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This is an old thread, but it's pretty funny. The OP lives in Tyler, TX.
Tyler is neither "progressive," nor a "city".
Tyler is way more than you give it credit for, dude.
A city compared to say San Francisco? Not in a million years.
A city compared to say Santa Barbara, Napa, or Simi Valley, California? Very much so.
While we may not be progressive in the political sense, we are in other more important areas such as education & medical care. Oh & Tyler now claims 2 Heisman Trophy winners.
Ciao
Last edited by Metro Matt; 01-03-2013 at 12:19 PM..
I rather be "uncool", and conservative then be a trendy, braindead liberal. This isn't high school, life isn't about "being cool"
I'd rather not label myself and just accept the fact that there are different ideologies instead of just throwing out tired stereotypes and separating myself because of them.
No one said life is about being "cool" or "trendy". It's just a question (asked by another conservative, I might add) about cities that are seen as conservative. NOT how YOU feel about what life should be.
Location: Baghdad by the Bay (San Francisco, California)
3,530 posts, read 5,138,681 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Metro Matt
Tyler is way more than you give it credit for, dude.
A city compared to say San Francisco? Not in a million years.
A city compared to say Santa Barbara, Napa, or Simi Valley, California? Very much so.
While we may not be progressive in the political sense, we are in other more important areas such as education & medical care. Oh & Tyler now claims 2 Heisman Trophy winners.
Are Santa Barbara, Napa, or Simi Valley commonly thought of as "cities" (aside from the municipal sense)? I think of the first two as towns and the third as a suburb.
"Cool" and "hip," "liberal" and "conservative" words so very old and overused they have lost their general meaning. It all depends upon who is using them.
Last edited by Minervah; 01-04-2013 at 12:50 AM..
Reason: clarification
There is nothing "cool" about Conservatism. It is the antithesis of "cool." It is the moral philosophy opposite "cool." It may have its good points, but if a city is "cool" it is in spite of its Conservatism, not because of it.
"Liberal" city: vibrant and evolving arts and music scene, culture, unique and independent stores and venues, all sorts of different life styles, downtown and apartment living, public transportation and civic events.
"Conservative" city: 9 to 5, family chain restaurants, big American cars, mega malls and mega churches, TV, golf courses, suburbs ,segregation by class, race, or religious affiliation.
Now, both cultures are present in all American cities, but some cities (say, Portland OR, are skewed one way, while other cities, say Colorado Springs, are skewed the other.)
Maybe you prefer the conservative way, but there is nothing "cool" about it. it is what it is.
Truth. This is why young people who prefer "cool" are flocking to Portland, Seattle, San Francisco, and Austin en masse. Young people who grew up in conservative cities are generally trying to leave them. I find the best cities are those that are balanced. Conservative places are better for business and to make money and liberal places are better for the arts and entertainment. Balanced cities offer the best of both worlds. I feel sorry for all the young people that graduate college, move to Portland, only to end up unemployed or severely underemployed and living with 6 roommates just to make ends meet. Charlotte in my opinion is an excellent balance.
Conservative cities can have two benchmarks. The first is urban counties that voted for McCain in 2008...the only ones being Oklahoma City, Tulsa, and Orange County, CA.
The second, more accurate one, is how gay friendly they are. By that benchmark, many cities that voted for Obama would fall into the conservative category due to minority population and the social conservatism of that group despite being Democratic. Little Rock, Arkansas for instance is very intolerant of the gay lifestyle overall (though there are pockets of liberalism in the city) but voted overwhelmingly for Obama due to the minority population. Orange County on the other hand voted for McCain but SoCal conservatism is more of a big business fiscal brand and not a religious conservatism like you find in the deep South. Orange County is very open to gays despite its Republican reputation.
When determining where is liberal or conservative, think where you would see gay couples walking down the street holding hands in public, and where you would not see it (not counting the gayborhoods or gay events like pride).
Liberal cities:
San Francisco
Seattle
Vegas
Austin
New York
Boston
Conservative cities:
Oklahoma City
Tulsa
Little Rock
Memphis
Birmingham
Phoenix (possibly)
Why would you assume Phoenix to possibly be in the same category as the other cities you lumped it with when it comes to gay population or lifestyle? Is it San Francisco? No. Is it gay intolerant? Absolutely not. Having been to most of those other places, I can CERTAINLY tell you that Phoenix is not like them. Not sure if it is still a current stat, but Phoenix once had more gay bars per capita than any other U.S. city.
Liberal medias decide what is cool and what is not, so no it's not possible.
Oh....the old standby "liberal media bias".....
lest one forgets, the media is mostly owned by conservative corporate conglomerates that control their editorials. While it's probably true that most journalists lean left, the overall content of their product can't be described as liberal bias. I say this as a liberal who is constantly disappointed in the supposed "liberal media" for kowtowing to conservative talking points and pundits. So, while conservatives might think that the media is liberal, be aware that many of us liberals see it as much more conservative. Just because the mainstream media is to the left of FOX, it doesn't mean that that the media is liberal. I just means that the rest of the media doesn't exist inside a bubble.
Back to the OP's question. My answer is No.
As for Tyler, my close colleague lives in Tyler after having lived in the Bay Area of California. She also lived in Southern California earlier in her adulthood. While she likes Tyler and thinks that it's is a fine place to raise her kids affordably, she constantly complains about being culturally and culinarily starved. From her perspective, it's definitely not cool. Now, mind you, this is a woman who grew up in central Ohio so she has a perspective that's greater than California.
While there might be some conservative mountain towns that have terrific ski resorts that are "cool", this might be the extreme exception. Frankly, I don't ski all that much so I am not even sure if there are conservative ski resort areas or not. But, anyway....I digress.
What makes a place cool is usually a product of progressive thought...something new...something different. These are not things usually found in conservative areas because the very nature of conservatism is to NOT try something new but stay with the status quo. In current American conservatism, this is now typically combined with a social conservatism and religious (typically Christian) filter. This combination is usually hostile to people and ideas that are usually associated with cool areas and this isn't just speaking about artists, hippies, indie-musicians, gays, etc. Scientists have even run up against conservatism as they pursued stem-cell research.
Conservative places are better for business and to make money and liberal places are better for the arts and entertainment. Balanced cities offer the best of both worlds. I feel sorry for all the young people that graduate college, move to Portland, only to end up unemployed or severely underemployed and living with 6 roommates just to make ends meet.
Why do you feel sorry for them? Those type of people aren't usually looking to find a corporate office job for the time being anyhow--they're often just looking to just have fun for a few more years playing music and going out at night to see shows and get laid. And the world needs underemployed people to serve my food, coffee, and drinks as well.
I know plenty of people who moved to Portland with a college degree and within a year had a job at Intel or Nike or Widen+Kennedy or the Bonneville Power Administration---because they had marketable skills and experience. Many of the people living in Portland right out of college that are stuck with 6 roommates for years often aren't competing for these jobs, they're looking to do something else that the faux-hemian neighborhoods of inner Portland offers them. They'd be lost and unmotivated working in a suburban office park. However, people often portray Portland as only being these people--yet it's not the entire reality of Portland. Most people I went to college with and know in Portland work in offices or manage stores or own a landscaping business or a host of other jobs that they're able to support themselves and purchase a house and so on...
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