#THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST DRIVERS#

#THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST DRIVERS#

Each year when students are asked to list phrases that come to mind when they hear the word 'California' or 'Californian,' they regularly mention the following: 'bad drivers,' 'pollution,' 'overcrowded,' 'busy' or 'fast-paced,' 'wealthy' and 'powerful,' 'crime,' 'in love with their cars,' and various combinations of 'pushy,' 'vain,' 'self-centered,' 'loud,' 'rude,' 'disrespectful,' 'superficial,' 'immoral,' 'uptight,' 'plastic,' 'artificial,' and 'mindless.' A number of respondents have claimed that Californians are 'taking over' the Pacific Northwest, or that too many are 'coming to Washington.' In 1997 one student spoke for many when she or he wrote, 'Californians: 1) are invading our beautiful area 2) as Tom McCall said, 'Come and visit but go home' 3) Californians are crazy drivers who cause accidents 4) they are driving up the housing prices and 5) as my mother says, 'I hate Californians.'' I have been doing this survey for about ten years, and over that time students' attitudes toward 'California' and 'Californians' have been fairly consistent. If you are a registered student in HSTAA 432, you have been asked to fill out a this survey, and your responses are being added to my data.) Students from areas other than western Washington are requested to answer different questions, which are also discussed below. (I only consider the attitudes of students from western Washington toward California and Californians. I also started surveying students in my courses as a way of examining attitudes toward California and Californians, and tracking their change over time. I took note of the trend, and started discussing it with students in my classes on Pacific Northwest history. The anti-Californian sentiment first crested in the Seattle area during the late 1980s. Washington and Idaho became more vociferous during the 1980s and 1990s. Oregon actually led the way during the 1970s, with a both humorous and serious campaign to keep Californians away. Many people in Idaho, Oregon, and Washington have developed strong opinions about California and Californians in recent times. (I take up the issue of the salmon in the next lesson.) The second thing we have in common is California, or, I should say, a pronounced aversion to California and all things and people Californian. As runs of wild Pacific salmon have become threatened, people in the region have latched on to them as a critical symbol of Pacific Northwest identity. The first is a growing identification with salmon. the American states of Washington, Oregon, and Idaho) have shared two things. In recent years it has seemed that people in the Pacific Northwest (i.e. Lesson One: Who Belongs in the Pacific Northwest?

The pacific northwest