You’re damn right it’s not.Â
Ward 3 Santa Ana City Council candidate made an interesting statement dissing Irvine while promoting the diversity of Santa Ana. Watch it on Video here and go to the 27:49 mark. Art addresses the cultural fairs in Orange and ponders why Santa Ana doesn’t celebrate its diversity.
“Santa Ana is not Irvine,” says Art, in a backhanded digg at my fair city. “We have a bunch folks from all over the place.”
Actually Art, so does Irvine and I’d make the argument Irvine is far more diverse than Santa Ana. I gather from Art’s comments that he thinks Irvine is loaded with white people. Ummm, no. My small slice of Irvine has Chinese, Koreans, Japanese, Indian, Persians, Jewish and African Americans. And we’re the safest city in America and the 4th best place to live in the USA according to Money Magazine. So I took Art’s comments as a backhanded swipe at my town and its residents.
This Saturday, Irvine celebrates its rich diversity with the 2008 Global Village Festival. Artshuld come to see how a city with a rich culture celebrates its diversity. You’ll find a description below:
Make plans to travel the world at the City of Irvine’s Annual Global Village Festival on Saturday, October 4, from 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. at Bill Barber Park. Boasting artistic cultural performances on three stages, the Festival’s live entertainment is a mosaic of music and dance representing more than 50 cultures from Europe, Asia, Africa, and North and South America. Immerse yourself in cultural displays, world religion and demonstrations, indulge in international cuisine, explore our world marketplace and keep the little ones in motion with hands-on art projects, games and activities in a giant, interactive Kids Village.
Dan,
Art is clueless. Arts definition of diversity is the color ramp between white and brown. he has no idea how diverse irvine is. In fact has no idea how diverse santa Ana is.
He is very ethnocentric in that he sees basicaly every spanish pseaking resident of Santa Ana as Mexicans. he neglects the residnts who are Nicauraguan, Guatamalan, Ecuadorian etc.
That being said, irvine has exponentially more diversity in the country of origin of its residents. As you said your neighbors hail from all oevr the globe. Where as Spanish Speaking Santa Ana Residnets hail from primarily central and northen America.
I find his use ofthe Orange International Street Fair as a celebration of diversity quite laughable. In all my years, that Street fair has always been a way for the residents of Orange to eat drink and be merry. At the same time the ethnic food booths are ususally staffed by Boy Scouts, Rotary Clubs, Elks Lodges, etc etc. Its a large 3 day fund raiser that sells international food and beers. Its hella fun though.
Very few are actually staffed by the memebers ofthe ethnicity that is represnted by the food they serve.
Thanks for the reminder about Irvine and its diversity. I still kind of have it stuck in my head that Irvine is still this Big White Enclave, but you’re right: it’s diverse after all. Maybe we’ll reconsider it when we move back to CA.
It’s time to get my head out of the 80s. Thanks.
And actually, some of us Spanish speakers from OC are from the Caribbean, too. 🙂
Art and Rocco for Clowncil-I believe this is Arturo’s own term. They are truly two of a feather.
The word diversity has a root in latin diversitas, meaning difference as in unlikeness. Mr. Pedroza is focused on the national origins of Santa Ana residents. However, before wel count how many angels can fit on the head of a pin (which City is more diverse), we should also consider other differences before we reach a conclusion. I like to focus on income, similar to the State of California Department of Housing and Community Development who are charged with monitoring both Santa Ana and Irvine’s compliance with state housing laws related to housing for low and moderate income families. It was not too long ago that Irvine was arguing that outsiders could not sue it to make the City build any low and moderate income housing. Stocks v. City of Irvine. This attempt failed to stop the suit. But often Cities prefer “ownership” housing to rentals which predictably winds up as houses for more wealthy residents. While there is TIC rental housing clustered around the university, Santa Ana has been and continues to be the duming ground for the garners, housekeepers, teachers, and retail help for all the exclusive Cities in Orange County. In fact the State adjusts the number of low and moderate income housing that Santa Ana is expected to provide DOWNWARDS to try and even out the situation. So the next time you drive past the next tile roofed “village” tract, think about where the gardeners live and what diversity really means.
Dan,
According to the City of Irvine, 61% of your residents are white, 29% are Asian and only 7% are Latino, while 2% are African American. Your median income is $85K. (Source: http://www.ci.irvine.ca.us/about/demographics.asp).
The City of Santa Ana provides these demographics: 75.8% Latino, 8.9% Asian, 1,7% African American. The rest of the residents are White Non-Latinos. The median household income is $69K. (Source: http://www.ci.santa-ana.ca.us/cda/documents/SantaAnaDemographicTrend-2000Census.pdf).
So yes Dan, your city is majority White and as Rick pointed out you don’t have much in the way of a working class. If you want to claim that Irvine is diverse, be my guest. I don’t think many people would agree with you. Does that make Irvine a bad city? No.
In fact you are not quoting why I even brought up the issue of diversity. I was asked what positive thing we could identify in Santa Ana. I chose to talk about diversity. I did that because Mayor Miguel Pulido and his henchmen are trying to gentrify my city. Pulido supported Prop. 187. Did you know that’? He also has supported Rosie Avila and he appointed a Minuteman to our Library Board, twice. So yes, I chose to praise diversity – because our Mayor hates the immigrants that live in our city.
