Bloomington Illinois might as well be the Deep South (Chicago: fit in, employment)

[cubssoxfan]

kuvo-Did you try visiting a variety of other bars before making this conclusion?
If you had frequented a biker bar, you'd be saying "What's with all the bikers with State Farm and ISU.."
Or if it was a gay bar. "What's with all the gays?" (Not that there's anything wrong with bikers, gays or gay-bikers)

[cap1717]

Originally Posted by Paxtonian

Well, you know how people can be- they want diversity in all things EXCEPT when people disagree with them politically, or in tastes of music, or in religion. THEN they desire conformity. BTW, if B-N is so conservative then why DID McLean County go for Obama in the election? I seriously doubt the voters in Le Roy, Colfax, Downs, Towanda or Merna put him over the top there. Obviously there is a deeper issue at play here.

Well said. I was there for a visit a couple of months before the election. . . Lots of Obama yard signs, especially in Normal; Bloomington seemed to be a pretty even mix of yard signs. And you are right, it wasn't Towanda or Carlock that put Obama over the top in the county!

[linicx]

Originally Posted by Paxtonian

Well, you know how people can be- they want diversity in all things EXCEPT when people disagree with them politically, or in tastes of music, or in religion. THEN they desire conformity. BTW, if B-N is so conservative then why DID McLean County go for Obama in the election? I seriously doubt the voters in Le Roy, Colfax, Downs, Towanda or Merna put him over the top there. Obviously there is a deeper issue at play here.

Presidential elections are a strange creature to begin with and with the economy bad like it is, people would have voted for a Martian if it might make a diffeence. Actually, it is not unusual for cities to have a particular political bend, but when it comes to national elelctions the vote is often quite different.

I have a cousin who is on the election board. Her city is definately very Dem, but in the last election the entire state was solidly Republican.

[runninfiend]

Originally Posted by kuvopolis

I lived in Bloomington Illinois for a year. No, I did not lose a bet.

There is this place where I used to sing karaoke twice a week. What irked me is the affinity that the patrons had for southern culture. Over 1/2 of the songs sung were of the Country genre. One time, three of the songs in a row explicitly referenced the South. I do not get why people from central Illinois are passionately singing about places (like Jackson MS and Baton Rouge LA) that are hundreds of miles away, and from what I heard are real crapholes.

I went to sing an Erasure song, and this redneck said "this is going to be a car wreck". Closeminded attitudes like this are why I am glad I no longer live in Bloomington. I do not get it. The Bloomington metro has a large university and State Farm. Its economy is relatively good compared to the United States. Its population has been growing at a healthy clip; a lot of transplants from Chicagoland and India. And it is deep in the North geographically. So why the dominance of Southern culture?

It is a shame that one has to go to expensive parts of the country to experience open-mindedness and diversity. It is like you have to pay a penalty for avoiding rednecks and monotonous music.

One more thing: the bar even disliked it when I sang U2. C'mon!

You might be a troll but I'll bite.

Taking one event in one bar and extrapolating that to define the entire "culture" of a town? Ludicrous.

I went to school in B/N for awhile, and while it's not exactly the epicenter of musical culture, you can find what you're looking for no matter what your tastes are. There used to be a really good punk/alternative scene and may still be. The Gallery (R.I.P.) hosted concerts all the time, and for a time, the Agape Java Hut was a great resource.

It seemed to me there was also a large folk music/blues scene going on, and classical concerts at ISU and IWU from time to time.

You were obviously in the wrong bar.

[cap1717]

Originally Posted by runninfiend

You might be a troll but I'll bite.

Taking one event in one bar and extrapolating that to define the entire "culture" of a town? Ludicrous.

I went to school in B/N for awhile, and while it's not exactly the epicenter of musical culture, you can find what you're looking for no matter what your tastes are. There used to be a really good punk/alternative scene and may still be. The Gallery (R.I.P.) hosted concerts all the time, and for a time, the Agape Java Hut was a great resource.

It seemed to me there was also a large folk music/blues scene going on, and classical concerts at ISU and IWU from time to time.

