Unhappy in Indiana (Indianapolis, Bloomington, Greenwood: 2014, apartment, how much)

[ColdAilment]

Originally Posted by Arthur_Indy

Indianapolis is a large sprawling microcosm of the people of Indiana. In other words, its a spectrum of tolerance to intolerance, conservatism to liberalism, racism to pluralism, homophobic to proud .....etc etc. There are pockets of this city that are stuck. The only thing that i know will change that is for those of us who have chose to stay, keep on persevering. On one hand the change in this city is frustratingly slow. On the other hand, it is so much better and moving along extremely well.

I guess i don't see the same city others see or rather I chose to see the good. I do not tolerate racism, bigotry, homophobia, holier than thou attitudes, and uncaring attitudes. I feel that the sentiment of tolerance is becoming the majority attitude in Indianapolis.

My experience the night of the 2008 election was at a bar on the northside of the city. The bar I was at is notoriously loud and has room for 100's of people. There are pool tables and TV's on all the walls showing sports of every kind. Since it was election night, one of the TV's in the main room was on one of the networks (not Fox) showing the returns. when it was clear that Obama was going to take the election, the bar got progressively more and more quiet. The manager started switching over TV's to watch the coverage. By the time President Elect Obama took the stage in Chicago, the bar was silent and everyone was watching. In all honesty (and to your point) the friends I was sitting with couldn't believe we were in Indianapolis at that moment.... It was a HUGE sea change in attitude imo.

As for Seasonal Affective Disorder .....ugh, this winter was a bad one.

So silence means what, they supported him or were glad that he won? Rest of your post I agree with, pretty accurate.

[Arthur_Indy]

Originally Posted by ColdAilment

So silence means what, they supported him or were glad that he won? Rest of your post I agree with, pretty accurate.

I read the silence as 20 & 30 somethings actively engaged in an election and witnessing history. For my table, we were glad he won, but the point wasn't that the silence was admiration for one side or in shock for the other... the point is that I was sitting in Indianapolis and a bar of 250-300 people cared. That was what I saw. People giving a damn and being engaged.

[ischyros]

Originally Posted by MortonR

I returned to Indiana, Indianapolis specifically, in 2008 after being gone for 20 years.

I was horribly disappointed. Why?

People I interacted with were just as narrow minded and racist as they had been when I was a child growing up. I found them unfriendly and unwilling to open up to "outsiders", despite the fact that I wasn't an outsider - I had just been gone for 20 years.

When the President was elected in 2008, I had to go to great lengths to hide my political affiliation from my employer, as all I heard around work were racist comments and references to lynching.

I grew up on the Southside, which if you are from around here, you know was a very, very segregated area. I can recall a friend's mom who taught at Tech who would have some of her students come visit her on the weekends to work on projects with her. I never understood why they were so adamant about leaving before it got dark.

I can remember seeing cross burnings on more than one occasion as a child.

I came back in 2008 assuming that these attitudes were probably long gone, and that people were more open minded and progressive. I discovered otherwise.

Maybe I just ended up with a small pocket of Fox News watching, small minded idiots, I don't know. What I do know is that things didn't appear to have changed significantly in 20 years, which is why I gladly left.

Oh - and I had some serious issues with Seasonal Affective Disorder due to the lack of sunlight in the winter months, too. Ugh.

RM

The bolded part is interesting considering in 2008 Obama was the first presidential democratic candidate to win Indiana in like 30 or 40 years.

[ColdAilment]

Originally Posted by ischyros

The bolded part is interesting considering in 2008 Obama was the first presidential democratic candidate to win Indiana in like 30 or 40 years.

He barely won it. It was by a margin of something like 52% to 48%. A win is a win, but that's damn close, and Indiana overall is a very conservative state. Even in the liberal enclaves of South Bend, Bloomington, Gary, and Indianapolis, you will still find staunch conservative and republican support.

