Red state vs. blue state

[J64TWB]

Rural red - urban blue, 2 homes.

In my rural town, Trump voters were more than double Clinton supporters. You never saw a Clinton sign last election, just giant Trump signs everywhere. Clinton supporters were probably afraid to come out in Trumpland due to the overwhelming number of gun nuts. They would most likely shoot the signs. Not kidding. Liberal town, one of the most liberal in America, it was 88% Clinton. So liberal town was far more liberal than Trumpland was conservative, but make no doubt, this is Trumpland.

I didn’t get it, still don't. What does a farmer in Wisconsin have in common with a studio 54 playboy trust fund billionaire? A narcissistic con man from NYC? A guy that would never in his life invite some redneck on his jet to go to Mara Lago or play golf? Trump wouldn't be caught dead hanging out with one of his supporters when this is over!

Health care. When my neighbor had a heart attack in rural, he was shipped to local hospital where they did not have the testing or expertise to evaluate. He was shipped in an ambulance to Blue town where they have one of the finest health care system in the world. Had bypass surgery which saved his life and all is good. No bypass surgeries in Trump land, they don’t exist. They get shipped to blue town where the education, money and health systems exists.

Littering. I collected 2 trash bags of shit on the side of the road outside my house in Trump land. A month later it was all piling up. For some reason Trump supporters feel it is there right to liter. I fail to see the logic in this. Empty cases of beer, McDonald’s bags, kitchen sinks, whiskey bottles, you name it it’s all there. In liberal town, this is unheard of.

Drunk driving. In the past year, I’ve had 3 cars within 50 yards of my house. According to police he was going about 50 mph straight, never even attempted to turn. Flew through the air, nicked a tree, went another 30 yards with the brakes on before hitting another tree. Next guy sort of made the turn, but ended up broadsiding other trees. This is not a difficult turn. 3rd guy was neighbor who smashed into his own driveway pillars after coming home from the local bar.

Masks. In liberal town, everyone wears masks 100% in stores. No exceptions ever. Outside it’s about 60%. In Trump land, It depends. I’ve experienced people crowding interior restaurant and bars where 100% are not wearing masks. I assume owned by trump supporters who everyone knows, as supported by the bumper stickers. In other stores (probably owned by liberals), they have a mask policy, but watching from the parking lot, I have seen people read the sign, disregard it and then walk right in. In downtown, as of last weekend, no one was wearing masks in bars and restaurants. The Democratic Governor had a policy in place and the right wing Supreme Court overruled so now everyone is free to spread the virus in Trumpland.

Access to culture. Non existent in rural land. A few bars and restaurants, couple of attractions, they try. In liberal town, everything under the Sun, including a world class university.

Education. Non existent in Trump land. People go to blue town for that.

Beauty. This is relative. In Trumpland, it is very beautiful no doubt. Very beautiful. But... how long can you stare at beauty before craving some culture with people around you? Culture like a good theater or music event, or watching kids ride bikes down the sidewalk as you have a drink with the neighbor on the lawn. Hanging about with a fantastic library and systems in place for learning and recreating. Our community has a park district program for everything under the Sun, including windsurfing. The facilities available to the public are endless. There is very little community in Trumpland. People stay to themselves. Probably watching Hannity on TV.

Prices. Prices are cheap in Trumpland. A lot cheaper. Cost of living is very low.

Idiots. Sure there are idiots in both. But Trumpland has more. Trust me.

Criminals. Definitely more in liberal town. Density brings out the criminals. The protest a few weeks ago brought out about 2000 people in my suburb, everyone was wearing masks. EVERYONE. Not a window smashed. If you include the entire metro area, about 6 million people crammed into 30 sq miles, you’re going to have more criminals than Trumpland. It’s a percentage game. We definitely had thugs take advantage in the initial bout, but only in a square few blocks In downtown Chicago. Just awful for those business. Tens of thousands of people protested peacefully in the metro area (with masks!) during the day, and them some criminal thugs came out at night to take advantage. These were criminals and thugs, not an organized Antifa movement. Fox News focuses and falsely reports this. In a city of 6 million, there hasn’t been any smashed stores since the initial nights.

