Boulder as its own utopia: Town where JonBenet Ramsey died is tan, tall and smug

San Francisco Chronicle ^ | Sunday, August 20, 2006 | Kimberly Dellaca-Badgett

[Gondring]

[...] I was surprised by my own criticism of a city that people often refer to as paradise.

First some facts. Boulder is one of the five richest counties in the United States, but it has the lowest rate of charitable giving in Colorado. [...]

[...] Boulder has the second-highest grossing organic food market in the country. [...]Boulder is one of only three counties in Colorado that did not vote for George Bush.

But scratch the surface of the utopian bubble and you'll witness people punching each other in the organic market's parking lot over the last available space and you'll find yourself questioning why people who claim to be against the "oil war" didn't bring their bike anyway.

[...]And when houses routinely start at more than a million dollars, the only hippies that can afford housing in Boulder are of the soft-palmed-check-of-the-month-trust-fund variety.

Boulder is all about doing the right thing, as long as the right thing doesn't require making a sacrifice or a contribution. [...]

[...]

Conformity to nonconformity is required to get along in Boulder. [...] The Ramseys were the wrong kind of people in Boulder. It's only OK to be rich here if you wear patchouli and pretend you live in a tent. The Ramseys didn't.

[...]Boulder was smug when JonBenet was murdered. If the Ramseys' life went to hell, it was proof that the conservative life was the wrong one.[...]

So when reporters asked me [...] how the city feels now that a suspect has been arrested in the Ramsey case, I answer that we should feel ashamed and sad but probably don't because Boulder isn't the kind of place where self-examination results in anything more than a trip down the road for a shot of wheat grass. [...]

[Gondring]

I'm not so sure the parents were innocent, and I am not so sure that the parents should be considered "conservative"...but it's an interesting cultural commentary. I had to cut out a lot of good swipes to fit the excerpt limit.

[Gondring]

ping

[familyop]

We call it "The Peoples Republic of Boulder."

[South40]

people who claim to be against the "oil war" didn't bring their bike anyway.

Same could be said about most liberals.

[freedumb2003]

sfgate

Amazing they didn't notice that Boulder is a mirror.

[escapefromboston]

The Ramseys were the wrong kind of people in Boulder. It's only OK to be rich here if you wear patchouli and pretend you live in a tent.

Well that was kinda funny.

[Gay State Conservative]

Boulder is one of the five richest counties in the United States, but it has the lowest rate of charitable giving in Colorado. [...]

[...] Boulder is one of only three counties in Colorado that did not vote for George Bush.

So,in other words,rich democRATS couldn't care less about "the most vulnerable among us".

[DoughtyOne]

...tan, tall and smug

That's about as close as you can come to being the consumate racist, without actually coming out and going on the record.

Translation: White, physically endowed and think they're better than everyone else...

The writer must think that all communities that are not predominantly white are shorter and think they're worse than everyone else.

Whatever the rest of the article says, this certainly said enough.

[apackof2]

I am not so sure that the parents should be considered "conservative"...

Why is that?

[AZLiberty]

A San Franciscan criticizing Boulder -- that's rich.

[Thombo2]

Great article.BTW,another interesting factoid.Per capita, Boulder consumes more hydroponic marijuana than any other city in the union.

[AZLiberty]

Ten years ago, the Boulder County district attorney's office seemed focused on the Ramseys as suspects, and an investigation once labeled as "thorough" did not include looking at all the sex offenders in the Boulder area.

But that would be profiling, wouldn't it?

[nmh]

Liberals are COLD hearted, self absorbed and CHEAP when it comes to anyone else. Liberals are narcissistic and believe they need all their and if you don't have any - tough luck! Get your money from the government - knowing it will keep them down.

[AZLiberty]

My first comment was wrong -- this article is by someone who knows Boulder well. Here's the key:

Boulder was smug when JonBenet was murdered. If the Ramseys' life went to hell, it was proof that the conservative life was the wrong one. The Ramseys never stood a chance in this town.

[Columbine]

I think we should deed Boulder to San Francisco with the caveat that they move all residents, buildings, etc., out of state by the end of the year, returning the site of the town to it's natural state.

[Txsleuth]

I was born in Boulder...and grew up to college age there.

What I just read is NOT the Boulder I left...

The Boulder I left was football games, parades with a lot of horses downtown...rodeos..

Of course we are talking decades ago...but, I did notice in the years after I moved to Texas...and would go for a visit...the "atmosphere" did change..

LOL..I have to admit though...that I am jealous. My father built our home by himself on an acre of land...and when we moved they sold it for 15,000.

According to this article...I think I am gonna be sick.

[butternut_squash_bisque]

Boulder was a "groovy and cool" place, in the 60s and 70s. It's an illegal, criminal immigrant-infested, polluted, PC-liberalism sewer, now. So sad.

[BW2221]

Boulder is like so many liberal college towns - Ann Arbor, Lawrence (KS) State College (PA), Austin (TX).

[Gondring]

Ithaca (NY)

[Gondring]

Well, if you had read the rest of the article, you'd have seen the relevance...especially in this part:

It's said that Boulder has the tallest average people in America with the second-highest average IQs. Boulder is a magnet for the "beautiful people."