Red State America is all about fear and DEATH.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

Country music is whiny and negative. I refuse to have anything to do with it.

Talk radio is hate radio, these rednecks are whipped into a state of fear and anger. The blacks and the browns are taking EVERYTHING away from them including their jobs. Everything is somebody else's fault.

In church, they sit there and put up with an ignorant preacher telling them they are EEEVILLLLL and SINNERS and they are going to HELL or else......no self-esteem there. I have too much self-esteem to put up with a Christian minister and their message of original sin. It drove me nuts, so I left. They just want to scare people and take their money so they can live high on the hog and feel holy and righteous.

I have neighbors with six foot tall torture devices in their front yards to show their "faith". Bullshit. It's a primitive syncretic (nothing original in it) death cult.

They live fueled by hatred of Obama, hatred of blacks, hatred of those lazy Messcans who are takin' their jobs (which one is it)???

I hate it here.

[savalez]

1. Where are you?

[BOG PERSON]

4. i'm guessing the OP is in a red state

a suburb of a red state, possibly

[AndyTiedye]

13. Her Profile Says Grapeland, Texas

[CRK7376]

54. COuld have sworn

it was my NC...it's everywhere you find repugs

[BOG PERSON]

2. and posting on a message board is life-affirming to you?

[Manifestor_of_Light]

5. You got a problem with that?

[BOG PERSON]

33. no, not really

i know how difficult it is living in the middle of nowhere.

[nadinbrzezinski]

3. You know the fear of 911 and it's effectiveness

Is indeed inversely proportional to how deep you are in red country. Noticed that myself when I stayed in Cleveland for a month.

[lib2DaBone]

9. Ya.. Cleveland is in Love with Gov Kasich.. and his giant yard sale...

Gov Kasich (Koch Teabag Soldier) is selling off all the prisons, the State-run liquor stores, the water systems, the schools, the hospitals, the Toll Roads... all this to his Corporate Buddies and all for 10 Cents on the dollar.

People in Ohio will wake up broke and living in a cardboard box.

An interesting fact: The biggest crowds for a political candidate town hall were generated by Sarah Palin.

Guess this says a lot about the Cleveland Mind set... they love poverty, they dance with the stars and love Sarah Palin... hard to believe... but true...

[Mimosa]

39. ^ Exactly! ^

There are plenty of right wing nuts in Illinois, Wyoming, Alaska, and other northern states.

[Bill McBlueState]

62. the district that keeps electing Dennis Kucinich also loves John Kasich?

That seems unlikely.

[LuvNewcastle]

6. Life can be tough in a red state, especially if

you live in a particularly RW area. I suggest you save some money and leave the place you're in -- that's what I'm trying to do, although the town I live in isn't so bad compared to many places in the South. You don't have to go far; there are liberal enclaves spread out all over the country. I've lived in some real shitholes, and I know how depressing it is to be stuck in a place like that. I wish you the best of luck in getting out of there.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

10. I'm not leaving but I have to hit the cities to retain my sanity.

There are no universities nearby, and the nearest Target store is 60 miles away. Costco is 150 miles away.

I inherited this place, which is a Gothic Bungalow on two acres, and I'm keeping it home base.

[LuvNewcastle]

14. I understand -- sounds like a nice place.

You should be fine as long as you have the internet and a car.:)

[Initech]

7. I left my church because of constant fear mongering and self loathing worshippers.

[Dawson Leery]

8. Mega churches and Country are pure filth.

Two venues (three if one ads in right wing hate radio) that spread hate and despair.

Country music is whiny and negative. I refuse to have anything to do with it. Indeed.
After 9/11, country became even more nauseating than it already was. From 2005 on wards there has been a constant theme in the genre which
pines to go back to the "good ole days". This theme has become constant since the Whitehouse received it's first dark skinned occupant.

[lib2DaBone]

12. "I'm proud to be an American.. at least I know I'm free"

Well... I just went thru a TSA Checkpoint and they stripped searched me and x-rayed my body and stole my laptop.. but hey, I'm free.