Criminals are everywhere though. Just count the times a day you receive scam phone calls, phishing emails or lock you house or car. Why do you lock you car at the Windsurfing launch? Antifa I’m sure. It’s a constant daily battle for everyone. Bad people are everywhere as my other rural neighbor had his ATV stolen. Criminals take advantage of situations.

Without liberal cities, America wouldn’t exist in it’s present form. They are the backbone of American commerce and tax revenue. Red vs. blue.

[wsurfer]

Wow

We too are also fortunate enough to have a few properties and I have experienced the same thing in the urban vs. rural settings.

I thought throwing beer cans out the window of your truck was so '70's until someone in front of me did it a few weeks back. I rushed to see what kind of person does this and just had to laugh as I pulled up towards him and saw a Trump 2020 sticker in the back window of his pickup!

As Agent Orange would say, SAD

Not fake news though, just a casual observation.

[coboardhead]

When we moved to what is now called a "red town" 35 years ago we did because the rural setting allowed us to easily access the mountains, buy a reasonably priced house, build businesses that were needed and live in an area where folks were interested in personal freedoms and privacy. The mentality was sorta western ranching. I thought it was great!

We fixed up an old house near down town, opened professional offices and became part of the community.

Somewhere along the line things changed. The old guard ranchers were replaced by transplants from California and Texas. There became an element of intolerance...especially regarding religion. We had avoided the liberal enclaves because we sensed an intolerance in those areas that was at the opposite end of the spectrum. Now, we found our community had become a sort of nuevo GOP stronghold. But, not the old GOP. More like the Tea Party types.

Pretty soon, we couldn't go for the 4 block walk downtown because there was no respect for pedestrians. The local trails became over run by ATV's. The great little restaurants downtown were replaced by chain restaurants on the newly created strip development at the entrances to town. Biking around town was a really bad idea. My wife quit riding her scooter after being "coal rolled" a few times.

So. We sold that beautiful house and bought a condo in a liberal college town 100 miles away. A town we had avoided three decades ago because we didn't like the attitudes of pretension we witnessed. But, we can now bike around town, walk along the river, hike on quiet trails, hang out at a coffee shop on main street. Yeah. We have to put up with the college kids. But, they at least they don't coal roll me at a stop sign.

Honestly, I don't know what happened to the red town. Individually, the folks can be really generous and friendly. But, it just seems like there is so much intolerance for anyone who doesn't subscribe to norm. Even with all of that, we probably would have stayed if the local government hadn't have turned the bike trails we built over to the motor heads...that was just too much.

I'm fortunate to also have a place in a small ski/tourist town in the mountains. That town is neither "red" nor "blue". No one seems to care much what you are or do and there is a sense of cooperation and acceptance.

[mac]

I'd never heard of coal rolling before. Kind of like spitting in your face.

[swchandler]

I have to admit that I had no clue what "coal rolled" meant, so I googled it. Thankfully, crazy nonsense like that never happens in Santa Barbara.

Check out this funny Colbert video on the topic.

http://www.cc.com/video-clips/bfvmgh/the-colbert-report-coal-rolling

[coboardhead]

Drive a Prius in a rural red town and you may get to experience it. My wife, who has asthma, was coal rolled on her scooter.

For those that don't know what this is. It is tuning your diesel pickup so it will blow unspent diesel smoke at high levels out the exhaust. I've seen it billow so much you can hardly see through it. There is a game to nail, especially, Priuses. Add a Trump bumper sticker and you have a red neck sports car.

I see at least one coal roll every time I am in the red town. Occasionally, I will see it in the blue town. But, it is illegal there and the cops will ticket it. I don't drive my BMW to the red town anymore since it, also, creates a target.

[J64TWB]

https://www.facebook.com/WCRollers/

Join the club, it’s fun to fill the world with hate.

[boggsman1]

[mac]

[mac]

This is assault. Violence and cruelty seems to be the heart of the new GOP.