Little Rock Underrated? (Fayetteville, Ozark, Madison: loan, high school, to live)

[strumpeace]

Originally Posted by RogMar

Nobody....I reapeat.....*nobody*...was giving it a second glance. Nobody gives a <darn> about sexual orientation, it's about conduct.

So is that why so many Arkansans run to the polls every chance they get to slap gays in the face by passing absurd laws, constitutional amendments, etc.?

Your story is nice, and I like your p.o.v. Unfortunately, though, your 'nobody' assertion is simply not true.

[RogMar]

Originally Posted by strumpeace

So is that why so many Arkansans run to the polls every chance they get to slap gays in the face by passing absurd laws, constitutional amendments, etc.?

Your story is nice, and I like your p.o.v. Unfortunately, though, your 'nobody' assertion is simply not true.

I got lost somewhere, strumpeace.....

I have followed the complaints of the passing of Act 1, and although I have not dissected the whole bill, I believe that it bans a "single" person from adopting.

No?

I can see where one can interpret that as anti-gay, since Arkansas does not sanction gay marriage....and I tend to stay out of those debates because emotion will always trump ration, but what else has Arkansas done to earn this anti-gay aura?

I respect your right to disagree, but when I'm siting in a room surrounded by families, blue-haired old ladies, and bible-belt-baptists, and nobody's giving it a second glance, I'd say "nobody cares".

Yes, there are people in this state that don't like gays.

There's people in *San Francisco* that don't like gays.

There are also people in this state that don't like blacks, latinos, Sunday mornings, or the color blue.

Having half-a-life experience in, "You're only stopping me because I'm black/asian/hispanic/a female/have long hair/driving a sports car..........."

I know how easy it is to try to minimize any act by becoming accusatory.

[rackensack]

Originally Posted by strumpeace

So is that why so many Arkansans run to the polls every chance they get to slap gays in the face by passing absurd laws, constitutional amendments, etc.?

Your story is nice, and I like your p.o.v. Unfortunately, though, your 'nobody' assertion is simply not true.

Oh, Arkansawyers are no different from any other people in that regard: ask 'em what they think about some faceless agglomeration of people (gays, blacks, Irish, lefties, commies, whatever) and whatever bigotry baggage they carry around will get opened up and spread out for the world to see.

Ask 'em what they think about some particular individual or individuals who fall(s) into one of those groups, and they're as likely as not to say "Aw, they're nice folks", unless they have some concrete reason to dislike them.

Ballot box behavior draws far more heavily on the former than the latter.

Granted there are always some folks out there determined to make whatever political hay there is to be made out of exploiting those tendencies, which where all those ballot initiatives and amendments come from.

[strumpeace]

Originally Posted by RogMar

I got lost somewhere, strumpeace.....

I have followed the complaints of the passing of Act 1, and although I have not dissected the whole bill, I believe that it bans a "single" person from adopting.

No?

I can see where one can interpret that as anti-gay, since Arkansas does not sanction gay marriage....and I tend to stay out of those debates because emotion will always trump ration, but what else has Arkansas done to earn this anti-gay aura?

I respect your right to disagree, but when I'm siting in a room surrounded by families, blue-haired old ladies, and bible-belt-baptists, and nobody's giving it a second glance, I'd say "nobody cares".

Act 1 was not a singular act. It comes on the heels of a constitutional ban on gay marriages. Undoubtedly, if a measure were placed on the ballot tomorrow declaring that gays are banned from even living in Arkansas, it would win overwhelmingly.

I respect your opinion as well. It seems to me, however, that you're minimizing issues that do real harm to real people.

I truly wish that Arkansas would be the aw-shucks 'live and let live' type of state that you often portray it as. Unfortunately, in many cases, it is not.

[RogMar]

Originally Posted by strumpeace

I truly wish that Arkansas would be the aw-shucks 'live and let live' type of state that you often portray it as. Unfortunately, in many cases, it is not.

I don't think any state fits into that. A lot of us have lived in other states and know that there's no nirvana.

Having lived in San Francisco, and having briefly returned since then, it has got to be the most gay-friendly city in existence. However, you don't have to sit still vey long to hear strong disapproval of gays.

Gay/lesbian relationships are never going to be mainstream, neither are pickup trucks, cammo, and kodiak, nor many other lifestyle that don't please Ward & June Cleaver.

The difference being, Arkansas is one of the states that has enough diversity, that one's chosen lifestyle can be fit in somewhere.

