‘Black Guy’ Booth Livens Up Corvallis Saturday Market
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Kyle Odegard, Corvallis Gazette-Times, June 1, 2008
The booths at the Saturday Corvallis Farmers’ Market have a wild mix of fresh produce, tasty food, plants and flowers.
But this week, a table just outside the bazaar offered something more bizarre—“Meet a Black Guy.”
Those who participated in the free service could chat with 21-year-old Corvallis resident Jeff Oliver, and get pictures taken with him.
“It’s a statement about diversity in Corvallis. It’s not a very diverse place,” said Oliver, a lifelong Oregonian. He hoped to promote understanding, break stereotypes and perhaps even provide a comedic moment for hundreds of people strolling along the riverfront.
The booth drew a mixed reaction, however.
“I think this is hysterical. The entire market’s great,” said Jeremy Stand of the Bronx, who was in Corvallis to visit family. Oregon, in general, is a pretty Caucasian place, he said.
“It’s a clever way of engaging people with dialogue about the need for more diversity in the community. It kind of caught me by surprise,” said Annette Mills, who moved to Corvallis more than a year ago.
Sherry Littlefield of Corvallis said the booth was unnecessary. She and friend Ron Naasko said they have black friends, and would be voting for Barack Obama for president.
{snip}
(Posted on June 11, 2008)
Comments
When——since the fatuous early ’80s——has there been a “need” for more “diversity in the community”?
Posted by ActionPotential at 6:06 PM on June 11
I saw this guy on TV. He comes across as a ‘white guy with black skin’ and some references he made implied that he might be jewish as well. Anyway, if the people of Corvallis think they need diversity, they have the option of moving to a diverse area. Importing diversity to white areas is not the only way one can experience diversity.
Posted by Civilized Neighbor at 6:25 PM on June 11
I hate to be the one to serve notice on this but it’s blacks who take action keeping whites out of their neighborhoods and off their jobsites. This is an important consciousness raising event, no doubt, but I’m not sure it’s quite the one that’s needed.
Posted by at 6:27 PM on June 11
As a resident of Oregon if find this whole story disgusting In fact I find the this state one of the most liberal places in the USA With the dumbist whites I have ever encountered who totally have given up their racial indenity I suspect that Govt schools are to blame. This state is infected with a viral from of liberalism. One of the reasons so many whites are so dumb about race in this state is they had so little contact with violent blacks and mexicans. But times are changing.
Posted by Burr Hamilton at 6:31 PM on June 11
“Meet a black guy.” Kind of reminds me of when I was in the Army. Put one black guy with a group of White guys, and he was usually a pretty decent fellow. Put him with three or four other blacks, and you immediately began to see why so many people of various races are leery of blacks.
Why is Corvallis supposed to feel that it’s somehow “lacking something” by being “too Caucasian”? Would they set up such a booth at some street fair in the Congo or Kenya featuring a White guy as the attraction, and suggest that the atmosphere there was “too African” and “that more diversity” was needed?
Posted by Wayne Engle at 6:33 PM on June 11
“It’s a clever way of engaging people with dialogue about the need for more diversity in the community. It kind of caught me by surprise,” said Annette Mills, who moved to Corvallis more than a year ago.
To get away from all that diversity where she had been living.
Sherry Littlefield of Corvallis said the booth was unnecessary. She and friend Ron Naasko said they have black friends, and would be voting for Barack Obama for president.
But Sherry did not know why she and Ron Naasko did not join their friends of color in New York City.
Posted by at 6:36 PM on June 11
“It’s a clever way of engaging people with dialogue about the need for more diversity in the community…” said Annette Mills, who moved to Corvallis more than a year ago.” If Ms. Mills desires a locale with “more diversity,” why did she move to Corvallis in the first place? Notice that liberals never actually move into black areas, preferring instead to live among the safe, funky “diversity” of college towns, which are mostly either segregated or 90% White.
