Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Status:
"Repub's IVF ruling is anti-family and anti-America"
(set 2 days ago)
Location: Dallas, TX
5,782 posts, read 3,562,703 times
Reputation: 5682
Advertisements
Quote:
Originally Posted by LOUISIANA'SLEGEND
Mr. Phil75230......lets be straight up and blunt here. I have tried to stray away from petty facts and statistics, because I react, then the counteracts. I know the city/town better than you can image, because its actually my personal business to know and I benefit tremendously from knowing. So for you to ask questions like some of the ones you asked above....its pointless, because I can effortlessly,with a blink of a thought have an undisputed answer.
For Example: Alternate Newspapers????
Monroe has a "Free Press" newspaper also, there's the Monroe Dispatch newspaper, new issues every Thursday for the last 30 to 40 yrs. There's The Ouachita Citizen and The LA Delta magazine. All 3 area colleges have newsletters or newspapers also.
Yes, Alternative Newspapers - and none of those qualify in the actual sense of the word, I'm talking about newspapers that are members of the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies (e.g. The Village Voice, The Dallas Observer, Gambit Magazine, Memphis Flier, and the Jackson (MS) Free Press - that kind of alternative newsweekly.
The Monroe Dispatch and Monroe Free Press: Probably good papers, especially the latter, but they focus on African American issues and aspects of general local issues of specific concern to African Americans. They don't have a general progressive orientation (i.e."leftist" as most conservatives call it).
The Ouachita Citizen - It's good for getting a general idea of what happens in Monroe and Ouachita community, but anything but hard-hitting. Even The News-Star seems more hard-hitting, tough, and investigative.
Delta Magazine - Not Even close to being a true alternative. It's basically the NeLA version of Louisiana Life. A fine magazine, but it's about human interest articles,the uniqueness of Ark-La-Miss culture, and interesting historical and contemporary cultural stories - in a word, boosterism.
Don't get me wrong, all the above local publications have their place. Of all those, I'd say only the AfrAm oriented papers come even marginally close to an AAN alternative. Even then, those papers have an AfrAm focus, as opposed to a general profressive one.
As for the rest of your post, that's more boosterism than substance.
Quote:
Originally Posted by WhoDat2011
Good word bro. It's obvious the passion you have for your city and I love it. Keep Monroe conservative, Christian and morale and I think that's wonderful. I'll keep my eye on CenturyLink for opportunities down the road
Monroe's brand of conservatism is NOT helping things - certainly not in the department of accepting new ideas. Everythign has to conform to tradition there. Nobody says or does anything unless at least 70% of the people already agree with it. Even 70% is being generous (more like 85% if you ask me). You refuse to listen to people who walk, talk, act, and think differently from the local mainstream, then you should not expect to progress. That's Monroe's/NeLA's right, of course but they shouldn't expect to be attractive to those who have bold new ideas and certainly not bold new ideas of the cosmopolitan type.
Quote:
Originally Posted by b0bab0ey
It seems to me the topic of this thread has veered away from whether or not Monroe is a good place to live, to whether or not Monroe is "gay friendly" enough. I mean, seriously!? Gays comprise (at best) 5% of the US population. What about the other 95% of us who don't give a crap about gays, but who do give a crap about Monroe's exceptionally high crime rate, extreme poverty/high unemployment, **** poor schools, etc. etc.? Those are the kind of issues which affect EVERYONE, gay and straight alike.
I only brought up gays because until recently, they were one of (if not THE) most hated group in the US. It's FAR more than just GLBT - it's a general cultural attitude of indifference, if not disdain, of anything not marching in lockstep of tradition and convention. This generates a conformist culture that drives away people who may not be part of the mainstream, yet can help the communities they live in IF the socio-cultural climate is tolerant enough. People are going to go where they're appreciated. If they can't find it in their home area, then they'll high-tail it for some place else. No doubt this will warm some local's hearts. Yet it's increasingly considered a major cause of economic stagnation (see Richard Florida's The Rise of the Creative Class and Creative Class Theory for more -- it's all over the web). An area that tolerates and (better yet) nonjudgmental against the most widely popularly despised group is likely to be tolerant is a sure sign of a place that's open to many different kinds of people and many different ways of thinking (in the 60s and 70s, it was interracial couples). As a by-product, it's attractive to people who may be "considerably less than perfect" because they know they'll have less trouble there than most other places.
As for your response to Gloria, I have to agree it is rude and over the line. Challenging the status quo is one thing; personalized nasty attacks are quite another.
Last edited by Phil75230; 06-16-2012 at 11:59 PM..
Yes, Alternative Newspapers - and none of those qualify in the actual sense of the word, I'm talking about newspapers that are members of the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies (e.g. The Village Voice, The Dallas Observer, Gambit Magazine, Memphis Flier, and the Jackson (MS) Free Press - that kind of alternative newsweekly.
