For a little over six years I have been writing about Dickinson, North Dakota and trying to explain it. In many ways, Dickinson is not normal, and not like other places.

Perhaps the main reason why Dickinson is different from other places, and not normal, is that the local people here truly do not like and do not want people from out-of-state moving here.

I will explain it like this. I grew up south of Daytona Beach in the 1970s-1980s when this city’s population was about 50,000 people. The biggest part of Daytona’s economy was tourism, entertainment, and real estate development.

Everyone in Daytona was accustomed to tourists from across the U.S. and around the World, visiting for such things as the beach, warm weather, NASCAR, and bike week. Many of these visitors decided to stay and try living in Daytona for a while. More than half of the people living in Daytona were not originally from Florida.

When I graduated from College and moved to Tampa, it was similar to Daytona in that half of the population was not from Florida, and a large part of the local economy was real estate development.

When I lived in Flagstaff and Phoenix in my mid-thirties, half the population of these cities was not from Arizona. Everyone was accustomed to meeting and interacting with people from all across the U.S. , and occasionally foreign countries.

Let me show you some of the census data for the growth of these cities:

• Daytona     population 1980  50,000       population 2020   70,000
• Tampa        population 1980   271,000     population 2020   400,000
• Flagastaff   population 1980   35,000      population 2020   75,000
• Phoenix      population 1980   790,000     population 2020   1,700,000

What I was trying to show with the above data, was the continued growth of these cities, that growth and real estate development was probably the main ingredient that fueled their economies.  Not only did growth happen, but it was welcomed, it brought prosperity.  What this small table of data above does not show, was the literal doubling and quadrupling of the populations on the outskirts of these towns, that is where the real growth occurred.

Getting back to the subject of Dickinson, that Dickinson is not like other places, that Dickinson is not normal, I have tried very hard to explain this, but I have not been able to convince everyone.  A few days ago, a lifelong North Dakotan submitted two comments to my blog website.  I looked this gentleman up, he is approximately 84 years of age.  Due to his age, disposition, and nature, he did not hold back with his thoughts and beliefs.

The two comments that I received from this elderly Dickinson man, are very important in letting out-of-state newcomers know where they stand and what to expect in Dickinson.  As you will see, the true feelings of many local people in Dickinson are not pro-growth, pro-development, and welcoming to newcomers:

“Why don’t you just end your blog. You are obviously not from Western North Dakota. Your blog comments are disturbing/unsettling to us locals. It is not your job to change ANYTHING around here. Way more than enough damage has already been done. It is time to get things back to where they were before all the influx of outsiders coming here to “make things better for us”. The state of our social and economic situation is far worse now thanks to outsiders like you. Take yourself and all the niggers you love back to your home town. We do not need to be diluted by you and your selected kind. GO AWAY!!!”