And then on leaving the airport, I was stopped by the "Aggressive Intradictions Drug Dog Police Team" on the Interstate. SUV with Blacked out windows and Ninja Cops with M-16's.

They wanted to know if I had any illegal aspirins or any Child porn on my laptop? "no.. none of that here". But they still tossed my car without probable casue and delayed me one hour while they looked for free cash and any stuff they could confiscate uunder the oppressive "Constructive" drug laws.

I did have some old Midol in the glovebaox... but hey, it wasn't mine.. I swear...

[Dawson Leery]

30. This Aggressive Intradictions Drug Dog Police Team has done nothing for me.

Therefore I DO NOT honor their service.

[Auntie Bush]

77. What chekpoint was that? I'll be sure not to go anywhere near there. nt

[cherokeeprogressive]

16. I'm not even a country music fan, but your description of country music cracked me up.

Here's a link to the current Billboard Country Top Ten. If you find negativity there you're looking pretty damn hard my friend.

http://www.billboard.com/charts/country-songs#/charts/country-songs

[Dawson Leery]

22. Remeber what happened to the Dixie Chicks?

Remember the country base also managed to remove the Beatles from their tour.

I have no respect for those inbred bastards.

[Odin2005]

37. You obviously haven't heard Brad Paisley's song "Welcome to The Fututure", then.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0Yg9wjctRw&ob=av2n

Listen to the last verse.

"I had a friend in school,
running-back on a football team,
they burned a cross in his front yard
for asking out the home-coming queen.

I thought about him today,
everybody who's seen what he's seen,
from a woman on a bus
to a man with a dream.

He-e-ey...
Wake up Martin Luther.
Welcome to the future.
He-e-ey...
Glory glory hallelujah.
Welcome to the future."

[Dawson Leery]

41. I am not a fan of his either.

I do not care for his attitude that somehow country is the "voice" of America.
Country is one part of this large and diverse nation.

[AndyTiedye]

11. I Could Not Live There

I doubt that they would let me live, there, anyway.

The good folks come to burn thee
Their keen enjoyment hid behind
A gothic mask of duty

Mau Mau, Jefferson Airplane

[Claudia Jones]

15. this is not a political statement

Your biased and fear-based view of millions of people is exactly what gives the right wing traction with people.

[bluestate10]

19. I agree. There are millions of people that don't like the rightwing at all.

But people that call themselves progressives treat those people like trash. If the nation is to get where progressives want it to go, progressives must come down from their self created mountain and engage those people, as equals.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

21. I give them facts, and they ignore me.

They give opinions on things they know nothing about. I correct them and they ignore me.

[WildEyedLiberal]

23. And "they're" all the same?

Every single soul in a "red state" is a backwards angry racist hick who listens to negative (seriously? I don't even like country and even I can admit it's mostly upbeat stuff) music?

This us vs. them crap is noxious whether it comes from, well, us or them.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

26. I did not say they are all the same. You are misinterpreting my words.

The people in the big cities are generally more tolerant. I'm just talking about where I live in East Shitholia.

There are a few people here that are interested in music and books. There is a book club that meets once a month nearby. But I have been to book club meetings where they talk about Christianity because they are obsessed with it. One woman said she told her niece not to say "goddamn" because "that was hurting God".
A man said "Christianity has something special in it". Former English professor.

:banghead: :banghead:

I did not go back to any meetings for a year because of that and explained why to the woman who organizes it in an email. I told her I thought that was a stupid statement (about hurting God) and that I thought blasphemy was a victimless crime.

If they want to talk about how great they think Christianity is, they can do that at church.

[Claudia Jones]

28. more tolerant of you

No doubt people in certain areas are more tolerant of you. Other places, not so much.

Too bad you are not more tolerant.

If you are personally more comfortable emotionally living in a college town, where people are more like you, then I suggest you move to one.

[WildEyedLiberal]

61. "They" can talk about Christianity wherever they damn well please

The First Amendment hasn't been repealed yet, to my knowledge.

I really do love the DU "everyone deserves freedom and tolerance except for the people who say shit I don't like" brigade, though.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

65. It was irrelevant to the book discussion.

Also, the man whose house the meeting was held in was from India, and he was trying to convince my DH that Islam is a good religion because you are supposed to treat your slaves well.
DH was not impressed.