The Monroe Dispatch and Monroe Free Press: Probably good papers, especially the latter, but they focus on African American issues and aspects of general local issues of specific concern to African Americans. They don't have a general progressive orientation (i.e."leftist" as most conservatives call it).
The Ouachita Citizen - It's good for getting a general idea of what happens in Monroe and Ouachita community, but anything but hard-hitting. Even The News-Star seems more hard-hitting, tough, and investigative.
Delta Magazine - Not Even close to being a true alternative. It's basically the NeLA version of Louisiana Life. A fine magazine, but it's about human interest articles,the uniqueness of Ark-La-Miss culture, and interesting historical and contemporary cultural stories - in a word, boosterism.
Don't get me wrong, all the above local publications have their place. Of all those, I'd say only the AfrAm oriented papers come even marginally close to an AAN alternative. Even then, those papers have an AfrAm focus, as opposed to a general profressive one.
As for the rest of your post, that's more boosterism than substance.
Monroe's brand of conservatism is NOT helping things - certainly not in the department of accepting new ideas. Everythign has to conform to tradition there. Nobody says or does anything unless at least 70% of the people already agree with it. Even 70% is being generous (more like 85% if you ask me). You refuse to listen to people who walk, talk, act, and think differently from the local mainstream, then you should not expect to progress. That's Monroe's/NeLA's right, of course but they shouldn't expect to be attractive to those who have bold new ideas and certainly not bold new ideas of the cosmopolitan type.
I only brought up gays because until recently, they were one of (if not THE) most hated group in the US. It's FAR more than just GLBT - it's a general cultural attitude of indifference, if not disdain, of anything not marching in lockstep of tradition and convention. This generates a conformist culture that drives away people who may not be part of the mainstream, yet can help the communities they live in IF the socio-cultural climate is tolerant enough. People are going to go where they're appreciated. If they can't find it in their home area, then they'll high-tail it for some place else. No doubt this will warm some local's hearts. Yet it's increasingly considered a major cause of economic stagnation (see Richard Florida's The Rise of the Creative Class and Creative Class Theory for more -- it's all over the web). An area that tolerates and (better yet) nonjudgmental against the most widely popularly despised group is likely to be tolerant is a sure sign of a place that's open to many different kinds of people and many different ways of thinking (in the 60s and 70s, it was interracial couples). As a by-product, it's attractive to people who may be "considerably less than perfect" because they know they'll have less trouble there than most other places.
As for your response to Gloria, I have to agree it is rude and over the line. Challenging the status quo is one thing; personalized nasty attacks are quite another.
What exactly is your motive here....I give you facts, you raise your eyebrow.....then you drop it and rip thought apart. I believe my points have already been made clear.....and if not so relevant...then why are we 3 pages of post in already. Seriously....if this is personal hatred of Monroe...then please be specific on why. I feel that you are merely are making comparisons to places, cultures, or economies that you personally believe are the epitome of what a town or city should be. You have that right to do so...but throwing knives at something that serves a purpose to a couple of hundred-thousand people on a daily basis is very unnecessary. You may not love the fact that a brand new river market is "currently" under construction in downtown in Monroe because its "conservative and not bold", but I promise you, it well be well recieved.
Let Monroe be Monroe as well and the vicinity. Give it credit for being what it is and nothing esle. How many cities and towns has put it all on the line and failed horribly? Slow growth is the best growth. Monroe/West Monroe will be just fine.
What exactly is your motive here....I give you facts, you raise your eyebrow.....then you drop it and rip thought apart. I believe my points have already been made clear.....and if not so relevant...then why are we 3 pages of post in already. Seriously....if this is personal hatred of Monroe...then please be specific on why. I feel that you are merely are making comparisons to places, cultures, or economies that you personally believe are the epitome of what a town or city should be. You have that right to do so...but throwing knives at something that serves a purpose to a couple of hundred-thousand people on a daily basis is very unnecessary. You may not love the fact that a brand new river market is "currently" under construction in downtown in Monroe because its "conservative and not bold", but I promise you, it well be well recieved.
Let Monroe be Monroe as well and the vicinity. Give it credit for being what it is and nothing esle. How many cities and towns has put it all on the line and failed horribly? Slow growth is the best growth. Monroe/West Monroe will be just fine.
It's that ideology why Monroe is more like Monroe and less like Huntsville or Lafayette. You don't have to be a big city to have better schools, and more accepting population base. It's like it's the 70s (sometimes) when I go to Monroe.
Status:
"Repub's IVF ruling is anti-family and anti-America"
(set 2 days ago)
Location: Dallas, TX
5,782 posts, read 3,562,703 times
Reputation: 5682
Quote:
Originally Posted by LOUISIANA'SLEGEND
What exactly is your motive here....I give you facts, you raise your eyebrow.....then you drop it and rip thought apart. I believe my points have already been made clear.....and if not so relevant...then why are we 3 pages of post in already.