“Sherry Littlefield of Corvallis said the booth was unnecessary. She and friend Ron Naasko said they have black friends, and would be voting for Barack Obama for president.” This illustrates the general pattern of White voters for Obama: The Whiter the State (i.e. Oregon), the higher the likelihood that some Whites will vote for Obama. Contrast this with States that know black people from daily experience (i.e. the Deep South); outside of the aforementioned college towns, you couldn’t find 10 White Obamists between Jackson, MS, and Charleston, SC.
Posted by at 6:38 PM on June 11
Why in the world does anyone “need for more diversity in the community”? I was born in south Georgia and have lived around blacks all my life. For the most part we have gotten along fine as I have mostly lived in rural areas and stayed out of the cities. We don’t socialize and pretty much keep to ourselves but decent people of all races understand the rule of “live and let live”. In small rural counties it is not too hard to maintain the peace because everyone knows everyone. It is only in the anonymity of the big and medium size cities that racial violence seems to be a constant threat…mostly to whites.
However, although I have lived and worked with blacks all my life it wouldn’t hurt my feelings never to see one again. I will never understand these communities (whose majority white populations seem like a paradise to me) would want to import “diversity.” Southern whites and blacks are like two escaped prisoners shackled together. Our shared history has put us in this position so we have pretty much had to learn how to get along.
Why you people who don’t have this history would want to suddenly bring in any non-whites into your communities after all the evidence we have seen in the past 50 years of the crime and destruction that comes hand in hand with minorities is mystifying to me? Trust me you aren’t missing anything good.
Posted by Enough at 6:48 PM on June 11
“Oregon, in general, is a pretty Caucasian place, he said.”
Had he ever considered that perhaps Oregonians would like it to remain that way? If those folks wanted more “diversity” in their lives, they’d move to his side of the country.
Posted by at 7:21 PM on June 11
Yeah. I saw a clip of this on Youtube. Lots of friendly, happy white people were very welcoming to this guy.
It made me wonder. What would happen if I went to say, Compton, and sat around in a booth saying “Meet a white guy”.
Somehow, I don’t think my experience would be as nice as this black guys.
Posted by at 7:47 PM on June 11
Friendly grinning blacks are the trojan horses to fool other races into thinking that they are normal human beings. They are not normal in anyway. Look at black stats in any country in the world, most criminal, impoverished, and most diseased. We don’t need this kind of diversity!!!
Posted by realist at 8:42 PM on June 11
“Sherry Littlefield of Corvallis said the booth was unnecessary. She and friend Ron Naasko said they have black friends, and would be voting for Barack Obama for president.”
So, is “I’m voting for Obama” going to replace “I have black friends” as the new cliched defense statement guilt-ridden Whites will use to shield themselves from accusations of racism?
I guess Sherry was really taken aback by the African agitator’s little display - she pulled out both declarations at the same time, just to make sure she was fully covered.
Posted by ZKR at 8:46 PM on June 11
Let’s try “Meet a black guy” in a dark alley late at night, or a poorly-lit & deserted parking lot. And, a black guy that doesn’t look half-white, one that’s acting stoned, agressive, & predatory.
Suddenly things would be SO much more interesting.
Posted by JustPlainMean at 9:03 PM on June 11
“Kind of reminds me of when I was in the Army. Put one black guy with a group of White guys, and he was usually a pretty decent fellow. Put him with three or four other blacks, and you immediately began to see why so many people of various races are leery of blacks”
I noticed the same thing when I was in the Army and every place in the world thereafter.
Posted by Cliff Yablonski at 9:07 PM on June 11
It cracks me up how hypocritical these White liberals are. Alot of them moved to Oregon from California because of the changing demographics. Keep talking about dialog and your token black friend and the need for more diversity and you might just get your wish. We’re never going to make any headway in race relations until people start being more honest and open. I was listening to a radio program about race some weeks ago. This White liberal was talking about her Jamaican housekeeper. She said they were the best of friends and it’s only skin color and she was like one of the family. Her insincere tone made me want to vomit. She said that every summer she’d let her 11 year old son go with her back to Jamaica to visit her family. What??!!! Yeah right!!!! I grabbed my cellphone to call the radio station but I couldn’t get through.
