New street signs for the Asian District

[rxis]

Also, do you guys think the Asians who shop there really care for the city to build up signs and stuff?

Don't really know how to explain this.

Who do you think is more interested in labeling the region Little Saigon, Chinatown, or "fill in here"?
Isn't the area predominately Vietnamese owned? I don't believe the Vietnamese people in Oklahoma would like to be grouped with the Chinese.
Would you say Koreans and Vietnamese are similar? I don't think they would think so.


I think the residence is mostly occupied by black people. Correct me if I'm wrong. I'm only taking a guess from what I observe when I'm there.

How would the black people or simply non-asians from the neighborhood feel?
Would the people with non asian ties to the region be upset? So now not only are the Vietnamese running the businesses, but the whole area is going to be labelled after them?

And there are Caucasian towns, depending on your definition of caucasian. Anthropology can be tricky.
There are Russian, Jewish, Italian, Irish, Lebanese regions. Many have dispersed but many do exist and many cities have started from those origins.

Pretty much every Chinatown in any of the major cities in N. & S. America started in need to become self-sufficient due to descrimination dating from way back in the 18th century when many Asians were starting to be brought in for labor. Its not like they had much of a choice on where they wanted to locate their homes or businesses.

[GrandMaMa]

Just to make things clear. Asians are not classified as part of the minoriy when it comes to financial aid. Minority scholarships usually means anyone but asians.

I believe it was somewhat settled several years ago that the only other language the gov't really provides for is Spanish, like for driving license tests.

Also, do you guys think the Asians who shop there really care for the city to build up signs and stuff?

"business people staked out Classen Blvd. in 1975.... they are responsible for bringing Classen from a dying area to a place where business is thriving and property owners and business owners are paying more taxes into the city's treasury than they were previously."

Thats typically how ethnic neighborhoods get started.

#1..Just to make things clear: Please quote your source of information that backs up your statement.

#2..Wrong, wrong, wrong! Let me say it again, wrong! Just this last week, I watched a long special re: A hospital, (will look it up and quote, chapter and verse) that was being sued because they didn't emply interpreters for all nationalities of patients that they treated. Do you know that that means? Think about it..ALL PATIENTS!

#3. Do I think the Asians really care about the signs? No, I think that the only thing the Asians or any business owner in that district cares about is the money that they are making and how quickly they can retire...I don't think that they have any emotional attachment to the city or to any improvement other than to their bank account.

#4...Yes, they staked out the area because of the lower values and easy acces to ownership...they not only made money in their particular venture, they also made money in the re-valuation of the property. Not complaining, it's good business, but it doesn't deserve a Saintship or a medal.

#5...What's typically how Ethnic neighborhoods get started? Where everyone speaks the same language, likes the same color, what?

[rxis]

It has been a few years since I've tried applying for any scholarships. I just now did a rough search online. I was surprised to find that a lot of Asians as well as Caucasians are now respresented in what were once minority scholarships. Also found a lot more scholarships for underprivileged students now instead of just minority students. Theres some news articles about this as well if you care to look it up.

http://www.nacme.org/scholarships/

It's not much, but its one example of Asian exclusion from minority or underrepresented groups. There used to be what seemed like was a standard line on scholarship rules blantly stating that Asians were excluded.

Yep, I was wrong about the language thing. Looked it upa bit but didn't delve into it.
OK DMV has stopped providing their publications in any language other than English and Spanish since several years ago. It depends from state to state. I don't know about any other OK government forms and publications in any other language. I don't know of any IRS forms and publications in any other language either except for foreign accounts forms(or whatever they are called)

I think its a good thing to have a translation service available at hospitals. I'm glad I had one in France...hehe

Anyway, if a hospital is required to provide a translation service then I don't care if they get sued for not having one.

"Also, do you guys think the Asians who shop there really care for the city to build up signs and stuff?"

oops, I meant the shop owners. I just don't think the ma nd pa owners care for it much. Business people will continue to develop the area with time but I don't see any reason not to enhance the parks, entrances, whatever when they need replacing in order to make it more of a tourist attraction.

As for the ethnic neighborhood part, I was just saying immigrants often move into regions that are dying and revive it.

"What if it said, "Caucasian district"? Again, is this what we really want? And, if so, don't you think that those different ethnic groups have an obligation to help fund the extra funds that it requires to accommodate the "special ethnic differences"?"

I don't know how the street signs are paid for, but doesn't it come out of the taxes they generate?