The facts you gave are not relevant, that's why. Richard Florida's The Rise of the Creative Class goes into a lot of detail about how and why cities grow and prosper - and a lot of it has nothing to do with education, low taxes, low labor costs, and so forth. In this day and age, when real growth comes from having a large pool of people both educated and open-minded to unconventional ideas and lifestyles, a city seeking to attract and retain productive workers likewise has to be open-minded to unconventional people and ideas. That's how Austin got to be just another state capital to one of the three leading info technology centers in this nation. Practically every cuttingest-edge industry functions by research, development of new products, and selling those new products. THAT requires people who are not held down by tradition and convention.
If you doubt that, then tell me how convention and common-sense oriented Detroit - which was the "Silicon Valley" of the auto industry AND only a stone's throw from the University of Michigan - declined if not by an inability to develop the cultural attitudes to change with the times. Same thing for Pittsburgh - the steelmaking and chemical aspect of all this.
Quote:
Originally Posted by LOUISIANA'SLEGEND
Seriously....if this is personal hatred of Monroe...then please be specific on why.
Nope, it's that NE La and similar such areas are driving away talented people, thereby seriously limiting economic growth.
Quote:
Originally Posted by LOUISIANA'SLEGEND
I feel that you are merely are making comparisons to places, cultures, or economies that you personally believe are the epitome of what a town or city should be.
It's not my fault if the very ways for a nation / community to maintain a high standard of living change over time. You either change with the times or the times steamroll you over
Quote:
Originally Posted by LOUISIANA'SLEGEND
You have that right to do so...but throwing knives at something that serves a purpose to a couple of hundred-thousand people on a daily basis is very unnecessary. You may not love the fact that a brand new river market is "currently" under construction in downtown in Monroe because its "conservative and not bold", but I promise you, it well be well recieved.
I have been frank in my observations about Monroe and vicinity, but I wouldn't call it hatred. I just hear a lot of people wanting to grow the area's economy. If they want to grow it, then they have to become a more tolerant and welcoming community - especially for people who are considerably outside the norm in some way (which a lot of creative and entrepreneurial people tend to be - more so than average).
Quote:
Originally Posted by LOUISIANA'SLEGEND
Let Monroe be Monroe as well and the vicinity. Give it credit for being what it is and nothing esle. How many cities and towns has put it all on the line and failed horribly? Slow growth is the best growth. Monroe/West Monroe will be just fine.
If that's the case, then Monroe's only real chance is to market itself as a retirement haven. Of course that puts it in competition with hundreds of other small cities and small towns doing the same. What does NE La offer than all those 100s don't?
I also completely agree on the complete lack of intellectual stimulation. My best guess is that perhaps it has to do with the Bible Belt culture.
Southerners perpetuate this idea that they are hospitable. This hospitality is very shallow indeed.
Another point I would like to make is the state's challenge in attracting/raising/keeping career talent.
I somewhat agree with your post.
The Bible Belt culture stagnating growth is an interesting observation but I do not agree. I lived in the deep south for well over a decade, along with my children. I believe Education is not the most important element in the south. To them, its College Football, Crawfish and partying.
Hospitality is an excuse to be nosy. Saying Hello, then following up with a series of questions is not being hospitable, but rather nosy.
Your last point is actually a problem across the country, pandemic. A significant portion of our society is not prepared to support the country. They lack skills to carry us forward, which is why over the past coupe of years, colleges have been offering more reputable degrees, or trying to.
Finally, in my opinion, parents should avoid raising children in the south. Besides being a vacation spot, the south has nothing to offer. Plain and simple, the south is broken. The south must re-invent itself. I refuse to bombard people with a list of reasons when the proof is in the numbers, so simply look at statistics (pick any educational study). Anyone who challenges those obvious statistics are simply stupid and part of the problem. My statement to those people, if you truly cared about your children and your family, you would do better because right now you are "well under" par.
Folks, we're drifting off topic, which would be Monroe. Any comments about national trends need to go in another forum, as do comments about the South in general. Thanks for your cooperation.
I can relate to and somewhat understand both sides of these issues. I have grown up in Monroe my entire life, but I feel that I am apart of the minuscule "counter-culture" that Monroe so dearly needs to hold on to. I am an artist and an architecture student (graduating in a few weeks) at Louisiana Tech.
To those of you interested in knowing the cultural climate of Monroe--that's a very interesting subject (as you can probably tell from the amount of opinions so far) and is not easily defined. I think what is important is to know what kind of person you are before you come to Monroe. Yes, people certainly have their opinions and the growth has been slow, but if you are the kind of person who finds comfort in familiarity, then you probably would never have left your home-town to begin with! So just the fact that you are on this forum asking this question says a lot about the kind of person you are. Someone who is already "open-minded" to begin with. Think about it though, if you are as open-minded as you make yourself out to be, then why should conservatism bother you?
