Does Alaska deserve its reputation as being full of right-wing miscreants? (Anchorage: insurance, unemployed)

[Metlakatla]

Originally Posted by ca_north

I'm really not a "liberal." I just think the far-Right is the manifestation of greed and evil on Earth. Everything with them is about "me, myself and my precious rights." Responsibilities are for other people, apparently.

Obviously it's not so simple and cheap to just go to Alaska, hence the question. That's the whole point of these forums, if you didn't know.

Your original post seemed fairly confrontational, and the stereotype you're going on, if it exists at all, is at least 30 years out of date.

So let's take this statement/question:

In a city like Anchorage, if someone is intelligent and respects nature as something more than a resource-warehouse, do they find themselves at odds with the typical Joe or Joan on the street?

If you were to go out among people in Alaska (or anywhere else, really) with an attitude like you've portrayed on this board, yes, you're going to find exactly what you're looking for. You come across as rather superior and assumptive

I'm also going off the fact that a Creationist know-nothing like Sarah Palin landed its highest office

Sarah Palin's personal religious beliefs had nothing at all to do with her election as governor of Alaska. I don't think that most of the voters even knew enough about her private life at the time of the election to even have been aware of what her belief system was.

One gets the image of Alaska as being full of people who subscribe to pseudo-legal theories like "Freeman on the land," or want to make cash in extractive industries like oil, mining and fishing

Why do you get this image? It's quite a false one. I think at one time people were flocking up for pipeline jobs, and during the past few years certain television shows have romanticized the commercial fishing industry and that some people have gotten the wrong idea. But the days of money grubbing types coming to Alaska specifically for high wages have been over for a long time now. And it certainly is not a place for anyone who's "desperate for money".

since who would want to put up with such miserable weather

The weather in SE Alaska can be miserable. That's why I don't live there year round anymore. But that's not really true of other parts of the state...up in the interior, the winters are stunningly beautiful. Same with the northern panhandle and South Central---and probably up past the Arctic Circle as well, though I haven't spent time there.

Obviously it's not so simple and cheap to just go to Alaska, hence the question. That's the whole point of these forums, if you didn't know.

Well, the point of the forums isn't really to come off as insulting to those who live in a place.

But I think it's probably than rather just a garden variety troll, you're a young person who maybe should have worded his/her OP a little more tactfully. Obviously, you have a respect and a great appreciation for nature, and aren't financially set to the extent that you can just go on up and see it for yourself. But I hope that you can see it some time. Consider this--if you're a student or a young person who isn't established and tied down to a job, work seasonally in Alaska next year. Plenty of summer jobs. Go the the site for Princess; they have five lodges and hire a lot of summer help, and they have employee housing. They will pay for your airplane ride up with their corporate rates (of course you have to pay them back). No, I'm not a shill for Princess or any other company; I just think that it's a good way to see part of the state without spending a lot of money. Or go to the site for Jewel Gardens in Skagway; they hire summer help too. A lot of places do; a good resource for these jobs is Coolworks.com. and they all have an online application process. There are a few who hire winter help, like Chena Hot Springs and Coldfoot Camp. There's also...and I can't remember the name, but a place in South Central that does eco-tourism; that might be your sort of thing.

So instead of wondering what it's like, come up and see for yourself. I think that most places start accepting applications for summer help in January or February; and you can probably find something if you start applying early. You'll need good references and the ability to do well in telephone interviews.

Politically, it's a red state and I doubt that will change any time soon, but people don't seem to be as in your face about it either way.

[ShellNic]

Originally Posted by ca_north

The old cliché is that people who move to Alaska (from distant places) are either wacky, desperate for money, or running from something; since who would want to put up with such miserable weather.

Wow, it's funny but in all my 44 years, I confess I've never heard this "old cliche". Now, I may have stars in my eyes with Alaska...land of individuals and awesome landscape...so negative views I tend to "try" to put into perspective. One really can't know until they experience it...that goes for nearly everything.

While I'm from Seattle and make frequent trips, I've lived my entire adult life in Texas. You Alaskans can imagine that as many jokes that you get about Palin, we Texans get about Bush. I just wanted to pitch in that it's annoying and really not fair to the open-minded people who try to look at all sides of things.

