James Wesley
We thank God for your blog and all who thoughtfully contribute to SurvivalBlog. I visit often and it has been a godsend for our preps over the past year.
As much as we enjoy the natural beauty and diversity here in California, we all know how this place is continuing it’s political nosedive so we’re seeking to relocate, preferably to the Redoubt. But the biggest unknown we face in relocation is that we’re a multi-racial couple (Nordic male and Asian female). Even though we’re happily wed faith-filled Christians, proud American citizens, disgusted with entitlement mentalities and politically aligned with those who seek to uphold the Constitution and encourage personal responsibility, there’s those who simply hate my wife for her shade of skin, and probably hate me and our kids for violating their demented views on race mixing. And as China continues to grow in global influence while the morons in Washington undermine the strength of the United States, I fully expect the bitter anti-asian rhetoric of the supremacists will sound sweet to a wider audience and increase our threat.
I’m not at all suggesting this is a problem unique to the Redoubt, racial supremacist fools are can be found in many places and fight for their particular shades of skin and turf whatever or wherever that may be. White supremacists hold their meetings here in parts of California and there’s parts of Los Angeles or San Francisco where my wife blends in just fine and I’m the one on high alert. But since we’re looking to move to the Redoubt, the tables are turned and she’s the one who looks different and I’ve got to be realistic and wise about the possible security issues to my family.
As such I’m trying to identify those Redoubt communities that already understand that Christ and the Constitution aren’t for only one shade of skin, and are already accepting of people who look different but share similar faith and values. I fully expect there’s plenty of such places in the Redoubt, it’s just not so clear to me how to accurately identify them and do our best to avoid those few where white supremacists concentrate. My nightmare scenario is to relocate only to discover there’s a compound of aryan nut jobs down the road that host their hate rallies of hundreds or thousands of people who make it a point to hate us simply because we exist.
Since you’ve been clear about your non-racist views, I’m reaching out to you for any thoughts or advice you may be able to offer, and I know that we’re not alone in seeking this type of information.
Thanks in advance for your help. God Bless , – G. & P.
JWR Replies: In my experience, the American Redoubt [1] region has an undeserved reputation for racism. Part of this reputation is a based on the inordinate mass media attention to the now defunct Aryan Nations group in Hayden, Idaho. The group numbered only about 50 people that actually lived in Idaho and it is now essentially disbanded (a decade ago they were rendered almost impecunious by a $6.3 million civil rights judgment) [2]. But most of the mainstream media still seems convinced that Idaho and the entire Inland Northwest is positively infested with Nazis, Doc Marten boots-wearing skinheads, and assorted bigoted malcontents. But here is the reality: Here in the Redoubt, we actually get along remarkably well, and we are socially intolerant of racially intolerant idiots. The handful of racists that are in the region get regularly shunned and shamed.
Granted, the demographics of the Redoubt look “mighty white” compared to California. But that is simply because with the exception of the foundries and aluminum mills of the Spokane Valley, the region never developed much heavy industry. During World War II, large numbers of ethnic minorities moved to West Coast seeking war industry work, at places like Boeing, Lockheed, and at the Kaiser shipyards. They enjoyed the climate, and they stayed. But there was no corresponding “draw” to the Inland Northwest during the war. And nearly all of the Chinese immigrants to the Idaho and Montana’s gold fields in the late 19th Century moved on, before 1920. Even the Native Americans that preceded us palefaces by several thousand years are presently a fairly small minority in most counties. (Although they enjoy large land holdings and year-round hunting and fishing privileges that are the source of some envy.)
In the community nearest the Rawles Ranch [3], there are a few multi-racial families by virtue of inter-marriage or adoption. Ironically, members of these families tell me that the few racist comments that they’ve heard have mostly come from visiting summer tourists who live elsewhere. We all get along remarkably well here, regardless of racial or religious differences. Part of this can be attributed to a strong “overseas missions emphasis” by the local churches. The rest, I chalk up to our frontier spirit. In this sense, we get along so well because we realize that we depend a lot on each other, in a society with minimal government and an infrastructure that resembles the 1950s. We still have lots of narrow highways, and many roads are gravel rather than paved. We have minimal government amenities, but that also means minimum government intrusiveness. For the most part, we like it that way. (There are a few drawbacks–like the dearth of guardrails on steep highway embankments, chronically cracked windshields because of gravel roads, and a response time for sheriff’s deputy calls that can exceed an hour.) We’re essentially already on YOYO [4] time.
In summary, I believe that you will like living in the Redoubt. I can’t guarantee that you won’t face some racism, but there’s no guarantee of that in California, either.