Living in this sort of state??

What if the laws in your state don't allow you to live the life you want to lead? That has nothing to do with an insulated life, quite the opposite.

For example, if you were gay, desired a same-sex marriage and your state banned it, what are your options? In that case, the state is enforcing an insulated life upon you.

 

I've got a better analogy, since gay marriage sends these folks into a tizzy faster than tax increases.

Let's say you've been living in Florida. You got a job there, wanted to give it a try. Or maybe you're born and raised. Either way, now you're starting to realize that, well, you really, really hate the weather in the summer. Sure, it's not the only thing going on in Florida, and it isn't there all the time. But you've been looking at this job in North Carolina, where the climate is a little less ridiculous. Why wouldn't you want to move there?

 

MU,

Serious question: Why would you feel overwhelmed where you're at?

You do seem to get along much better than most of us on this board. Wasn't tryig to attack you, I just feel that it might not be the wisest thing to run from a problem i don't think is really a problem. I spend a lot of time with people I don't agree with politically (including my time spent on this board), but politics are just one small part of what makes a person worth spending time with, debating, etc. Basically, there's a whole lot more to life than politics.

 

Guys, seriously, I didn't want to turn this into a GOP-DEM argument.
Just at times I feel overwhelmed by the group of people I live around. Is it always going to be that way? Does it really matter? Is it inspiration to keep voting when you feel like you're throwing your vote away? Does your vote really matter anywhere? Should you walk into your office feeling like you're the only person who feels the way you do?
Ideas/experiences please.

 

I walk into the office every day knowing my politics/beliefs are not shared by 95 percent of the people there. And I'll be honest: There are times when the overwhleming political bent of the office makes me want to do anything but work in the newspaper busness. But then I remember that the majority of the best friends I've met in this business are liberal. They don't stand for many of the things I do, but that doesn't make them bad people, and they feel the same way about me.

Surely youve got friends who disagree with some of your beliefs, right? What do they say when you talk to them about feeling overwhelmed?

 

And it's just as ignorant and simple-minded to assume that's what MU is asking for.

damn, if you feel "overwhelmed" ... well, let's just say it's similar to "if you're 'contemplating' retirement, you've already retired."

I don't think there's a way to balance it out, because you're always going to be conflicted by it. You can laugh it off as much as you want (always a good solution to any differences), but sometimes it just hits too close to home. When people around you don't make you feel welcome living there, you can't stay.

For me, it wasn't stem cell but gay marriage when I was living in a red state. My aunt's gay, has had a longtime partner for 20 years. Been given a lot of grief about it, even within my own family. ... In '04, that issue was on the state ballot as a constitutional amendment. Very hot-button topic, of course. ... All summer, I heard so many people that I know and respect in my town making snide comments about gays -- sometimes just out of the blue, unprovoked -- and making sophomoric jokes to me, expecting me to laugh right along with them. People I worked with, people I covered, sometimes people I was friends with (who didn't know my aunt).

The amendment passed overwhelmingly. It was disheartening as hell to my aunt, and I felt her pain. It was hard to be living around people who unabashedly supported the idea -- and reveled in the fact -- that they didn't want someone like my aunt having an adult relationship with another woman, at least in that state.

Say what you want about the politics of it, but people I otherwise respect were slapping high-fives about something that hurt my aunt deeply. Sorry if I'm not real comfortable with that.

Has nothing to do with running away from "problems." Has a lot more to do with not feeling welcome to live your life the way you want to.

 

Pallister, even if I felt like you were attacking -- who gives a shit. I respect your opinion.

Overwhelmed is easy to describe. People where I live are very open about there politics. I can walk into a restaurant, bar, gas station -- or even the office -- and know that some of these things don't rhyme with the other. It's as simple as people talking to me for 3 minutes and knowing I didn't grow up with the same set of circumstances.

Feeling different than I do is one thing. Judging me for it and going after people I love is different.

 

Being judged does suck. I can certainly relate. Hey, if you want to move, more power to ya. I do about every two years. Hopefully you and yours will feel comfortable where you end up. Good luck.

 

i've talked to those people pall, and they don't like you.

 

I know exactly how you feel, MU. I work for a newspaper.

 

Go Democrats!

 

MU,

I have lived in neighborhoods where I just didn't click with the neighbors. Not ideal, but I figure it could be a lot worse.

I got to a church and live in an area of town where Dems are looked at with curiousity and pity.

It's frustrating to see totally unnecessary laws like ban on gay marriages and such win by 90 percent.

But most people are still good people.