That being said, and completely off topic, I'm a little tired of the weather here and I daydream about snow and Northern Lights.

[heathen]

Even though the OP's post made me roll my eyes too, jumping down their throat isn't entirely warranted. Alaska DOES have a reputation for being a haven for nutjob "right wing miscreants," and anybody who's spent some time hanging around Fairbanks knows that reputation has at least some basis. Go to Homer, or Ester-Goldstream though, and you'd say we deserve a reputation for burned out new-agers. Fact is, Alaska attracts people who are WEIRD, in all sorts of ways. And most of us are proud of this, despite the fact that some of our neighbors' weirdness can be really irritating. Call me crazy, but I'd rather have a conversation with someone who insists that Obama is a space alien, rather than someone who simply regurgitates worn out 'stop abortion' or 'save the whales' type slogans.

That said, you have to understand that the majority of our economy does trickle down to resource extraction or military spending, both of which give lots of incentive to vote conservative, though you'll find relatively few people who proudly proclaim their allegiance to the republican party. This is NOT Texas. For an answer to your question though (in a similarly passive-aggressive tone), yes there are plenty of the usual breed of ignorant, utopian, Sierra Club, tree hugging liberals in Anchorage.

[Wynternight]

Originally Posted by heathen

Even though the OP's post made me roll my eyes too, jumping down their throat isn't entirely warranted. Alaska DOES have a reputation for being a haven for nutjob "right wing miscreants," and anybody who's spent some time hanging around Fairbanks knows that reputation has at least some basis. Go to Homer, or Ester-Goldstream though, and you'd say we deserve a reputation for burned out new-agers. Fact is, Alaska attracts people who are WEIRD, in all sorts of ways. And most of us are proud of this, despite the fact that some of our neighbors' weirdness can be really irritating. Call me crazy, but I'd rather have a conversation with someone who insists that Obama is a space alien, rather than someone who simply regurgitates worn out 'stop abortion' or 'save the whales' type slogans.

That said, you have to understand that the majority of our economy does trickle down to resource extraction or military spending, both of which give lots of incentive to vote conservative, though you'll find relatively few people who proudly proclaim their allegiance to the republican party. This is NOT Texas. For an answer to your question though (in a similarly passive-aggressive tone), yes there are plenty of the usual breed of ignorant, utopian, Sierra Club, tree hugging liberals in Anchorage.

The odds are good but the good are odd.

[Moose Whisperer]

Originally Posted by heathen

Obama is a space alien,

I knew it!

Is Obama a space alien? « The Confluence

[Dakster]

Originally Posted by blueflames50

hummmm...is it Commifornia or Mexifornia now??? maybe we need to come up with a new name joining the two! Florida is now Floruba!

I always thought it was the People's Republic of California...

And it is Flo rida, the gunshine state... Or the land of bingo players that can keep track of five bingo cards at a time, but can't punch a ballot correctly.

[SityData]

Originally Posted by Wynternight

The odds are good but the good are odd.

Very well put in a very simple manner !! Bravo !!

[heathen]

Originally Posted by heathen

Obama is a space alien

Originally Posted by Moose Whisperer

I knew it!

Great. Now I can't run for for office without this out of context skeleton in my closet being exhumed from the interwebs.

[NotSoCreativeUsername]

Wow. This was an interesting read. I randomly decided to visit the Anchorage forums due to my recent interest in the state for its scenery. I don't think most Americans in the lower-48 have this view of Alaska, and I'm pretty liberal.

I think the person that started this thread didn't bother to do any research aside from his knowledge of Sarah Palin's existence. Even the state's Republican Senator, Lisa Murkowski, voted to repeal DADT, and she has also supported the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act.

I wouldn't say Alaskans are are a bunch of stubbornly stupid people, though; perhaps people that generalize an entire state based on one politician are, in fact, stubbornly stupid people. The U.S. elected Bush twice, does that mean we're all stubbornly stupid? Psh.

I don't even know why I'm rambling on here. I don't even live in Alaska but hello, Alaskans!

Coolworks.com is pretty interesting, though; I'm glad you mentioned it, Metlakatla.

[heathen]

Originally Posted by notsocreativeusername

hello, alaskans!

Hi!