Nov
15
By Steven Reames, Executive Director, Ada County Medical Society
For those who have experienced true “Southern Hospitality,” coming to the Intermountain West must seem like a rude awakening. The classic Idaho touristy postcard says it all: a couple of rednecks sitting on the car next to a highway border sign menacingly brandishing their guns: “Welcome to Idaho. Now Go Home!” These kind of attitudes towards outsiders are not anything new in our nation and have been happening since at least the mid-19th century. A generation of settlers comes into a territory, finds a place worth establishing themselves in, and then rejects the next generation of newcomers. Same ole same ole.