No, you're not going to go to Hogwart, population 75, and move in with your same-sex partner and expect to get great service at Mary's Cafe', know what I'm saying?

Some of the towns around me are extremely diversified, with people from all over the country, and their skin is thicker.

A gay couple doesn't raise an eyebrow.

We have several hundred utility crews in the area right now, and a large number of them are African American.

Now, understand, last I heard, "small part of the population" around here would be the understatement of the century.

We have noticed that as you stop to say hello on a dirt road, or step up to say "thanks" in a restaurant, you can see the great apprehension in their eyes.

That's because of the "stereotype" of white, rural, country folks. That's what they've been told through their life, and now that their in the thick of it, folks are being...nice.

How confusing that must be.

No, Strumpeace, fear not that we'll ever be asked to join hands with the rest of Arkansas and sing, "We Are the World", but then again, the "lynchin' tree" got cut down a *long* time ago for firewood.

When people read this forum, or talk to some of the people in the state, and get the message that Arkansas is "anti-gay", or "anti" anything, I think that's unfair. I don't think Arkansas is leading in being "anti", but yes, it's a conservative state.

When California won't go pro-gay....waht do you think Arkansans are thinking?

"If it don'y play in Peoria......".

[Aporkalypse]

Originally Posted by Redsez

There is a possibility that I and my partner will be moving to Little Rock from Arizona. I'm not sure why, but I really don't know anything about the area.

I have some specific questions. I would be grateful for any information.
1. Is the humidity really horrible? Living in AZ, I have never dealt with it.
2. Diversity- As a gay couple, should I be worried?

I am excited about how beautiful the area is (from the pictures I've seen) and because I've been living in a very small town for awhile, I'm excited about the "big, little city" culture.

Thank you for your time and information.

Little Rock itself I think is pretty diverse and open to gay couples but I think it's a much better fit in the older parts of town than West LR which is more suburban. Pulaski Co voted solidly against the adoption ban on gay couples that passed in Arkansas, FWIW. I think homosexual couples are pretty well-accepted. Hillcrest and the Quapaw Quarter have a respectable percentage of gay residents and I know some gay physicians I work with who fit in just like everyone else. Rural Arkansas is a different story as I would think you would imagine.

Humidity will be a whole lot worse than Arizona but it's a tradeoff. I can still deal with 95 and humid better than 115 like it gets out there.

[InLondon]

Originally Posted by stx12499

Little Rock is not so bad on my initial impression, and ranks reasonably favorably among its peer metros. I have done extensive exploring as I drove over 100 miles around the city today. I plan to haul another 200 or so around town tomorrow, and I will come with a complete review of the city from an urbanist's perspective. In short, I think its a pretty nice town for the most part, although it does have some odd quirks...more on that later!

See, I told you so.

[PurpleLove08]

Originally Posted by Aporkalypse

Little Rock itself I think is pretty diverse and open to gay couples but I think it's a much better fit in the older parts of town than West LR which is more suburban. Pulaski Co voted solidly against the adoption ban on gay couples that passed in Arkansas, FWIW. I think homosexual couples are pretty well-accepted. Hillcrest and the Quapaw Quarter have a respectable percentage of gay residents and I know some gay physicians I work with who fit in just like everyone else. Rural Arkansas is a different story as I would think you would imagine.

Humidity will be a whole lot worse than Arizona but it's a tradeoff. I can still deal with 95 and humid better than 115 like it gets out there.

Can you DM the name of those gay physicians?
I'd much rather have a physician that is knowledgeable of lgbt issues.

Too bad individual counties can't make their own adoption rules.

[sloth777]

The major press coverage on the Ann Presley didn't help peoples view of Little Rock's crime problem.
And the still ongoing battle concerning desegregation in the schools doesn't sit well, either.

[BDubLR]

Originally Posted by sloth777

The major press coverage on the Ann Presley didn't help peoples view of Little Rock's crime problem.
And the still ongoing battle concerning desegregation in the schools doesn't sit well, either.

1. The media will do whatever it can to re-enforce a stereotype in their reporting. That goes for any city. Its true Little Rock has a high crime rate for its size, but much of that crime is localized. The Presley case was a fluke. Much of the media's portrayal of Little Rock's crime problem is highly sensationalized.

2. Whites and wealthy blacks have left for the suburbs or private schools, leaving mostly poor blacks in the LRSD, which in turn drives more white and rich black families to the suburbs and private schools. Its a vicious cycle.