I don’t know what your problem is with me Dan. I can only surmise that you have an issue with the fact that I am not a Democrat. I share your social values. Apparently that is not enough for you. Would you prefer to see Carlos Bustamante, a Republican, stay in power? Really?
I don’t give free passes to bad politicians – Democrat or Republican. I realize you shill for every Democrat. That is not my deal and it never will be. I will NEVER support Pulido. Apparently you do. We are going to have to agree to disagree on that matter.
Decide where you stand Dan. Either you want Bustamante to continue to cling to power or you want change for Santa Ana. If there is some other issue you want to discuss why don’t you call me? My number is 714-606-7622.
Art,
Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary defines diversity as:
Multiplicity of difference; multiformity; variety.
The numbers you cite confirm that when it comes to diversity of population ethnicity, Irvine is in fact, MORE DIVERSE than Santa Ana.
Carlos Bustamante in my opinion is not a good councilmember. But Dan’s post was not about Carlos, or even whether or not he should be replaced. His post is about the ridiculous nature of your comment.
I am not certain that replacing one idiot with another really accomplishes anything. Art, I have no problem with you being registered as a DTS voter. I don’t think Dan has a problem with that either.
The problem is that you are a DTT (Decline to Think) candidate. You are campaigning to represent Ward 3 on the Santa Ana City Council. Stop campaigning as though you’re blogging. If you want to be different from Carlos, stop shooting from the hip like he does.
Carlos thinks the problems of Santa Ana could be solved if we got rid of bloggers. You seem to think the problems of Santa Ana can be solved the way you blog.
You know better than that and if you want to be a Councilman you need to stop acting like a blogger and start acting like a Councilman.
Step one is to recognize that governing is not about good, evil, or ethnicity. Effective government is achieved by bringing people together to solve problems.
It is easy to scream at passing cars. It’s takes a bit more finesse to convince the drivers of the passing cars to slow down.
Arturo, white is no more telling a term than brown. Lots of countries in Europe, y’know? I’m no Anglo, but I guess I am white. You are not educated or tolerant enough to represent anyone, Art. But please keep blogging, your bloviation is always amusing.
Art — you took a potshot at Irvine Art, a city with demonstrably more diversity than Santa Ana.
*I don’t know what your problem is with me Dan. I can only surmise that you have an issue with the fact that I am not a Democrat.*
No, that’s not it.
*Would you prefer to see Carlos Bustamante, a Republican, stay in power? Really? *
I have no horse in this race, or should I say, I have no horse’s ass in this race.
*I don’t give free passes to bad politicians – Democrat or Republican.* But you expect one from us.
*I realize you shill for every Democrat.* Yeah, I did a helluva job promoting Hoa Van Tran.
“I will NEVER support Pulido. Apparently you do.” You assume too much
Art — you have remarkably thin skin for one who dishes it out with such careless disregard. One council member alone cannot affect positive change in Santa Ana; it will require a coalition of council members and you have done everything in your power to personally attack just about everyone on the city council. How effective do you think you’ll actually be if you get elected. I do hear that the massage parlor lobby is rooting for you.
All I did in this post is refute your claim that Irvine wasn’t diverse.
Chris,
“Effective government is achieved by bringing people together to solve problems.”
That is one of my core campaign messages – but I would not expect you to know that. You don’t live in my city.
Pulido has been using race to divide my city for twenty years. You are right. We need to come together and fix our problems. It is time for change in Santa Ana.
Rintrah,
The term white is used by both the city of Irvine and the city of Santa Ana. Look at the links I posted. That is the terminology they are using.
I agree that such terms are of little use. There are many Latinos who are effectively white, including myself. But demographers have to find ways to describe folks and that is one term that they use.
I am not sure what you mean by saying I am not educated or tolerant enough. I am actually quite well educated. I am in the 3% of Latinos who have graduate degrees. As for being tolerant, there was a time when I was a very conservative Republican. I have left that behind. I am just as socially progressive as most of the readers of this blog. But some folks can’t forget my past, I guess.
Now I am off to go get ready for tonight’s ECCO dinner…
Art,
you probably dont know this but the term White is often used to classify people from Lebenon, and other Arbaic Speaking non-Ethically Arabic regions of the Mediteranean such as Malta, Cypress, etc etc.
As for your recent change from Conservative to Socially Tolerant, I find you totally disingenuous. You change with the wind, and or the crowd you are aroundthat will tolerate your presence.
I noticed you brought your sole frind SMS, who is a m2F transgendered person who is opposed to same sex marriage because of some twisted iterpretation of her religious beliefs. Nobody is buying your false face of tolerance. Youre change of heart is soley to try and gain Democratic Votes because your runing against an unpopular Rep in Santa Ana.
Now that I mentioned Santa Ana with a majority of Hispanic population, do you think people will remeber your recruitment of Lupe Moreno to run against Loretta Sanchez?
Hmmmm try race baiting Busty with that lil tidbit in your history Art.
Greek is spoken in Cyprus, and Maltese in Malta! Not Arabic, and yes Arabs are considered White, they’re not recognized as their own minority group, except when it’s time for racial profiling or random checks at airports..