Recently, fraud accusations arose against Somali-run care centers after a popular conservative YouTuber, Nick Shirley, uploaded a video investigating the establishments. Shirley’s claims reached the state and national governments, though debate arose as to whether his investigations provided substantial evidence to support them. However, Shirley’s video presents a real divide amongst the Minnesota population.
When the video was uploaded, news outlets rushed to cover the story. FOX uploaded a video to YouTube making additional claims that the fraudulent money was going to Somali terrorists, and that Tim Walz knowingly “ripped off” taxpayers. On the opposite side, CNN posted a video in which the interviewer said the centers had likely not been open or that daycare centers would normally be locked. Both claims were supported in these videos by little evidence and are likely to represent an emotionally driven, polarized response to the dilemma. Realistically, the only supported accusation was that the Somali communities in Minnesota may be running a tax fraud scam.
When visiting the establishments, the windows were frequently blacked out, and the reception was often minimal, incomplete, or unavailable altogether. This causes suspicion about why the service was not open for everyone. The time of day was claimed by Shirley to be around 11:00 AM, a time when Daycare services should be fully functioning. Either the community was intentionally shutting out the individuals for social reasons, or they had (or didn’t have) something within them that would raise the need for legal action. However, it is a tricky subject to tackle when racial profiling comes into play, and it is important to be conscious of the issue of stereotypes.
Before making accusations, there is a need to understand whether the Somali community in Minnesota was functioning as an ethnic group independently from the general population. Oftentimes, in America specifically, ethnic groups enjoy independence within a mixed society because they have fully functioning communities of their own and can provide for themselves without a large need for outside services. It is beneficial because it helps to restore culture in the new country. Regarding the Somalians, an AP News investigation found Somali Minnesotans functioning normally in the centers.
Because the investigated groups were generally only Somali in the pictured evidence, if it is true that Shirley’s video was inaccurate, there may be grounds to research more about why the communities are so isolated (with blacked-out windows and little advertising) from the rest of Minnesotans. The results of that research may involve a simple cultural norm, or they may actually point to legal and sociological circumstances.
Overall, Shirley’s viral video and the claims drawn from it represent the social divide between Somali Minnesotans, wealthy government officials, and the rest of Minnesota’s population. Whether it is an issue of racial profiling with the centers having their true roots in culture, or a real issue of political unrest, it points to the need for sociological investigation into the everyday communities of Minnesota.
