Bill, I disagree partly with your statement "our state is now a very diverse community" because demographics need to be looked at in relation to other communities. If the context of your statement was in relation to the past traditional population of MN, then your statement is accurate. If however the context of your statement was in relation to the population of the United States, I don't believe it can be truely accurate. I can think of at least a dozen metro areas alone that are vastly more diverse than the twin cities (NYC, LA and Miami among them).
So while I agree with your statement on some general level, I have to add that as Minnesotans and as St. Paulites we have a LONG way to go to catch up to other communities in respect to diversity. Paul Skrbec Inver Grove Heights, MN (nearly 10 year St. Paulite before I moved - someone get me out of the burbs!) -------------- Original message -------------- > > Renee, et al, > > This is not only an issue for the DFLers....... Minnesotans in general find > it > difficult to positively engage in discourse regarding the emerging > demographic > changes to our population. Officials in particular should lead the > conversations > in non threatening venues in order to ease tensions and facilitate the > reality > that our state is now a very diverse community. This fact is not a fad. > People > of color are finding MN a wonderful place to live, work and raise families. > Also, this is not just a metropolitan happening, but a trend that is evident > throughout Minnesota. > > It isn't too late to commence with the recognition of our diversity. People > of > color being present on the MN scene is NOt the "Beginning of the End" of the > old > Minnesota. Rather, it IS the "End of the Minnesota's New Beginning". Our > state > will be much stronger and a model for the nation when we do what Minnesota > has > always been famous for......... Demonstrating to the nation communities > relatively crime-free, clean environment, tolerance and holding strong work > ethics. > > Anyhow, as a native Minnesotan, I believe we can accomplish this together. > > Bill Finney > > -----Original Message----- > From: Renee Jenson > To: Stpaul@mnforum.org > Sent: Sun, 1 May 2005 15:10:43 -0500 > Subject: [StPaul] DFL Endorsement Winners > > > > Congratulations to Chris Coleman, John Brodrick, Elona Street-Stewart and Tom > Goldstein. And congratulations to all of their supporters who put in lots of > hours of hard work to get them endorsed. > > And, yes, it is true that the DFL has a definite problem with understanding, > accepting, and promoting diversity in our organization. That's true with > society > in general. That's not an excuse, of course, just an observation. > > So what can we do? I guess our first step would be to recognize we have a > problem. That would be a HUGE step for us. We can't begin to make any other > steps until we take the first step. > > It's always easier to deny though that the problem exists. And just keep on > ignoring it. > > > > Renée Jenson > Como > ------------------------------------------------- > JOIN the St. Paul Issues Forum TODAY: > http://www.e-democracy.org/stpaul/ > ------------------------------------------------- > POST MESSAGES HERE: stpaul@mnforum.org > > To subscribe, modify subscription, or get your password - visit: > http://www.mnforum.org/mailman/listinfo/stpaul > > Archive Address: > http://www.mnforum.org/mailman/private/stpaul/ > ------------------------------------------------- > JOIN the St. Paul Issues Forum TODAY: > http://www.e-democracy.org/stpaul/ > ------------------------------------------------- > POST MESSAGES HERE: stpaul@mnforum.org > > To subscribe, modify subscription, or get your password - visit: > http://www.mnforum.org/mailman/listinfo/stpaul > > Archive Address: > http://www.mnforum.org/mailman/private/stpaul/ ------------------------------------------------- JOIN the St. Paul Issues Forum TODAY: http://www.e-democracy.org/stpaul/ ------------------------------------------------- POST MESSAGES HERE: stpaul@mnforum.org To subscribe, modify subscription, or get your password - visit: http://www.mnforum.org/mailman/listinfo/stpaul Archive Address: http://www.mnforum.org/mailman/private/stpaul/
