How well known is Brandon Teena in Nebraska? (Auburn, Humboldt: home, live)

[Trimac20]

How many of you have seen the movie 'Boys Don't Cry' (quite inaccurate) or know anything about the case? Some who are rather ignorant might think there are a lot of those type of people in Nebraska. Anyway, I'm just wondering if most everyone knows about the case, and if they've experienced any similar attitudes in the smaller cities and towns and rural areas of Nebraska.

[DTO Luv]

I have family that knows the people in real life. I've probably even seen some of them at some point so I'm very familiar with what happened. I actually think that's a very fair portrayal of how people are in that part of Nebraska towards gays. I stopped visiting my family in Auburn because I didn't feel comfortable going down there. I was actually with my grandmother in Humboldt late one night and we stopped at a gas station for snacks. It was getting close to 1am and there was a group of people ranging from teens to older men just hanging out in front of the gas station with a bunch of Confederate flags on their cars. One of the older guys even had some neo-nazi patch on their jacket.

Now is everyone in SE Nebraska like that? No, but in my experience it's not been far off the mark.

[dsrich98]

I'm familiar with the story. I would say there are a lot of people who personally do not approve of LGBT people in general. I ahve not seen too many that would be openly hostile, although I know they are out there. I don't know what it's really like other places since this is the only place I've lived. I try to do my part and when I hear people saying things taht are bigoted or cruel I try to tell them that won;t fly with me. Then they at least know that it won't be cool around me and hopefully will be less likely to throw that stuff around so freely.

[thatguy1]

Originally Posted by DTO Luv

I have family that knows the people in real life. I've probably even seen some of them at some point so I'm very familiar with what happened. I actually think that's a very fair portrayal of how people are in that part of Nebraska towards gays. I stopped visiting my family in Auburn because I didn't feel comfortable going down there. I was actually with my grandmother in Humboldt late one night and we stopped at a gas station for snacks. It was getting close to 1am and there was a group of people ranging from teens to older men just hanging out in front of the gas station with a bunch of Confederate flags on their cars. One of the older guys even had some neo-nazi patch on their jacket.

Now is everyone in SE Nebraska like that? No, but in my experience it's not been far off the mark.

Gotta love the necks! (The stupid ones)

[roots'nbulbs]

As is true, in other areas, our younger people are increasingly diverse in ethnicity and more experienced with people who are different from themselves and their family. Thank you to technology and mobility and education.

My friends, who are gay, have a very, bad memory of remarks and attitudes from smart alec kids and sheltered adults, in our small town. But, I find that, more recently, when they visit friends and family, here, they are pleasantly surprised to encounter a lot more tolerance.

For one thing, LOL, you know 'what goes around, comes around,' and just as you get judgemental about your neighbor's kids, your own come home with a story. I've seen that happen more than once (i.e. Dick Cheney might want to comment. :-)

We're not so bad. Like I said, "We all have a history and kind of hope the town overlooks our differences in exchange for our liking them, no matter what."

Anyway, for my little Nebraska town, the attitude towards gays is pretty much "huh?wha'd you say?? Oh yeh. I knew that. And, so-o?" I wouldn't say that's 100% as there are still a lot of oldies around who can't get over the "Leave it to Beaver" world. (Do you think they all slept in twin beds???? :-)

[Gunluvver2]

There are a few bad apples in S.E. Nebraska for sure. Lotter, Nissan(sic?) and Michael Ryan (Rulo, NE) all lived in the area. Unusual to have so many high profile murders in a sparsely populated area. The area has attracted a fewwhackos over the years because of the cheap land and several communes that have located in the area. Most of the people are Salt of the Earth but there are a few exceptions.

GL2