Those of you that have posted who have spent a few months in Monroe (whether you came for CenturyLink, ULM, etc...) you are probably the kind of person who is up for an adventure--and therefore need some kind of stimulation-culturally, intellectually, etc...
I'm not here to argue semantics, though.
When I was 17, I traveled to Europe for a summer. I attended over a dozen schools in north-east Louisiana, and feel that I have a pretty well-rounded view of what this town has to offer. Its not much. BUT I certainly have come to learn to appreciate the things that others value here too that were stated above. There are lessons to be learned about sticking with your family, knowing how to hunt and fish, taking a moment to observe the vast diversity of nature that this area offers, etc...
Maybe I'm a little Buddhist in my way of thinking. I make my own adventures--I don't have to go to a mall or some city-wide event to have a good time. Instead of criticizing on online forums about how Monroe should be, why not go out there and BE the change.
Anyway, I love the NPR station, the Masur, the Downtown Monroe Artfest (every spring), the GB Cooley House and their lectures, the Art Crawls (every other Thursday), the concerts that ULM puts on (choral and orchestral), Enoch's, Sage, Cotton, Trio's, Tsunami, and there's even a Redneck Parade in December (how's that for your counter-cultural events!). The Ouachita river is great for boating, fishing, boarding. Kiroli Park is gorgeous. Forsythe park has events about once a month (celtic festival, 5k's throughout the spring time, etc..). People watching at Pecanland Mall. If you don't like heat and humidity, summers can get pretty miserable, but that's what a nice cold beer and a swimming pool is for right? Creativity develops from curiosity, and without how "lacking" Monroe is, I probably wouldn't have become the artist I am today. I would hate to think that I live in a place where everything is convenient, accessible, and stimulating. Monroe may be stuck in the past, and not heading anywhere progressive soon...but there is a beauty in that. You just have to look at it a little differently.
For my future when I graduate though, I am moving away. I love Monroe, but there are not enough job opportunities for what I'd like to do...Plus, there's a whole lot more world for me to check out!
I feel like people can find happiness anywhere if they know how to look for it
I agree with you. People criticize areas for never changing, yet they are in such a hurry to leave, which means that the people capable and willing to change do nothing to change Monroe. How is it supposed to change if people leave instead of making a difference?!
FWIW, I'm from NW La. and know Monroe AND West-BY GOD-Monroe having had many friends go to NLU/ULM and graduate from there. The school is one brightspot as is CenturyTel / Link or whatever it's calling itself these days. I've done corporate work for factories and hospitals in Monroe and cussed the traffic on more than one occasion. Is there still a GM parts plant there? It's been awhile since I've driven the area.
If you're from there and still live there, most likely you like / love it and couldn't imagine being anywhere else. Good for you. Small(er) communities are rarely a one-size-fits-all type of experience. Monroe is lucky to have a university for that can be the engine driving the local social/cultural community vibe. People embrace it or not but it is probably the biggest game in town in that regard. The hunting, fishing, great-outdoors, etc... if you're not into that but living in such a Louisiana community, well you may be pretty bored. I grew up hunting and fishing and look back on those memories fondly but I'm not into all that anymore although I can appreciate nature and the experiences of just being quiet and still.
But I know too many folks who've left Monroe for much of the reasons outlined in previous postings... I won't pile on. As for having medical facilities, it may interest folks to know that the reason for such is because Monroe (and much of Louisiana in general) is a geriatric medicine mecca. I know two cardiologists who built a practice in Monroe because of the high need for their services. They have a really nice home on the river and make serious bucks in practice but they are the first to admit the area leaves much to be desired, even among being in the upper tiers of community income and affluence. They are resigned to the local "quirks & irks" as they call it and have chosen to focus on the practice and are on their way to early retirement thanks to the bucks they rake in. Their plans when they retire? Well since "Fun-Roe" is a small community, I'll keep that quiet but they've expressed a desire to get outta dodge and not look back.
Another personal acquaintance was a hospital administrator who, while doing well ... just had to leave. He and his wife are from Louisiana and they felt the Monroe experience just wasn't for them and expressed to me they wanted to raise a family elsewhere. I could go on and on and on about similar stories I personally know about, but it would be pointless.
Monroe is what it is and for some that's great and others....not so much. For hometown natives, I applaud your loyalty and pride. Perhaps there's some validity when someone says that folks who hate the area "simply don't get it..." . True enough, but in the final analysis, that point-of-view seems to cut both ways, given the situational context of each person sharing their personal experience and observation. It's up to the individual reader to determine if each viewpoint carries any real merit germane to the original post.
Good luck to all.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Somewhat agree