However, the babble also tells slaveowners to treat their slaves well, and condones slavery, so xtianity is also just as backwards in that respect as Islam.

If they want to talk about Christianity they can do that at church. Now if they want to discuss Christianity as to its sources, its development, or comparing it to other religions then that is different.

I nearly got up and walked out. I wish I had done so.

[WildEyedLiberal]

75. You are perfectly free to leave if you don't like it

You don't seem to get that people have the liberty to discuss whatever they want wherever they want, whether or not you approve. Talk of religion is not required to be exiled to religious houses of worship just because you don't like it.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

80. I don't know why they have to talk about xtianity when it had nothing to do with the book discussion

I'm sick of Christians and their obsession with torture, death and Jesus, who probably did not even exist.

It's like they substitute obsession with Jesus for thinking or researching their opinions.

[WildEyedLiberal]

89. Freedom of religion and freedom of speech is a real pain in the ass, ain't it

:eyes:

[Manifestor_of_Light]

56. You don't like the word "Them"? It's a plural pronoun.

How do you interpret "Them" negatively? It's a perfectly good non-judgmental word.

[bluestate10]

25. I was not talking about people that ignore facts. nt

[Claudia Jones]

27. I don't blame them

If someone who held me in utter contempt showed up and tried to "give me facts" I would ignore them, too.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

32. I do not show contempt to them. I am not hostile.

You are reading too much into what I said.

[Union Scribe]

50. Yep.

You nailed it.

[Duppers]

51. You have an attitude!

I was born & raised in a backward little town in E TN. It pains me to visit my family there.
The people you are defending are the very antithesis of the values of the majority here on DU.

I wonder why you are trying so hard to provoke the OP, when I dare say that most of us southern DUers know exactly how he feels.

And what factual or anecdotal experiences do you base your opinions on??
Or are you just a disruptive troll??

[cordelia]

53. Speak for yourself.

[Claudia Jones]

60. the burden is not on me

I am challenging the OP's view of things.

People are people. This absurd mass media-induced red state versus blue state fantasy and the bizarre notion that we can look at a map presented to us by cable TV and then know something about people certainly has a grip on people's imaginations. Politics is not about "values." The right wing propagandists made that "values" crap up. You are buying into their game, and that is a game we cannot win.

[nadinbrzezinski]

63. Actually there is plenty of academic work

That shows it's more than a media created phenomena.

That should concern you to be exact.

[Claudia Jones]

66. rural areas

Rural areas trend Republican for a variety of reasons. Still, "red" areas often contain 40% or more Democrats, which is why I object to the blanket condemnation of certain regions. Southern states are "red" because they are more rural. Rural districts in the North also are "red." The northern states are "blue" because of their large urban populations. Move Chicago out of Illinois, and Illinois becomes "red." Move Chicago to Mississippi and Mississippi becomes "blue."

[nadinbrzezinski]

67. I am talking biology, not regions.

As well as psychology and sociology.

There may be a biological reason for why we can't talk to the "other" side...and the concern is in the rise of mass movements.

[Claudia Jones]

69. ah, ok

I misunderstood your post.

[AndyTiedye]

72. And Then There is Vermont…

…a rural state that elects Bernie Sanders to the Senate. How do they do it?

Outside Vermont, the only liberal places that I know of that are out in the country are the ones where a lot of old hippies moved to grow pot.

[Claudia Jones]

73. a lot of refugees

Vermont has a lot of refugees from elsewhere? That is my guess.

"Liberal" is not really a political category, but more of a cultural distinction. Rural precincts in the Midwest trended strongly Democratic in '06 and '08, but that does not mean that people there became liberals. "Liberal" means something other than left wing or voting Democratic. While all who self-describe as liberals may vote overwhelmingly Democratic, not all who vote Democratic are liberals. Everyday we see attempts right here to include many right wing ideas and agendas under the label "liberal," and many of those ideas and agendas are not supported by even Republican-voting rural people.