Omg, wondering off into a million directions and im sleeping late again on the comp. Good night

[GrandMaMa]

It has been a few years since I've tried applying for any scholarships. I just now did a rough search online. I was surprised to find that a lot of Asians as well as Caucasians are now respresented in what were once minority scholarships. Also found a lot more scholarships for underprivileged students now instead of just minority students. Theres some news articles about this as well if you care to look it up.

http://www.nacme.org/scholarships/

It's not much, but its one example of Asian exclusion from minority or underrepresented groups. There used to be what seemed like was a standard line on scholarship rules blantly stating that Asians were excluded.
I could have added over 100 more links, but thought that might be just a little much, but here are a few that will prove my point:

http://www.asianscholarship.org/
http://boe.townofmanchester.org/asian_scholarships.htm
http://www.iie.org/programs/freeman-asia/index.html
http://www.hawaii.edu/shaps/asia/aid_grad.html
http://www.hawaii.edu/issmanoa/student_awards.htm
http://www.aaja.org/programs/for_students/scholarships/
http://www.asu.edu/clas/asian/scholarship.html
http://www.iie.org/programs/freeman-asia/index.html
http://www.marineducationfund.org/st.../ug_schol.html
http://www.adelaide.edu.au/news/news9121.html
http://www.imf.org/external/oap/schol.htm
http://www.adb.org/jsp/
http://libarts.wsu.edu/asia/scholarships/index.html



Yep, I was wrong about the language thing. Looked it upa bit but didn't delve into it.
OK DMV has stopped providing their publications in any language other than English and Spanish since several years ago. It depends from state to state. I don't know about any other OK government forms and publications in any other language. I don't know of any IRS forms and publications in any other language either except for foreign accounts forms(or whatever they are called)

I think its a good thing to have a translation service available at hospitals. I'm glad I had one in France...hehe

Anyway, if a hospital is required to provide a translation service then I don't care if they get sued for not having one.Do you have a clue as to what this does to our medical costs? We pay for it, you and I.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/health...anslators.html
http://www.newyorkbusiness.com/news.cms?id=14734
There are a lot more resources that I could quote on this issue as well.

From this point on in your post, I'm not going to bother to address, as apparently you were tired and decided not to address it either.

Here are a few sources of information regarding existing laws that require many forms to be printed in several languages...as I said, there are 100's more that I could post:

http://www.eagleforum.org/psr/1995/psrdec95.html
http://www.dir.ca.gov/WP.asp
http://www.citypaper.net/articles/07...ticle004.shtml
http://www.msec.org/personnel_forms/
http://www.vcgcb.ca.gov/VCApp.htm
http://www.dmv.ca.gov/vehindustry/epn/epnforms.htm
http://www.osha.gov/pls/publications/pubindex.list
http://www.usoge.gov/pages/forms_pub...other_pg2.html
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/...k/4205761.html



"Also, do you guys think the Asians who shop there really care for the city to build up signs and stuff?"

oops, I meant the shop owners. I just don't think the ma nd pa owners care for it much. Business people will continue to develop the area with time but I don't see any reason not to enhance the parks, entrances, whatever when they need replacing in order to make it more of a tourist attraction.

As for the ethnic neighborhood part, I was just saying immigrants often move into regions that are dying and revive it.

"What if it said, "Caucasian district"? Again, is this what we really want? And, if so, don't you think that those different ethnic groups have an obligation to help fund the extra funds that it requires to accommodate the "special ethnic differences"?"

I don't know how the street signs are paid for, but doesn't it come out of the taxes they generate?

Omg, wondering off into a million directions and im sleeping late again on the comp. Good night

This is what I'm talking about. By virtue of the fact that there are a great number of minorities who don't bother to learn the English language, it directly impacts local, state and Federal dollars and how they are spent. This problem is wider spread than I could even begin to illustrate, but believe me, it is a growing problem and needs to be addressed...after all, it isn't free.

[HOT ROD]

OK everyone. This thread has gotten WAY OFF TOPIC.

Heck, I hope Im the only person (and Floater) outside of OKC whose reading this - as this thread only perpetuates the image the world already has of OKC, i.e. backward, stereotypical, ultra-conservative, homophobic, and racist. I thought the NEW OKC was trying to shake this perception.

Can we move away from the rather bigoted minority exclusion/inclusion and caucasian ranting (start another thread somewhere else please) -

And get back to the topic of discussing the impact of the Asia District on urban Oklahoma City.

Thanks!

[GrandMaMa]

OK everyone. This thread has gotten WAY OFF TOPIC.

Heck, I hope Im the only person (and Floater) outside of OKC whose reading this - as this thread only perpetuates the image the world already has of OKC, i.e. backward, stereotypical, ultra-conservative, homophobic, and racist. I thought the NEW OKC was trying to shake this perception.

Can we move away from the rather bigoted minority exclusion/inclusion and caucasian ranting (start another thread somewhere else please) -

And get back to the topic of discussing the impact of the Asia District on urban Oklahoma City.

Thanks!

And, specifically, you are referring to who's post and what issue are you directing your comment to? If you are suggesting that I am any of those things, you are way off track. Maybe the topic got off track, but to what and whom are you referring?