Posted by at 9:37 PM on June 11
“What would happen if I went to say, Compton, and sat around in a booth saying “Meet a white guy”.”
That’s a good idea. LA is just the place townsfolk could stand to learn a little bit more about an average white guy and develop the skills they will need to be more tolerant in our multiracial world. Couldn’t be more needed. Why stop there? Bring the ‘meet a white guy’ diversity excercise to some black colleges, and even the state schools. It’s time white voices were heard in this wonderful mosiac called diversity.
Posted by at 10:44 PM on June 11
“outside of the aforementioned college towns, you couldn’t find 10 White Obamists between Jackson, MS, and Charleston, SC.”
Obama won pretty handily here in North Carolina. I guess you could say we’re all part of Obama nation.
Posted by at 10:52 PM on June 11
“Meet a black guy.” Kind of reminds me of when I was in the Army. Put one black guy with a group of White guys, and he was usually a pretty decent fellow. Put him with three or four other blacks, and you immediately began to see why so many people of various races are leery of blacks.
Reminds me of Chris Rock movie where he said “white people like blacks like they take pepper-only just a little” :)
Posted by at 12:23 AM on June 12
On their website, there’s an accompanying photo of a caucasian couple (the guy looks Jewish) with a caption that reads, “Jeremy and Tara Stand with their 1-year-old son Osiris.” Osiris? Anyone that would name their kid that has got to have a couple of screws loose.
Posted by Michael T at 12:25 AM on June 12
“Meet a black guy.” Kind of reminds me of when I was in the Army. Put one black guy with a group of White guys, and he was usually a pretty decent fellow. Put him with three or four other blacks, and you immediately began to see why so many people of various races are leery of blacks.
Reminds me of Chris Rock movie where he said “white people like blacks like they take pepper-only just a little” :)
Posted by at 12:26 AM on June 12
“Kind of reminds me of when I was in the Army. Put one black guy with a group of White guys, and he was usually a pretty decent fellow. Put him with three or four other blacks, and you immediately began to see why so many people of various races are leery of blacks”
I noticed the same thing when I was in the Army and every place in the world thereafter.
During my 3 1/2 years in the Viet-Nam war I personally witnessed one time a large group of blacks had taken over a military barracks and were making demands and threatening to shoot anyone that tried to come in. This is called “Mutiny” don’t know how it all turned out, I was LRRP and on my way back out, but had I been the commander, I would have destroyed the building and them since mutiny is punishible by execution and no court in the land at that time would have convicted the commander. Things are different now though.
Posted by Skip at 2:16 AM on June 12
I always noticed that whites with the smallest amount of exposure to Africans are always more eager to cater to them and defend them that whites who are forced to live diversity. (And not the touchy feely Opera Winfrey version either).
Posted by AussieAussie31 (I once was a american) at 4:52 AM on June 12
That’s the problem. When you’re not around blacks, you think they’re just like you with different skin color - only they’re not. It turns out that Southerners had a reason for their discrimination - experience. Civil rights started out as the opportunity for others to live like civilized whites and to be fully included in their society, but it has mutated into others living their own culture at whites’ expense.
Posted by at 5:55 AM on June 12
Why is “diversity” seen as some kind of inherent good? What is wrong with “non-diversity” or homogeneity? Was Britain somehow inadequate in some way before 1948 that only the arrival of crime-prone blacks from the West Indies could fix? If the people of Oregon want “diversity” why not spend a few weeks visiting Detroit.
Posted by at 7:45 AM on June 12
Where’s the ‘diversity’ here - isn’t race supposed to be an evil myth? What’s to be gained from seeing someone with a different skin colour?
I’d like to press this idiot for answers as to where the ‘diversity’ lies in this black guy’s skin colour, and watch him squirm as he digs himself into a racist hole. Clearly this guy sees people’s colour first and then their character second.