You were obviously in the wrong bar.

Yeah, thanks. . . i forgot about "The gallery". .. I remember poetry readings there, as well as music. . . lots of different genres. That's what's missing in downtown Normal these days!

[JoshB]

I think it's funny someone wrote about this, I noticed a real taste of the south too. When I stopped in Ogden, IL back in October I felt like I was in the middle of Kentucky. That's not a bad thing, just seemed a bit weird. Indianapolis seemed the same way. Southern accents, conservative, religous type. I kinda liked the whole ordeal though.

[oneluckymug]

I get the feeling that most of the people on here have never experienced the south. Small town is not the same as 'southern'. I lived in central Illinois for most of my life, married a kentucky woman, and am now in north carolina. I have experienced south, and married into the south. Central Illinois is about as southern as I am a natural red headed chinese girl. Most of central illinois came from farming communities. These communities have strong roots and believe heavily in God and family. That is as 'southern' as you are going to get in the midwest. nearly every other aspect is as different...as well yankees and rebels. If you live in central illinois and think you are a southerner.....just move on down south a little, and the people remind you that you are a yankee, always will be a yankee, and no matter how long you live in the south....will always be a yankee. Everything you do wrong or different (which is also wrong), is because you are a yankee. If you refuse to eat boiled then deep fried cabbage...the response....'He's just a yankee...bless his heart" Some people on here are in need of some exposure to other cultures.

[runninfiend]

Originally Posted by oneluckymug

I get the feeling that most of the people on here have never experienced the south. Small town is not the same as 'southern'. I lived in central Illinois for most of my life, married a kentucky woman, and am now in north carolina. I have experienced south, and married into the south. Central Illinois is about as southern as I am a natural red headed chinese girl. Most of central illinois came from farming communities. These communities have strong roots and believe heavily in God and family. That is as 'southern' as you are going to get in the midwest. nearly every other aspect is as different...as well yankees and rebels. If you live in central illinois and think you are a southerner.....just move on down south a little, and the people remind you that you are a yankee, always will be a yankee, and no matter how long you live in the south....will always be a yankee. Everything you do wrong or different (which is also wrong), is because you are a yankee. If you refuse to eat boiled then deep fried cabbage...the response....'He's just a yankee...bless his heart" Some people on here are in need of some exposure to other cultures.

There is no doubt. The rural communities here in central Illinois largely have German or Central European roots, as many farmers from these areas settled in the mid 1800s. If you go south of Springfield, those small towns are more influenced by transplants from Kentucky and the south, and their cultural roots are more Scots-Irish, hence "southern" even today.

The small towns around B/N and B/N itself are very different from the southern 1/3 of the state.

[Probender]

I spent more than half my life in the Bloomington area. I worked in Bloomington/Normal for years and know a lot of people who live there.
I also lived in the deep south for many years.
Anyone who says Bloomington is anything like the deep south hasn't been off the block enough. There is absolutely no comparson.
Liking country music does not make one a southern red neck. It might mean the person just has good tastes.
I live in Jacksonville now. It's a great place. But rednecks are abundant down here. I fit right in.
Go to the malls in Bloominton and count the number of pickups with bales of straw or dog boxes in the bed driven by guys wearing carharts and boots. You will only see an occasional truck like this.
Come down to Jacksonville. The parking lots abound with them.

[kuvopolis]

Well if Bloomington Illinois is not at all like the deep South, then why are all these people in the bar wistfully singing about it? Unanswered question. If they are not like the deep South like you all claim, at the very least they are sweating it.

I hate to start on this generalizing trip again, but do you think karaoke bars attract lower class people? It is a shame because I like karaoke when done right. What I don't like is when people sing "Jackson" and "When He Cheats" literally every time I go to the bar. Mix it up! And when I sing U2, they're like "What the heck is that?". Totally resistant to anything different.

I find it amusing that on City Data people accuse people like me of not being open to diversity, just because I do not want to be surrounded wholly by lower-middle class conservative whites (rednecks).

I think country music reflects the attitude of rednecks: resistant to change, and celebrating mediocrity.