[metro]

joeshmoe, those little red signs aren't really new, they've been there at least a year, in fact there is a larger nicer one that is green, gold and red and has a picture of a dragon on it. there are several other threads with all the plans going on in the Asian District. You might check out the original thread for more info:

http://www.okctalk.com/okc-metro-are...asian+district

[HOT ROD]

And, specifically, you are referring to who's post and what issue are you directing your comment to? If you are suggesting that I am any of those things, you are way off track. Maybe the topic got off track, but to what and whom are you referring?

nm

[GrandMaMa]

Is that for never mind?

nm

[Kerry]

Out of curosity, does anyone know how the "Asian District" boundaries were drawn? Is it just the visual perception of a number of Asian food stores or is there actually a higher than normal concentration of Asian residents compared to other parts of the city? If there is a high concentration, how high is it. I guess I am just wondering what makes the Asian ditrict different from any other part of the city.

If the food court at the mall has 6 places to eat and 2 are Asian, is the food court an Asian district?

[jbrown84]

Kerry, the concentration of Asian restaurants and businesses is OBVIOUSLY the sign of a high population of Asians in the area. I can also testify to it because my church is about a mile and a half down 23rd and we have a booming Korean congregation and our Vietnamese congregation became so large that it became its own church a couple years ago.

[Kerry]

Thanks JBROWN84. I knew there are some Korean congregations in the area. However, I would still like to know the population stats. Guess I can try and find some census data.

[Spartan]

Any plans to do this with the even more well defined Mexican South side? Just curious. I live on the South side and it is very Mexican from SE 15th to 44th and from High to near Penn. Not a complaint, just an observation.

Gotta have an even hand... :respect:

[HOT ROD]

I believe I heard/saw there is some 12,000 Vietnamese and 20,000 total Asian population in the district.

For those of you who are not used to big city status, it is very common in big cities for ethnic neighbourhoods to spring up. Actually, Oklahoma City has very many of these (you guys must be in denial or have blinders on) than JUST the Asian District.

But, in these ethnic neighbourhoods one can find food and culture from their native lands. Not everyone likes to go to a Christian church (or church at all), or eat at an american steak buffet, or go to Bricktown for nightlife. These ethnic neighbourhoods bring a much needed variety to a big city and most big cities have them.

In addition, an ethnic neighbourhood often has resources available that an immigrant could enjoy that he or she otherwise would not be exposed to. Could you imagine if YOU were in China and there were NO Americanized businesses or neighbourhoods?? Wouldn't you want to get out of there OR just stay away/at home?

Well, Chinatowns and their other enclave cousins foster a sense of Openness and Freedom to those who aren't as comfortable in dealing with the "mainstream Oklahoma society" (for whatever the reasons - shy on up to outright discrimination).

Often times, if you see something familiar or people like you who are successful - then you "come out" more. And you surely can't get good dim sum from an American place however Grand House in Asia District has some of the best (that you'd see in SF, Vancouver, and China).

Those of you who are still wondering what Im talking about, ask yourselves this question - and be honest:

How many people do you know of who are non-white and think/act differently than you do (more than just acquaintance)? Furthermore, how many of these people's cultures DO YOU actually experience or have exposure to?

Do YOU know the true meaning of the Lunar New Year? or when the Moon Festival is? Not to mention, when is it?

Dont feel ashamed if you can't answer (and I'd imagine the majority of you can't answer as positively as I could, no offense). But because you probably dont have the exposure - that is why ethnic enclaves exist.

Because if America were a "true" capitalist melting pot - well then there would be no discrimination, there would be equal access and INTEREST in our diversity, and there would be no need for people to "pool together" their resources to survive.

And hence, that is why we have the Asia District, and Capital Hill, and the Eastside, and 39th Street, and the developing Japantown area, and so forth.

Oh, and to those of you who seem to think that any of these districts are getting handouts consider this,

Oklahoma City has had a Little Saigon/Asia District for some 20 years (since the 1980's) yet its JUST NOW being recognized and promoted by the city. YET, we were taxed 1 cent for 5 years so that business men like Hogan, Brewer and the "crew" could get rich and give us Bricktown - arguably the fastest growing yet still fledgling nonetheless entertainment district in the southwest.

Not to mention "WE/ALL OKC Taxpayers (black, asians, latinos included)" payed some $20M for a Bass Pro Shop that arguably NONE of US in this forum have ever visited not to mention bought anything from.

And you guys are complaining about a streetscape the city has YET to complete for its Chinatown???? (and that's ALL OKC has ever promised to the Asia District, by the way). Cost? less than $5M if done right/successfully.

Now who is truly getting the handout????

Back to topic.

[Doug Loudenback]

Somewhat related to this thread: I've done the 1st of 2 blog posts related to the "Asian District(s)". The 1st, Asian District - The Underground, is here: Doug Dawgz Blog: Asian District - The Underground . It focuses on the "old" downtown Chinese Underground. Mostly, it contains text, but it contains a few images ... a couple are shown below from April 1969 when George Shirk explored areas discovered when excavation was going on for the Myriad Convention Center ...

The article also shows the cool old building which earlier occupied the west side of the convention center space, the Commerce Exchange Building built in the mid-1920s.

A later blog article will focus on what is thought of as the "Asian District" today:

Street Sign Signage


Sun Moon Plaza to be built at Western & NW 23

Enjoy!