Maine.
Just the name conjures up the view of Pine trees hugging the rocky Atlantic coast. Rugged individualism and a can do attitude. The thrill of hunting deer and moose in the fall. Sailing, hiking, camping; not to mention the low violent crime rate and decent standard of living.
It is this stereotyped, and commercialized, way of life that is marketed by the Maine Tourism Bureau as a way to get people to play and live in the state. But what they are not telling you is that all of these great pastimes are very racialized, meaning that white people are the ones who gravitate to the marketing. This doesn't mean that people of other colors don't come to Maine to have a vacation, it just that the overwhelming majority of people who do are white.
Think about it for a moment. When you live in a state that is 96% white, wouldn't your marketing campaign reflect what white people have done in this state of decades. How would the recreational opportunities here be different if the population was made up of most black people, or hispanics? There are many who would say that if this was the case, then Maine would stop being "Vacationland". I don't think so.
Is this consciouos racism on the of the state? No. Is the marketing tag line racist? Yes. I think they are unaware of the grandiose racialized claim that they are making when they say that the way people live in the State of Maine is the way eveyone should be living.
What about the white people who come to live in Maine who are here because this is a nice place to raise a family? That's just code for, "we want to live in an area were minorities are not the present". Sure enough, with a 96% white population, you are certain to live next door to someone of the same skin color as you if you are white.
What if more people of other colors came to Maine to live? Would we be seeing "white flight", where white people move out of their homes because their neighbor just happens to be black, which means to them that the area is more dangerous for their kids, because of flying bullets from a Glock? Probably. Personally, I would be more afraid of my child being hit by a bullet from a hunting rifle during deer killing season that a bullet from some "gang" inspired "drive-by".
Just the name conjures up the view of Pine trees hugging the rocky Atlantic coast. Rugged individualism and a can do attitude. The thrill of hunting deer and moose in the fall. Sailing, hiking, camping; not to mention the low violent crime rate and decent standard of living.
It is this stereotyped, and commercialized, way of life that is marketed by the Maine Tourism Bureau as a way to get people to play and live in the state. But what they are not telling you is that all of these great pastimes are very racialized, meaning that white people are the ones who gravitate to the marketing. This doesn't mean that people of other colors don't come to Maine to have a vacation, it just that the overwhelming majority of people who do are white.
Think about it for a moment. When you live in a state that is 96% white, wouldn't your marketing campaign reflect what white people have done in this state of decades. How would the recreational opportunities here be different if the population was made up of most black people, or hispanics? There are many who would say that if this was the case, then Maine would stop being "Vacationland". I don't think so.
Is this consciouos racism on the of the state? No. Is the marketing tag line racist? Yes. I think they are unaware of the grandiose racialized claim that they are making when they say that the way people live in the State of Maine is the way eveyone should be living.
What about the white people who come to live in Maine who are here because this is a nice place to raise a family? That's just code for, "we want to live in an area were minorities are not the present". Sure enough, with a 96% white population, you are certain to live next door to someone of the same skin color as you if you are white.
What if more people of other colors came to Maine to live? Would we be seeing "white flight", where white people move out of their homes because their neighbor just happens to be black, which means to them that the area is more dangerous for their kids, because of flying bullets from a Glock? Probably. Personally, I would be more afraid of my child being hit by a bullet from a hunting rifle during deer killing season that a bullet from some "gang" inspired "drive-by".
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