“This is in response to “Mr Name Withheld” (Dickinson58601.com), let’s call him Tex, and his rant concerning how ugly North Dakota girls are, how stupid North Dakotans are and how terrible the Catholic Church is.
Tex is correct in describing Western North Dakota as wind swept, cold, barren, unattractive, unyielding, hostile, etc. It is not a vacation destination. That is why the people are the way they are. It is a hard life and everything is EARNED and earned the hard way.
But goes on to say that he is going to remain in Dickinson after expressing his profound hatred of Western North Dakota and the locals.
Firstly the local females are not here to lay down for slime ball Texans/Niggers or fans of those types. They are ours as we are theirs. And if they do we shame them. Isn’t it enough that you have been offered a TEMPORARY job here to work until it is over and then you LEAVE! So we are being told by Tex we have to provide Tex with a bed mate as well. Bring your own while you are here sir.
Then Tex starts sharing his vast wisdom about the history of North Dakota’s oil booms. And how stupid we are for not accepting everyone that wants to come here and exploit us. True, the oil companies have been given free rein to be out of control by our state regulators only so the State can collect the measly taxes, while the Texans not only own the oil companies and reap the wealth but bring in their Texas workers to do the work for the most part. ALL the wealth is hauled back to Houston. This, agreed is a seriously monumental problem that NEEDS to be addressed soon. There was always a local group of us that worked the North Dakota oilfields from 1978 to 2005 and were treated status quo as per what we did. As things changed we were blatantly eliminated/discarded for reasons possibly implemented by our newly intelligent state regulators. Allowing this to continue is not very intelligent!! In fact it is stupidity. And then turn around and tout the ‘North Dakota SMART crap”. That is a serious complaint of ours!!! At this point we do not need outsiders here and yet they remain, there are plenty of area people to take care of the jobs available. We don’t need anymore “smart” Texans here, GO HOME TEXANS, don’t trip or get tangled up at the cattle guard-just keep moving back to where you came from or anywhere else. There is a reason people hate Texans. Texans think everyone loves them and are puzzled when they are not welcomed with open arms. Texans are fucking everywhere and are everywhere to exploit others!!!!
Tex also spends a lot of space complaining about how the drug/narcotic community in North Dakota is mistreated. You Tex are most likely are a drug criminal with all this wisdom and those complaints. Maybe that is why you say you will not leave, you are a drug felon and are not allowed to cross state lines.
Then Tex complains about how hostile North Dakotans are to outsiders and that is why the population doesn’t grow. Firstly when most of these outsiders arrived here they conducted themselves as if they had never been across the county line before. To them it was a free for all, riot, melee. Yes we live in a remote low populated area and intend to keep it that way. There is no spot here for hillbilly Texans.
To touch on Tex’s hate of the Catholic Church. It has been here since the beginning and yes the Germans, Ukrainians, Russians, etc. populate the parishes. What religion are you Tex? Are you a Baptist or some other mindless robotic Evangelical that is stupid enough to think that backing the Jew’s/Zionist’s evil will make you “chosen” and ensure entry into the promised land???
Before our final thoughts, just what were the Dickinson city leaders thinking when all these Blacks were allowed to infest the town? Were they looking for population growth no matter who came in? Did they think it would make Dickinson appear to be a progressive, modern looking town? It is obvious THEY have never experienced life beyond their county line other than a vacation or surfing the net. If so, they forgot to consider the big picture. Dickinson is where it is, Dickinson is what it is, Dickinson will continue to be what it has been. The only way to change it is to pay people to come here or set up a Siberia sort of prison to force people to come here. There is only so much that can be done with Dickinson. Dickinson City authorities must be keenly aware they are playing with fire in who they condone residency to. To “experiment” with this African bringing in thing WILL backfire. This whole scene is an embarrassment to locals and non locals alike. Almost all these blacks have a home somewhere where they came from. OK, now there have been black births in Dickinson. At that point these blacks are now natives of Dickinson. City leaders, do you realize just what you have now created in a small, poor place that is not capable of answering to or supporting the DEMANDS that will soon arise. Nice job Dickinson Dolts. That’s what happens when people are put in positions long before they are qualified to fill them. They govern on emotions and by what they absorb from television.
And finally no there is not oil laying in formation in every state Tex. You said every state has oil and North Dakota should not be so proud thinking they are unique. Again Tex you say a lot of off-the-wall things, we will give you the benefit of the doubt and assume you meant oil in Auto Zone or O’reily’s.
Overall Tex we stress that if you hate Dickinson as much as you convey. Move back to where you came from and take all the Texans/Southerners/Niggers with you. In fact why don’t you just go away period.
But in reality, with some of the things you say, we believe you are actually originally from the Dickinson area or very nearby. You just got in trouble and turned Texan on us.
As a note, Texans and Niggers come in all shapes, sizes, colors, etc. To be labeled a Texan/Nigger is not a compliment. It is a term that describes an undesirable quality, attitude and way of approaching non Texans. Texans are disliked everywhere, de facto HATED!!”

I think that this Dickinson resident who submitted these two comments above has the right to his opinion and to freely express his thoughts, feeling, and beliefs.  The local people in Dickinson might have been better off if they stated and published these common beliefs before, during, and after the North Dakota oil boom of 2007-2015.  By publish, I mean via newspaper, radio, television, internet, mayor, chief of police, city commissioners, county commissioners, everywhere.

The Chambers of Commerce, real estate agents, and employers should or could be honest with people from out-of-state, but they are not going to.  They are going to continue to try to lure people here with false information, which is just going to result in unhappiness for the newcomers and the local Dickinson residents.  Local Dickinson residents do not want growth and development.