[Toxic Toast]

Originally Posted by ColdAilment

He barely won it. It was by a margin of something like 52% to 48%. A win is a win, but that's damn close, and Indiana overall is a very conservative state. Even in the liberal enclaves of South Bend, Bloomington, Gary, and Indianapolis, you will still find staunch conservative and republican support.

He won Indiana 49.95% to 48.91%. The only state that Obama won by less was North Carolina, 49.7% to 49.38%. A win is a win, and in the context the comment was made, that is all that matters.

[ischyros]

Originally Posted by ColdAilment

He barely won it. It was by a margin of something like 52% to 48%. A win is a win, but that's damn close, and Indiana overall is a very conservative state. Even in the liberal enclaves of South Bend, Bloomington, Gary, and Indianapolis, you will still find staunch conservative and republican support.

My point was just that even something that close in Indiana is huge and I was surprised someone, especially in Indianapolis, would have had to hide being a democrat (or Obama supporter) from their employer in 2008. Any other year, or many other parts of the state, maybe, but they specifically said 2008.

[MortonR]

Originally Posted by ischyros

My point was just that even something that close in Indiana is huge and I was surprised someone, especially in Indianapolis, would have had to hide being a democrat (or Obama supporter) from their employer in 2008. Any other year, or many other parts of the state, maybe, but they specifically said 2008.

The only thing that insulated me from possible retribution was that my employer knew my family history well, which included a parent who was a business partner of John Mutz, a precinct committeeman and who worked on Lugar's mayoral and Senate campaigns, as well as brother who was a Young Republican.

Had they not known this and made assumptions about my political leanings, I would have been on the street in no time. I was smart enough to keep my mouth shut and not engage in any of the "lively banter" that took place regarding my fellow employees' political and racial preferences.

And yes, I am painfully aware that this was (hopefully) an isolated incident. Had it not been I might still be in Indy today.

RM

[W & C]

Originally Posted by ischyros

My point was just that even something that close in Indiana is huge and I was surprised someone, especially in Indianapolis, would have had to hide being a democrat (or Obama supporter) from their employer in 2008. Any other year, or many other parts of the state, maybe, but they specifically said 2008.

I'm guessing that election stung the Indiana Republicans quite a bit. To not only lose nationally but to concede their own deep red state to a black Democrat from Chicago had to be quite a shock.

Kneejerk right-wingers can be a quite hateful lot, especially after suffering an embarrassing loss of this caliber.

[jammwill]

Originally Posted by Toxic Toast

When a thread is discussing direct flights to Cancun and how people cut their pizza as reasons to not like a place, we have crossed over into "its not the location, its you" territory.

My thoughts exactly.

[jammwill]

Originally Posted by MortonR

I returned to Indiana, Indianapolis specifically, in 2008 after being gone for 20 years.

I was horribly disappointed. Why?

People I interacted with were just as narrow minded and racist as they had been when I was a child growing up. I found them unfriendly and unwilling to open up to "outsiders", despite the fact that I wasn't an outsider - I had just been gone for 20 years.

When the President was elected in 2008, I had to go to great lengths to hide my political affiliation from my employer, as all I heard around work were racist comments and references to lynching.

I grew up on the Southside, which if you are from around here, you know was a very, very segregated area. I can recall a friend's mom who taught at Tech who would have some of her students come visit her on the weekends to work on projects with her. I never understood why they were so adamant about leaving before it got dark.

I can remember seeing cross burnings on more than one occasion as a child.

I came back in 2008 assuming that these attitudes were probably long gone, and that people were more open minded and progressive. I discovered otherwise.

Maybe I just ended up with a small pocket of Fox News watching, small minded idiots, I don't know. What I do know is that things didn't appear to have changed significantly in 20 years, which is why I gladly left.

Oh - and I had some serious issues with Seasonal Affective Disorder due to the lack of sunlight in the winter months, too. Ugh.

RM

I've lived in Indianapolis my entire life (minus 10 years spent in Bloomington) and I've never experienced any of this stuff. I kind of find it hard to believe to be honest with you. Cross burnings? Maybe 100 years ago...