[Mimosa]

40. "I correct THEM" sounds like an attitude problem.

Wow.Acting the opposite of you got Bill Clinton elected TWICE.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

57. What is wrong with the word "Them"????

It's a plural noun.


What is wrong with the word "Them"?? You are sure reading a lot of hostility into the word "them". You weren't there, either.

[Horse with no Name]

17. You are literally in the belly of the beast where you are friend

I feel for you, and it feels like this sickness is spreading throughout the state, even in places that you would least expect.:(

Hope you are staying out of the line of fire,literally and figuratively. Friends in Elkhart were evacuated.

Stay safe.

[Claudia Jones]

29. delete

wrong place

[Manifestor_of_Light]

35. There were fires in Crockett, Percilla and Palestine.

[HereSince1628]

18. Existential fear IS a corner stone of political conservativism

It's even been published in peer-reviewed professional journals.

http://faculty.virginia.edu/haidtlab/jost.glaser.political-conservatism-as-motivated-social-cog.pdf

[nadinbrzezinski]

20. Thanks for article

[Manifestor_of_Light]

70. Also "stochastic terrorism".

Hate talk radio like Bill O'Reilly calling Dr. Tiller, the abortion doctor in Kansas, "Killer Tiller" and then claiming no responsibility when some nut shoots him in the head in church on Sunday morning.

Stochastic means you can quantify it with statistics. Therefore the talk radio hatemongers know that out of the millions listening, the chances are good that some nut with a gun will go kill one of the talk radio targets, and O'Reilly can say "Wahhh! We didn't provoke that guy! He's a lone nut!"

[WinkyDink]

24. I don't know what church you're talking about; modern ones are ALL about self-esteem, not sin.

Frankly, I think Americans could use more preaching about damnation, instead of "God wants you to be wealthy," which is what all the Right-Wing mega-churches preach.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

34. Not the ones around here.

We have Methodists ("the society church"), Baptists, Ass of God, Church of Christ, Missionary Baptist, other assorted independent non-affiliated-with-a-real-denomination churches with uneducated preachers.

[demoblemocratic]

31. hmmm

gotta disagree on country music

[Odin2005]

36. I agree with everything except your gratuitous bashing of Country Music.

Most of contemporary "Country" music isn't really country, anyway, it's popified Southern Rock with drawled vowels. Real country music is far better that that crap.

[AndyTiedye]

71. I Like Bluegrass Too Much to Bash Country Music as a Whole

Jes back off on the vocals and crank up the fiddle.

[Mimosa]

38. The divisiveness of labelling whole states isn't helpful

When Candidate Obama urged america to go beyongd labelling people into 'Red States' and 'Blue states' he won the hearts and minds of many.

Manifestor of Light, I've lived in two 'red states.' But there are 'red states' up north as well. It's too simplistic and unproductive to channel you anger towards whole states and even religions as if every Louisianian, Georgian or Christian thinks alike.

And your targeting of country music (a genre i don't particularly like) is oddly divisive and unhelpful. Willie nelson and quite a few other 'country' artists aren't rightwingers.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

43. I'm just talking about where I live (TX) and my experiences here.

Out in the Country. i grew up in the City and it is quite different than being out in the country.

Most of the people I know in the cities are liberal and creative. Around here everyone is supposed to be the same, white and Protestant Christian. I have run into many people who do not like anyone who is different from them, like the librarian that complained to her cable company about Spanish stations and didn't like the fact that Wallyworld has a Mexican food aisle. A librarian???? :wtf:

I told that woman that I WISHED I was fluent in Spanish. It would make my life easier.

Although there are a lot of bigots in the city too.

I already said I liked Willie Nelson because he does not whine. And I know he is a good liberal.

People here bash ALL of Texas for being stupid. I have lived in Texas my whole life. The cities are liberal. The country is quite Tea Party conservative. You can't say all of Texas is conservative. But the suburbs and the country sure are haters of Obama and haters of anything progressive.

[Mimosa]

45. Manifestor of Light, is NJ a 'Red State'?

I sort of understand your frustrations. I've got buddies with relatives in New Jersey who say worse things about president Obama than I've ever heard from people in GA.

