Dude, I am so glad you posted this. I read the article this morning and the sociology geek in my was hoping to find someone to discuss it with.
First off, I think there are two types of diverse communities one could studies and draw conclusions from. The first is a truly diverse community where most residents are of the same social class, regardless of color or ethnicity. There aren't too many places like this- Takoma Park, outside Washington DC, comes to mind, but they tend to attract very well-educated, very liberal people (crunchy granola types, if you're being less charitable) who are typically very involved in their communities.
The other type of "diverse" community is a town in transition, where you catch in during those years when one group in moving in and another is moving out. And yes, in those communities you will likely find the kind of lack of community spirit found in the study he cites.
Fairly clear why-- if you think you're going to be moving out pretty soon, you tend not to care. And the newcomers don't feel comfortable enough yet to take leadership roles in their new communities.
I hate when studies make errors like that, especially when they're used to make such an incorrect point.
The other interesting thing was that here was this WSJ conservative endorsing immigration and noting that it was inevitable and that Buchananesque efforts to stop it were likely doomed.
Dude, I am so glad you posted this. I read the article this morning and the sociology geek in my was hoping to find someone to discuss it with.
ReplyDeleteFirst off, I think there are two types of diverse communities one could studies and draw conclusions from. The first is a truly diverse community where most residents are of the same social class, regardless of color or ethnicity. There aren't too many places like this- Takoma Park, outside Washington DC, comes to mind, but they tend to attract very well-educated, very liberal people (crunchy granola types, if you're being less charitable) who are typically very involved in their communities.
The other type of "diverse" community is a town in transition, where you catch in during those years when one group in moving in and another is moving out. And yes, in those communities you will likely find the kind of lack of community spirit found in the study he cites.
Fairly clear why-- if you think you're going to be moving out pretty soon, you tend not to care. And the newcomers don't feel comfortable enough yet to take leadership roles in their new communities.
I hate when studies make errors like that, especially when they're used to make such an incorrect point.
The other interesting thing was that here was this WSJ conservative endorsing immigration and noting that it was inevitable and that Buchananesque efforts to stop it were likely doomed.