Bloomington Illinois might as well be the Deep South (Chicago: best city, low crime)

[TabulaRasa]

Sheesh, so you had a bad time in a bar and weren't treated as if you fit in (maybe because you were looking down your nose at other patrons, just a guess?).

Truth: Country music is popular in much of the Midwest. And the U.S., overall. And non-urban areas, in general. It's not indicative of "The Deep South," and Central Illinois isn't the "Deep South" because you hear country music at karaoke.

Truth: Country music is popular for karaoke, because, like "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" and "Time Warp," it's easy to sing.

Truth: Bar regulars can be rude and cliquish. This is true in the Deep South, central Illinois, wherever. Karaoke regulars can be even MORE rude and cliquish.

Truth: Equating someplace, erroneously or not, with "The Deep South" and intending it as a slam makes you seem snotty and judgmental at the very least.

Truth: Basing your overall opinion of an entire city on the reception you receive at a given karaoke bar is weird.

[dega266]

What a pretty narrow genre, i think not dear sir. Country is a pretty large genre, and there are alot of bands that drew influence from country singers such as Jonny Cash or even willy Nelson. Do you know how many Rock bands i have heard cover Jonny Cash music. Oh and by the way I was born in Bloomington/Normal and lived there till i moved to Chicago a year ago , and i will tell you there just as open minded and diverse in Bloomington as they are in chicago maybe even more so. I like to also know what makes listening to country and having religion have anything to do with the Deep south? cant those two things be found pretty much everywhere in this great nation of ours.

[cdhj12000]

I live in Bloomington and have for too long. This is a very conservative town and though the art scene is changing fairly quickly, it could use some support from the city government. The people in power are too concerned with trying to look good instead of be good. It seems like they would love to have this place be like a mini-Chicago, which is what it is turning out to be with the rise in crime and such--but they don't want to make the cultural changes that go with it. It is definitely going to cost money, but some of the people that live in the $250,000+ houses on the east side don't want to shell out the bucks. They want the crime and all to go away and they would love to see some more culture but the way this town is growing it will eventually reach them and that freaks them out. What they are afraid of I don't know. I live about 2 blocks from downtown Bloomington and nothing really happens that is too scary. They're probably worried about their kids doing drugs or losing their virginity. Surprise folks! Your kids have probably been doing the ol' "in-out" for a while and I have known drug dealers that say State Farm employees are their best customers. I'm not talking about marijuana dealers, which I don't mind at all, I'm talking about cocaine dealers! Nobody on the west side can afford that stuff so the money has to come from somewhere! Man! I have been trying to get out of this town for a long time! As far as it being like a southern town, as far as conservatism goes, this is it!

[Chicagoland60426]

You should of went to Champaign-Urbana or Peoria, IL. Those places are as liberal as you going to get in downstate Illinois. I personally think Illinois need more large cities to balance out downstate Illinois.

[ddavison]

I consider myself a Southerner by heritage and I think there needs to be a clear distinction between Southern and redneck. As you've seen, rednecks can be found anywhere. You can find them in the South, Midwest or even around New York. They definitely have an accent but it is different than a true Southern accent. I pretty much think all Karaoke is a train wreck. I'd much rather listen to professionals sing their songs then listen to a bunch of drunk wannabe singers parrot their stuff poorly.

My primary point is that you shouldn't assume the South is filled with rednecks. Many of us are college educated, drink import beers, listen to a wide variety of music, engage in spirited debates about politics, global warming, etc. In fact, I've had a redneck from Champaign IL preach to me how backwards my home state of Kentucky is without ever having been to KY. He did that with the worst redneck accent I have ever heard and was one of the more close-minded people I knew as well. If people like Country music, why not just agree to disagree with them on that and look for other things you may have in common?

[Avengerfire]

There is not anything wrong with "country" music. Although "country" is not my number one when it comes to music, I have and will continue to choose "country" music any day of the week over rap,hip-hop, or whatever they are calling the crap that tends to be at the top of the charts.

[Neutral Anthropologist]

Having been stationed in the south, and being an anthropologist, I have picked up on the cultural similarities between B/N and the south. Mainly it begins and ends with music. If you were in a bar and there was karaoke being sang and it was primarily country, odds are it wasn't one of the "college" bars. It was probably more of a "townie" bar. Not to say that either or is better, its just what kind of music people are into. If you want to sing U2 or Erasure (why anyone would attempt to sing either is beyond me) then you need to find a place where that kind of music is what the patrons listen to. When i was in school there, i went to Lunkers, it was 3 blocks from my apartment so i could walk and its where i karaoked Cream and Beck and the people there loved it. So they might be accepting of U2 or Erasure. Like i said before i was stationed in the south. Georgia, i would consider truly southern and let me tell you, B/N is nothing like Georgia. the "southern" accent has taken hold here but not as thick as people would make it out to be. And thats not such a bad thing when you consider that the Chicago accent is 1 hour away and the wisconsin accent is 1 hour away from that, its simple lingiustics. One can not base the character of a towns culture based upon a tinge of accent. There are 3 distinct cultures here in town that i have noticed Snobby upper class, hard working folk, and ghetto...hmmmmmm..same as anywhere else.

[Steve-o]

Originally Posted by Chicagoland60426

You should of went to Champaign-Urbana or Peoria, IL. Those places are as liberal as you going to get in downstate Illinois. I personally think Illinois need more large cities to balance out downstate Illinois.

Or vice versa. I think we need more conservative cities to balance Chicago's supreme liberal BS.

[citybilly]

Originally Posted by kuvopolis

Well if over 1/2 the songs sung are country songs I would not call that diverse. Especially since country is a pretty narrow genre compared to rock. And when someone is going to shove their redneck agenda (Green Day anyone?) down my throat, then I do not call that diversity. Why don't you go to Los Angeles and have a Hispanic call you a gringo and mistreat you, there is diversity for you.

Since I have done just that, I feel qualified to comment. I think your feelings were hurt and you should just deal with that. You will encounter rude , self-absorbed, loudmouth jack a s s e s wherever you go. Remember, one monkey don't stop no show.

[IlWesleyanGuy]

I don't think that any of us would deny that Bloomington-Normal is a conservative community but we should also acknowledge that it is transplant central. Liberal presence within the community is gradually increasing. The two towns make some decisions that can be viewed as liberal with spending and these decisions are not necessarily bad; they improve the towns. Normal will soon welcome a minor league baseball team and possibly build a soccer complex. I have not heard any public backlash about these projects being viewed as wasteful spending. That this money should be used to fix roads or should be designated as reserves, ect. These projects are funded with a combination of private and public monies. It's these kind of projects that help to enhance the quality of life in B-N. Even with all its hype,I think B-N is underated (in comparision to the other Central Illinois communities). It has a lot to offer and there's always some new major development in the works. Right now its the redevelopment of Uptown Normal. It's going to be very nice when construction is completed.