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.
I share some of the original poster's concerns. Believe it or not, there are MANY who still view the south as backward, xenophobic, poorly-educated, racist, with few amenities (a friend was SHOCKED to learn we had a Ruth's Chris in Raleigh; another friend just told me last week that she was still defending her decision to move to NC to her NY family and friends, due to their misconceptions). However, I feel like NC was starting to shake that reputation over the past 15 or so years, to be seen as a progressive, bright, dynamic place. I am scared that the current decisions by lawmakers is going to move the changing view of NC backwards. The ultimate concern is that large companies would cease moving here.
I share some of the original poster's concerns. Believe it or not, there are MANY who still view the south as backward, xenophobic, poorly-educated, racist, with few amenities (a friend was SHOCKED to learn we had a Ruth's Chris in Raleigh; another friend just told me last week that she was still defending her decision to move to NC to her NY family and friends, due to their misconceptions). However, I feel like NC was starting to shake that reputation over the past 15 or so years, to be seen as a progressive, bright, dynamic place. I am scared that the current decisions by lawmakers is going to move the changing view of NC backwards. The ultimate concern is that large companies would cease moving here.
Along those lines, shortly after I acquired a residence in Raleigh it was met with cheerful curiosity from friends and colleagues. People mostly seemed to have a positive impression, if not often simply a clean slate of not knowing much about the place. I was more than happy to dispel any antiquated stereotypes they might have about our area.
I honestly have to report that lately when I mention having a place here, it's now often met with the same reaction I got when at one point in my life I moved from Seattle to Detroit, an unspoken "Why?" Nothing has changed other than the consistent drumbeat of questionable decision making occurring in the GA. Perhaps most discouraging is my inability to offer any explanation or defense of why the unfavorable image lacks credence.
All the kids from the blue team and the red team go to the same schools and their parents play golf and tennis at the same country clubs. There is only one team.
Ahhhh.
You are so right!
And we tend to be fanbois without examining our heroes.
NC is an example of the Republican Party shooting themselves in the foot. They are winning the day to lose the century, so to speak. If you watch the Tea Party rallies you see a sea of white, both hair and skin. But if you look at the young people most don't think that way or feel that way. My concern is actually that the GOP will get so radical and it will marginalize itself, allowing Democrats to win election after election with the GOP an increasingly disenfranchised minority. The only thing worse than the thought of the Tea Party in charge is the thought of the Democrats running this country for an entire generation. I'm an independent, so I actually want party balance. But I understand the cultural vibe of this generation is slightly left leaning. Like it or not the Reagan years are over and that type of stuff doesn't play. The old guard must accept the goalposts have moved slightly left, but they keep pushing further right. Obama won NC in 2008 and Romney barely won it in 2012. This current era represents the last rally of the old generation, angry at Obama and the changes they see in the country. They are sort of fighting to the last barricade and enjoying some success, but sooner or later they will die and these radical attitudes will die with them.
Along those lines, shortly after I acquired a residence in Raleigh it was met with cheerful curiosity from friends and colleagues. People mostly seemed to have a positive impression, if not often simply a clean slate of not knowing much about the place. I was more than happy to dispel any antiquated stereotypes they might have about our area.
I honestly have to report that lately when I mention having a place here, it's now often met with the same reaction I got when at one point in my life I moved from Seattle to Detroit, an unspoken "Why?" Nothing has changed other than the consistent drumbeat of questionable decision making occurring in the GA. Perhaps most discouraging is my inability to offer any explanation or defense of why the unfavorable image lacks credence.
Others in the business community are starting to talk as well. Taken from a Reuters article: Here
"I'm fielding calls every day, ‘What the heck's going on (over) there?'" the state's Commerce Secretary Sharon Decker told a crowd of reporters Monday. "The current environment makes it very challenging to market North Carolina."
Current situation reminds me of Aesop's Fables about the scorpion and the turtle.
A scorpion asks a turtle to carry him across the river as he is unable to swim.
The turtle says, "Are you crazy? You'll sting me and I'll drown."
"Don't be silly," says the scorpion. "If I were to sting you, we'd both drown. Where is the logic in that"?
The turtle agrees and the scorpion climbs on his back. Halfway across the river, he stings the top of the turtle's head.
As the turtle loses consciousness and starts to sink, he asks the scorpion where is logic in killing him.
"Has nothing to do with logic," said the scorpion. "It's just who I am. You knew who I was when you let me climb on."
Despite Republican candidates' campaign promises, we all knew who they were when we let them climb on.
North Carolina is slipping into ranks of Mississippi, Alabama, etc. How this will affect the business climate, the willingness of people to seek jobs in this area, and the resulting home prices, etc. will soon become apparent.
I can't see it affecting home prices, but I could see it affecting the blue/red makeup of the triangle. I know that if all of this had been going on when I decided to move here I might have passed it on by (just as I wouldn't move to South Carolina). But I figure for every person who would decide not to move here there's probably another person that would specifically because of these actions.
I feel like a lot of these more radical politicians missed the lesson on the frog in the soup pot. Throw a frog in boiling water and it'll jump right out. Throw a frog in a pot of tepid water and slowing bring it up to a boil, the frog won't realize you're cooking it. They could have accomplished all of this nonsense without people flipping out if they had done it incrementally.
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.