It's not a state thing. ;)

[Manifestor_of_Light]

47. I've never been to NJ. Can't say.

I'm just saying the rural parts of TX are very angry, fearful and right wing, and the cities are pretty liberal, especially in the inner city artistic districts (like Montrose in Houston).

MY county went 80% for McCain I think.

Even though we have about 50% blacks here.

[villager]

42. Politics does tend to divide, ultimately, between Eros and Thanatos. "Red" politics is definitely

...Thanatos.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

44. Life (eroticism) and death.

[villager]

46. Yup. Modern America is in thrall to the latter

n/t

[miyazaki]

48. and hero porn. n/t

[Union Scribe]

49. "Country music is whiny and negative."

So, go put your post to a banjo riff or whatever.

[SlimJimmy]

59. That might be difficult. It's hard to play a *sad* song on the banjo (nt)

[CBGLuthier]

52. They also hate elitist yankees, just in case you didn't know that

[Manifestor_of_Light]

58. We have an imported redneck from Maine here.

He hates Carl Sagan cuz Carl Sagan "talked about EEEEEEvolution". This guy is just as backwards as the native-born ones.

He started rambling about how Obama was gonna take away your 401K, and we didn't say anything, because we ain't got a 401K and don't care.

He cut down a tree for us. We are not calling him again because of his ignorance.

[raccoon]

55. I feel your pain. I live in upstate SC. Red as a baboon's arse.

:hug: :hi:

[Name removed]

64. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Taverner]

68. While I would definitely agree with you

Let me say that there are also a lot of kind, open minded people in red state America

They are in the minority, that's for certain

But they do exist

But yeah, if you can't stand your environs, get out

There are 'blue states' or at least 'blue communities' at every income level

[ceile]

74. Ah, yes. East TX.

One of the most beautiful places on earth. But you can actually feel a shift in attitudes. The racism is overt and downright scary.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

76. There is the guy who works at the post office.

I realized that he is scary and probably mentally ill. White guy about 35 or 40.

One day he said "I won't say his name". I thought WTF? and later realized he must have been talking about President Obama. He works at the post office and has a black lady boss (who he probably hates) and has to look at Obama's smiling face somewhere in the building, since they always put up the President's picture in the post office.

There was an older white lady who was always totally freaked out and I heard that she quit. Maybe she had the same problem he did. Couldn't deal with black people.

Very sad.

[MadHound]

78. Wow, so many broadbrush generalities and insults I hardly know where to begin

How about I just stick with this. Your experience where you live now is not applicable to many, if not most red state residents.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

79. I'm relating my experiences. That's all. You got a problem with that?

I'm just relating my experiences. Not all the people are that way. I just said the majority were racist and bigoted, from my interactions with them.

My experiences.

[MadHound]

82. Alrighty then, let's start at the beginning

"Red State America is all about fear and DEATH."

Sorry, but I live in a red state, as do many, many other people. We're not into fear and death at all. Don't believe me, I suggest you check out the scene in Austin, the capital of the state you currently reside in.

You said all Broadbrush much?

"Country music is whiny and negative."
Stop listening to the crap that is currently being played on the radio, the crap they're calling "country". Start getting into alt country, or old school country, or bluegrass instead. Country, in general, has always been known for its story telling qualities, not negativity. Here, check out some alternatives, both past and present.
<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=si0WTCMrksw>
<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NUPK9z59yUc&ob=av2e>
<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lK4Nmp6nJxQ>
<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yYDGFZ5e6HA>
<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OEg9FbuaSCk>

". . .six foot tall torture devices. . ."
You know, I hate RW Christianity as much as the next person around here, but at least I have the cultural sensitivity to base my criticism on facts, not simply bash them on their choice of symbology. Saying that the cross is a torture device, while historically accurate, is akin to saying the great Islamic prophet Mohamed was a pedophile. It fails to take into account the passage of time and change in ethics and morals.

Your OP simply drips with hatred, so much that it looks like you are becoming that which you hate, a bigot who generalizes on the basis of a few examples, who is intolerant of others and their practices.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

83. I know about Austin and Houston and Dallas and San Antonio.

I'm just talking about MY experiences where I LIVE.

