Gary, IN? (Hammond, East Chicago, Whiting: for sale, crime rate, hotel)

[msamhunter]

Blue has a point, you mention your're from NWI and the first association is Gary. You can say Lake County, NWI, Da Region it all points to one place first, everything else second. It's no different than Indy. You say Central Indiana, they don't automatically assume Carmel, it's Indianapolis and rightfully so. Gary at one point had that when the mills were booming, it was the city in Da Region and people still associate it as it's the only city up there with any type of name recognition nationwide.

That being said, being a republican doesn't make you good. Look at Capital Hill, they suck royally and many cities that have Republican leadership suck. Cities are different. Indy is balanced between service and manufacturing. You take a city who's a one trick pony like Gary, lose 80-90% of your industry and you are in deep trouble. Leadership, instead of diversifying keep pinning their hopes on the same industry that's nothing but a fraction of what it once was. Was Clay a bad mayor, god yes. Was Scott King a bad Mayor, definitely. Was Barnes a bad Mayor, he wasn't the best, but he wasn't all that bad. He did his two terms like he said he would and stepped aside. Lobbied for the Casinos, Miss America, had trash pickup. Hatcher of course has to go down top 10 worse mayors of all time nationwide.

[Colts]

Originally Posted by Bluefoxwarrior

I based that statement off of my own personal experience living four years in Indiana but outside of NWI. Most of the rest of the state has not lived in, and many have never even been to, NWI. Being from the "Region" carried a noticeable degree of stigma at my alma mater. I did not intend to allege that the entire state felt this way.



My experience was what it was -- not everybody, but certainly the preponderance of people did mention Gary in some context or another when I told them I was from NWI. You can choose to believe what you want. The size of Gary is immaterial -- Gary is one of the most notorious cities in the country.

What I'm saying is that when people talk about NWI, it's always about the problems that primarily plague N. Lake County. I think a lot of Hoosiers don't realize that not all of NWI has those problems. A good majority of the region is IMO quite indistinguishable from the rest of the state. That's the narrow point I'm trying to make. No, I don't have empirical studies to back that up. Just lots of experience living around Hoosiers both inside and outside NWI.

Again, there are ignorant people everywhere, and I'm sorry you had to experience that at a university of all places, but I'm just not convinced that there is an inherent stigma to being from Lake County, which is the point I'm trying to make. If you talk to someone who grew up in a sheltered suburb all of their life and never left their subdivision, of course they would have a close minded, stereotypical view of the world--not just Lake. I've heard people say the exact same things about Indy.

I agree that there are an alarming number of Indianans who are ignorant about their own state, but I certainly wouldn't call it the majority. (I hate the word Hoosier, so I don't use that word.)

[Colts]

Originally Posted by msamhunter

You say Central Indiana, they don't automatically assume Carmel, it's Indianapolis and rightfully so.

I think people from Indianapolis proper tend to distinguish between Indianapolis and outstate Indiana. Central Indiana, in my mind, implies everything between Marion and Franklin. Huge swath of the state.

[svillechris]

I would second Bluefoxwarrior's sentiments about the stigma of being from NWI by those living in the other parts of the state. I too went to school in the southern half of the state and most people that I met and talked to from Indy, Muncie, Fort Wayne, Evansville, etc. all seem to be relatively ignorant (not condescending, the literal definition of the word) when it comes to NWI. Based on experience, I also agree that many people not from NWI do immediately lump you in with the Gary, Steel Mill, impoverished, blue-collar, thick-skinned type of image. Honestly, this lack of knowledge of the area is very similar to that of people living in Chicago or Chicago suburbs who aren't familiar with the nicer areas of NWI.

Also, two things that I've noticed is that they don't like our "accent" and they hate how we associate ourselves with Chicago more than Indiana or Indianapolis even though we live in Indiana. Not saying someone is right or wrong, just sharing my experiences.

