Idaho fears gumbo

[twilight_sailing]

November 16, 2006

GREENLEAF, Idaho -- After seeing the chaos of Hurricane Katrina, a city councilor in this tiny Idaho town founded by pacifist Quakers came up with a novel idea.

Ordinance 208, passed by the City Council on Tuesday, asks Greenleaf's 862 residents who do not object on religious or other grounds to keep a gun at home in case they are overrun by refugees from the Gulf Coast.

http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/wire/sns-ap-gun-law,0,1498484.story?coll=sns-ap-nationworld-headlines

[originalpckelly]

1. Well okay then. Last time I checked Idaho is pretty far away from...

Louisiana, but maybe that's my atlas lying to me.

[KingFlorez]

2. What idiots

[tblue]

3. Isn't a lot of Idaho skinhead country? I'd advise those 'refugees' to keep a gun then, too.

They're Americans, not refugees. Treat them with dignity and respect and understand what they've been through, Idaho, and you'll be just fine.

[EvolveOrConvolve]

7. Don't base your opinions of all Idahoans on

the fruitloops from Greenleaf. It's a town of several hundred people out of a population of 1.5 million. Idaho took in hundreds of refugees, many of which have stayed to make a new life.

And BTW, we kicked the fucking skinheads out years ago, but even when they were here, they were a small minority. There are far more skinheads in California or New York than there ever were in Idaho.

[AndyTiedye]

8. Most of the People Who Shave Their Heads Around Here Don't Have to Shave Much

[Lars39]

10. The Southern Poverty Law Center tracks these groups:

http://www.splcenter.org/intel/map/hate.jsp?S=ID&m=4

[EvolveOrConvolve]

13. I'm not sure how up-to-date the SPLC's data is

The Aryan Nation group is essentially dead. They have no funding, no land, and can't recruit because of their history. Last I heard, they were far more active in Washington than in Idaho. The federal gov't took their land and seized their assets here in Idaho. I guess the SPLC considers them "active" because of their pamphleteering activities (which seems to be the extent of their reach).

Whatever hate groups are based in Idaho, it has nothing to do with the weirdos in Greenleaf, which are a group of isolationist libertarians. And it especially doesn't give license to slander the entire state because of one strange town.

[Lars39]

15. I don't believe there's a single state that is hate-group free.

SPLC tracks things pretty closely. If they're pamphleteering, they're still active...trying to recruit.

[CabalPowered]

17. To reiterate Evolve's point

Don't slander Idaho because of a small town that nobody ever visits or would relocate to. I'm an Idaho native and lived here 20+ years and I've never even heard of Greenleaf. To contrast, we have a 21 year old woman who runs Stanley and she's a progressive.

Also, if you look at SPLC stats, Oregon has the same number of groups but many more incidents of hate.

[Lars39]

18. I'm not slandering Idaho.

Merely pointing out what the SPLC has to say about the situation there.
Hate groups are a national problem.

[EvolveOrConvolve]

19. FWIW, I didn't call you a slanderer

It was tblue who originally made the comments that I consider out of line.

[CabalPowered]

20. Agreed!

No argument there.

[Nicole]

21. Thanks for the link

What an eye opener.

[Greyhound]

11. There are more red-haired, odd-eyed, left handed, vegans in CA or NY

than there are Idahoans.

[tblue]

22. My apologies. I meant no disrespect to the entire state. There are fruitloops

everywhere. I just wonder if all the second amendment advocates agree that the people of New Orleans should have the right to own guns, too. What's good for the goose, ya know.

[InternalDialogue]

4. Xenophobia coming from inside our borders

The culture of fear that drives so many things now has Americans not only fearing other Americans, but speaking of them in monster-movie phrases.

"This is not an 'it'll never happen here kind of thing,'" said Steven Jett, the ordinance's sponsor. "We could get refugees."

Horrors! Will they eat our brains?

[Glorfindel]

5. What breathtaking ignorance

And what a horrifying, vicious thing to suggest. I live 30 miles from the Mississippi Gulf Coast and about 80 miles from New Orleans, and I'm not a bit afraid of being "overrun by refugees." In fact, we actually cared for and fed quite a few after the hurricane, and many have chosen to remain and make their homes here. Shame on the Greeleaf city council! :puke:

[porphyrian]

6. Gumbo can be scary to those used to white bread and mayonnaise. - n/t

[jmowreader]

9. What a joke

Greenleaf is between Boise and the Oregon border in Canyon County. Everyone there already has guns, and lots of 'em.

I read the link. It seems that the mayor of Greenleaf owns 25 rifles--for someone who likes guns a LOT, that's not excessive.

[niyad]

12. first of all, they are EVACUEES, not REFUGEES. second, what sort

of an idiot is this fool? and third, does he realize that katrina happened nearly 15 months ago? can we say, "a bit slow on the uptake"???

[DRoseDARs]

14. First of all, the arguement can be made they ARE refugees (environmental), second...

...you answered your own question, and third this town is in the middle of bumblefuck nowhere. News comes slowly to them. ;)

[KamaAina]

16. Well, then, New Orleanians better keep their peashooters handy

in case all 862 Greenleaf residents attempt to mount a mass invasion. :sarcasm:

Come to think of it, that'd be about enough people to resettle maybe three or four city blocks, not that they'd necessarily want those particular people. :eyes:

Um, why are they passing this now? Bigots in the rest of the country have long since moved on to scapegoating undocumented Mexicans. :P