Posted by Jim at 11:37 AM on June 12
That’s a good idea. LA is just the place townsfolk could stand to learn a little bit more about an average white guy and develop the skills they will need to be more tolerant in our multiracial world. Couldn’t be more needed. Why stop there? Bring the ‘meet a white guy’ diversity excercise to some black colleges, and even the state schools. It’s time white voices were heard in this wonderful mosiac called diversity.
Sounds like a job for liberals.
Posted by at 1:19 PM on June 12
“Oregon, in general, is a pretty Caucasian place, he said.”
Had he ever considered that perhaps Oregonians would like it to remain that way? If those folks wanted more “diversity” in their lives, they’d move to his side of the country.
Posted by at 7:21 PM on June 11
> Well don’t worry, Oregon is catching up fast. The main cities in Oregon have a high percentage of Latinos. Medford is 50% Latino I understand. And last night two white women were attacked and beaten by a group of black youths. It was on the local news last night and occured near a friend’s home at a public transit stop.
Posted by Whiteplight at 1:21 PM on June 12
“the need for more diversity in the community”
It’s a sad state of affairs when a young white person mindlessly parrots this spoon-fed line.
What is needed is more AUTHENTICITY.
Posted by at 7:43 PM on June 12
Very likely there was a secret camera recording every awkward moment, like watching a very slow trainwreck. Only the edited video will show Whites in awkward mode and non-whites will somehow look superior. I would be scaring this poor man to death by my behavior, if he should cross my path.
Posted by Lars at 8:23 PM on June 12
I’ve been to Corvallis and it’s not lilly White either. I saw Asians and Mexicans along with a few blacks. I looked up the demographic data on the city and it says it’s 15% nonwhite. How much diversity does this guy want? 90% nonwhite? What will satisfy him?
Posted by at 11:06 PM on June 12
“Sherry Littlefield of Corvallis said the booth was unnecessary. She and friend Ron Naasko said they have black friends, and would be voting for Barack Obama for president.”
Her interaction with her black “friends” probably consists of sitting with a black employee in the lunchroom at work and having a casual conversation with them. She’s hard pressed to remember their last name but sometimes they carpool with several other people.
You could say your voting for Ronald McDonald but it’s that moment when you close the curtain and push the button that matters. If he loses in a landslide you can smugly tell your black “friends” with an air of moral superiority that it was those da**ed racists.
Posted by at 11:21 PM on June 12
Wonder what would happen to the fellow who operated a “meet a White Guy” in Detroit? Or a thousand other black ‘hoods.
Posted by at 12:47 AM on June 15
You could say your voting for Ronald McDonald but it’s that moment when you close the curtain and push the button that matters. If he loses in a landslide you can smugly tell your black “friends” with an air of moral superiority that it was those da**ed racists.
Posted by at 11:21 PM on June 12
Here’s my 2008 election prediction: The final polls before the election will show Obama ahead among likely voters by about 5%, something like 53 to 47. Exit polls on Election Day will show a virtual tie.
But when the votes are actually counted, McCain will blow Obama away by at least 10% of the popular vote (which is huge considering the last two elections were 50:50). McCain will carry most of the “purple states”, and a few of the “true blue” states as well without losing a single red state. The Mainstream Media will fly into a collective rage and blacks will riot in at least 8 cities. And I will enjoy it like a beautiful sunrise!
More and more white Americans are getting sick of having “black pride” and “white guilt” packaged together and shoved down their throats. I’ve seen a subconscious change in white attitudes over the last 2 yrs, and it seems to be picking up steam as the election approaches.
Obama is a catalyst, and the more “racism” digs his campaign put out, the more the insult loses its sting. Obama WILL bring Hope and Change…to white Americans who are sick of diversity.
Posted by Jill at 8:22 PM on June 17
Jill I predict it will be worse than that comparable only to the Carter/Reagan election of 1980. State after state will fall for McCain and Obama will end up with DC and maybe Illinois along with 30% of the popular vote.
Posted by at 4:48 PM on June 18