative push in the state from the south west of mostly catholics (who we have to blame for bachman)

 

[Powdered Egg]

Seriously fuck you assholes who are shitting on St. Cloud. A lot of good people live here. I'm sure there are some racists (like anywhere) but by in large that's not the population.

If you don't live here you don't know. We have plenty of interaction with people from all nations and a group (UniteCloud) that just got a fantastic write up in The NY Times for their work.

Strong arts scene here. You have no clue what you're talking about.

Love how many people are telling old stories and things they've heard. Just complete nonsense.

If you wanna be part of the solution great. If you wanna describe problems you're clueless about GFY.

Click to shrink...

Have you experienced racism in St. Cloud yourself?