I don't understand the hostility. I am not saying EVERYONE in Texas is like this. I know the cities are a lot more diverse.

I am just talking about MY experiences where I LIVE.

And a cross IS a torture device. It can still be used as one, although it is not.
History and the passage of time does not change that.


Why do you not get that??? What is your problem???

[MadHound]

84. The reason people are pissed at what you are saying

Is because you are using your experiences, that you received from where you live, to broadbrush smear entire states' worth of people across the country. Get it now?

And no, the cross is not currently used as a torture device. To say so is like saying a battery is a torture device because we used it at Gitmo.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

85. You have misinterpreted my words.

I did NOT say that everyone in Texas is a racist redneck. I know that. I have lived in the big cities.

I am saying that where I LIVE, white people hate black and brown people, from my conversations I have had with them.

In the real world.

I don't understand the hostility when I made it clear that this applies WHERE I LIVE, from MY OBSERVATIONS.

People here who don't live in Texas try to get away with smearing everyone in Texas. I know that everyone in Texas is not a racist redneck. I grew up in the city and I know that the cities are more liberal.

:wtf:

[MadHound]

86. Well then, in the future I suggest two things

Stop using the word "all", especially in your subject line. Also, a bit more cultural understanding and sensitivity would help as well. Perhaps you should check out some of the country music links I posted:shrug: And definitively stop referring to a religious symbol as a torture device, that kind of rhetoric is no better than the redneck rhetoric in regards to Islam. Don't become that which you hate. Peace:hi:

[Manifestor_of_Light]

87. A cross is a torture device. You can't change its history.

Let's see:

Judaism: Star of David - not a torture device
Islamic Crescent - not a torture device
Hindu Wheel of Karma - not a torture device
OM of Buddhism and Hinduism - not a torture device
Sikh Swords - a weapon, but not a torture device

[MadHound]

90. Again, you are being culturally insensitive

You've got a problem with Christianity, I understand that, so do I. But I base my attacks on the actual practices of the religion, not its symbols, symbols which have changed their meaning over the past two thousand years. What's next, are you going to start attacking Islam and Mohamed because he married "underaged" girls?

[cordelia]

92. self delete - wrong place,

[WildEyedLiberal]

91. So just everyone in the rural areas. Got it.

All the people in the rural red areas of the country are all racist redneck RW hicks, in the "real world."

Yeah, that makes your stereotyping so much better :eyes:

[Fumesucker]

95. I agree with you that the OP is not strictly true, however it can certainly feel that way sometime..

If you're stuck in a really red area it's easy to lose sight of the fact that anyone else with a liberal opinion even exists, the only way you'll ever hear such an opinion is online.

I'm thinking of the people I know personally at the moment well enough to talk politics, the most "liberal" one is a Ron Paul supporter and a "Gold Bug", every single other one is to his right politically.

When that's your reality for an extended period you end up feeling a bit like the lead character at the end of Night of the Living Dead, lost and surrounded by pod people.

It was far worse in late 2001 and on to 2004 but the effect is still around.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

96. Thank you Fumesucker!

I cannot believe the vicious reaction as if I was saying that everybody in Texas is a stupid redneck.
I did not say that and did not mean to say that. I live in a little town and it's much different from the city.

One of many examples:
Guy who works at the post office told me "We have a love-hate relationship. I love to hate her".

Who is "her"?? The black lady postmaster, that's who. His boss.

Customer service.....:banghead:

[Shagbark Hickory]

81. So are you going to be miserable there forever or are you going to move?

[bigwillq]

88. Can you move?

:shrug:

[Manifestor_of_Light]

93. I cannot believe how vicious GD has gotten in the last year.

COld-blooded in many instances. Like the thread about the diabetic woman fired by Walgreen's who ate a bag of chips to help her blood sugar.

Anyone can attack. That takes no brains.

D.U. has turned into an ugly place.

[ileus]

94. I love it here.

Only problem is I'm too far north to enjoy warm weather all year "round"