Liberalism: Huntsville vs. Birmingham (Madison, Five Points: crime rates, quality of life, cost living)

[DvlsAdvc8]

The comments in this thread are pretty funny... to one person, Huntsville is extremely conservative, to the next, the most liberal in the state. lol

In all honesty, whether you think Huntsville is conservative or liberal depends entirely on your own position, and where you come from. My own perspective is this: I don't care whether a place is "conservative" or "liberal"... I only care that people justify their opinions and acknowledge a good argument. In my experience, having lived in about 15 places in 8 states - most people have terrible reasoning skills and are more apt to adopt a "team" and stick with 'em regardless of evidence (its almost like rooting for the home team even though they're having a bad season).

Huntsville has a large proportion of well educated people and because of that you tend to encounter more reasonable people than many places in the south I've lived. When presented with a fair minded counter-argument, they bend or at least delay while they do more research. Elsewhere, I've encountered a lot of regurgitated propaganda soundbytes and stereotypical "angry conservatives" or, up north, equally ignorant fluffy idealistic liberals. You find a little of everything everywhere, but I'm happy that Huntsville (while more conservative than I'd like) is relatively reasonable about it. I've lived in many places where political opinions were like sticks in the mud.

Information is power... and I personally hate it when someone will say "I don't agree with you and don't know enough to argue". If you don't know enough, why disagree? That smacks of a conclusion in search of supporting evidence, rather than evidence leading to a conclusion. If the information I provide is the the only information you have, and you don't disagree with it nor take issue with my logic - then why disagree? Because of fear of supporting the "other team?" Its unfortunate, but I've noticed that a lot of political opinion in the south has to do with social acceptance/conformity rather than any reasoning (yes, you see some of this up north as well, but not to the same extent).

Drives me nuts when people put the horse before the cart. I've been relieved to find Huntsville to be a fairly reasonable place.

[Southlander]

I would opine that Birmingham is slightly more liberal than Huntsville...at least Birmingham proper, not the suburbs. Well....maybe Homewood, which is a tiny bit more "bohemian."

That "changing the mind" thing goes for liberals as well as conservtives.

[33458]

I think we should all mandate a NO POLITICS at work policy, since many of you are professionals who have fuzzy 'sensitivity training' courses and hostile work environments to juggle daily, anyway.

I'm hoping that would leave something to discuss...

[DvlsAdvc8]

Originally Posted by Southlander

That "changing the mind" thing goes for liberals as well as conservtives.

Don't get me wrong... I'm not even saying its a "change" of mind. Half the people out there with opinions have absolutely no justification for having them other than they were "raised [insert party here]".

Liberal or conservative, you have to have a mind of your own before you can change it.

[Southlander]

Originally Posted by DvlsAdvc8

Liberal or conservative, you have to have a mind of your own before you can change it.

Here! Here! I'd rep ya, Dvls, but gotta spread it around first!

Back to the topic....yes, I'd agree that you get more of a listen-and-learn-first attitude here...part of the whole laid-back vibe...but I do have some "behaviorally embarrassing" friends on both sides of the fence. I try to keep them separated, but sometimes they tangle!

Originally Posted by 33458

I think we should all mandate a NO POLITICS at work policy, since many of you are professionals who have fuzzy 'sensitivity training' courses and hostile work environments to juggle daily, anyway.

I'm hoping that would leave something to discuss...

Great idea! What to discuss? Well....religion is out...I guess sex is the only thing left LOL!

[Reactionary]

Southlander - we may have to start a "Sex in Huntsville" thread...

[gsp4ever]

Originally Posted by Reactionary

Southlander - we may have to start a "Sex in Huntsville" thread...

Maybe we can get KE to do one of his polls on this topic.

[Charles]

Originally Posted by Reactionary

Southlander - we may have to start a "Sex in Huntsville" thread...

I've never heard of the Huntsville position. I wonder if my back could handle it.

[Southlander]

It would have to be "Sex in Huntsville."

I don't think we allow that in Decatur!

[33458]

Where's DEE? That's sounds like a cocktail in the making...not sure I'd drink it, but still...