[Colts]

Originally Posted by svillechris

I would second Bluefoxwarrior's sentiments about the stigma of being from NWI by those living in the other parts of the state. I too went to school in the southern half of the state and most people that I met and talked to from Indy, Muncie, Fort Wayne, Evansville, etc. all seem to be relatively ignorant (not condescending, the literal definition of the word) when it comes to NWI. Based on experience, I also agree that many people not from NWI do immediately lump you in with the Gary, Steel Mill, impoverished, blue-collar, thick-skinned type of image. Honestly, this lack of knowledge of the area is very similar to that of people living in Chicago or Chicago suburbs who aren't familiar with the nicer areas of NWI.

Also, two things that I've noticed is that they don't like our "accent" and they hate how we associate ourselves with Chicago more than Indiana or Indianapolis even though we live in Indiana. Not saying someone is right or wrong, just sharing my experiences.

I just find it ironic that you guys are accusing others of making generalizations while making generalizations yourselves of a much larger and more diverse entity, as if the entire state is somehow monolithic outside of Lake County.

Evansville, Fishers, Fort Wayne, Amish country...it's all the same to you, right?

[svillechris]

Originally Posted by Colts

I just find it ironic that you guys are accusing others of making generalizations while making generalizations yourselves of a much larger and more diverse entity, as if the entire state is somehow monolithic outside of Lake County.

Evansville, Fishers, Fort Wayne, Amish country...it's all the same to you, right?

If you want to win the argument belt, it's yours. We're just sharing our experiences. Do I think that every person throughout the rest of the state thinks exactly the same about NWI? Of course not.

However, in large majority, this is the response and reaction I've gotten from people. As previously stated, nobody is right, wrong, stupid, smarter, or anything like that because of this. I'm just sharing my experiences and the judgments that have been made of me by people who are now my friends and are now informed of NWI after meeting me. My experiences really are not disputable. They're not even opinions, it's just what I experienced, and I'm sharing those on an open forum, that's all. Chill.

[Colts]

Originally Posted by svillechris

If you want to win the argument belt, it's yours. We're just sharing our experiences. Do I think that every person throughout the rest of the state thinks exactly the same about NWI? Of course not.

However, in large majority, this is the response and reaction I've gotten from people. As previously stated, nobody is right, wrong, stupid, smarter, or anything like that because of this. I'm just sharing my experiences and the judgments that have been made of me by people who are now my friends and are now informed of NWI after meeting me. My experiences really are not disputable. They're not even opinions, it's just what I experienced, and I'm sharing those on an open forum, that's all. Chill.

I'm not trying to win an argument, take sides, say who's right or wrong, etc. I'm simply saying doing to others what you accuse them of doing does not help you make your point.

It's like me having sex with a woman and then complaining to her that my wife cheats on me.

[svillechris]

Originally Posted by Colts

I'm not trying to win an argument, take sides, say who's right or wrong, etc. I'm simply saying doing to others what you accuse them of doing does not help you make your point.

It's like me having sex with a woman and then complaining to her that my wife cheats on me.

Yeah, somethin like that.

[msamhunter]

Ha my favorite, you from Gary? You don't sound like it! What am I supposed to sound like exactly.

[Bluefox]

Originally Posted by Colts

Again, there are ignorant people everywhere, and I'm sorry you had to experience that at a university of all places, but I'm just not convinced that there is an inherent stigma to being from Lake County, which is the point I'm trying to make. If you talk to someone who grew up in a sheltered suburb all of their life and never left their subdivision, of course they would have a close minded, stereotypical view of the world--not just Lake. I've heard people say the exact same things about Indy.

I agree that there are an alarming number of Indianans who are ignorant about their own state, but I certainly wouldn't call it the majority. (I hate the word Hoosier, so I don't use that word.)

Like I said, I did not purport to say most of Indiana felt that way about NWI. And honestly, many of those in IN are well-aware of the fact that NWI has very well-off areas such as Munster, Schererville, St. John, and Valparaiso, despite their proximitity to Gary, E. Chicago, etc. But many are just as ignorant to that fact too.

And I'm not even saying that the political actors haven't taken commendable action with regards to NWI. Let's not forget that Mitch Daniels was the one who created the Northwest Indiana Regional Development Authority. And I do think that he is trying to promote development in his own republican fashion (less taxes => attract business). But at some point, the region will need some more tactful governmental help to push through the problems its facing. And I think that's where Indianapolis is falling short.