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I'm very familiar with city garden programs, but there's a huge difference between growing a few rows in a community garden and actually producing food for sale or for sustainablity. I'll agree farmer's markets are big. But what does that have to do with growing your own food?
We have a number of non-profit urban farms in Baltimore, and one or two that make money (some people will pay $11/lb for kale, I guess).
Maybe it WAS elitist for America at large to tell rural America to get with the program and let women vote. Maybe it WAS elitist for America at large to tell rural America to get with the program and let minorities vote. Maybe it WAS elitist for America at large to tell rural America to get with the program and let blacks into the same public schools as whites and into the same restaurants as whites. Maybe it DID show a disdain for the rural way of doing things, the rural me and my kind mentality. And if it did, so be it- America at large was elitist, and rural America was bass-ackwards. Maybe rural America might start to notice a historical trend?
I don't there was much of an urban vs rural in any of those things. You live in the south, the difference in conservatism is smaller in the north.
Of race, I doubt rural areas in the north are particularly racist. At least in the 60s, parts of cities and suburbs may have been more racist. A check on the George Wallace vote in 1968 gives a hint, though there may have been other reasons to vote for him he did have openly racist platform. For New York State, his vote came from relatively recent suburban counties and Staten Island, which had similar demographics. Rural counties were a bit below urban ones. Women's suffrage started in rural states as mentioned before.
Iowa seems to be DIFFERENT not only from southern rural states, but also from the hardline conservative South Dakotas or Wyomings, etc. Iowa IS 90-something percent white, but its politics seems to buck the trend of rural white states. So while it's definitely true that the more urban you live, the more liberal you will probably be, but it seems like the more Iowan you are, the less hard line rural conservative you will probably be as well. I don't know why it is the way it is, but I do find Iowa to be a very interesting standout of a state.
large sections of the Midwest are "blue" or at least "light red". And I assumed Minnesota was one of them but it's more of a mix (was thinking of northern Minnesota). Wisconsin's most conservative areas are the Milwaukee suburbs not rural areas.
large sections of the Midwest are "blue" or at least "light red". And I assumed Minnesota was one of them but it's more of a mix (was thinking of northern Minnesota). Wisconsin's most conservative areas are the Milwaukee suburbs not rural areas.
It's all that Scandinavian in them, they can't help it!
In the interest of digging a little deeper, I will say that I have noticed an anomaly wich is Iowa. Iowa to me, having never visited, seems like a typical rural monolithic state. Yet Iowa is where Barack Obama first gained traction against the Clinton political machine, where he first gained traction against the McCain straight talk express, and they came through for him again in this election.
Iowa seems to be DIFFERENT not only from southern rural states, but also from the hardline conservative South Dakotas or Wyomings, etc. Iowa IS 90-something percent white, but its politics seems to buck the trend of rural white states. So while it's definitely true that the more urban you live, the more liberal you will probably be, but it seems like the more Iowan you are, the less hard line rural conservative you will probably be as well. I don't know why it is the way it is, but I do find Iowa to be a very interesting standout of a state.
Iowa is interesting.......I wonder how their "strength of church" compares to other more hard core conservative states of similar economic profile.
In my experience, where there is a strong hard core religious base there tends to be significant conservatism in the social policies and voting profile. I wonder if Iowa has a more moderate voter base due to a difference in that aspect of the population.
Vermont and New Hampshire are great examples of rural states with completely different levels of political and social temperaments. Based on location, landscape, and density you would think they would be very similar. Yet Vermont is much more liberal, earthy, granola hippy types and almost always votes Democratic. New Hampshire is more the gun-toting red-neck republican types.
Regarding urban agriculture - this seems to be a new trend that is quickly sweeping the urban landscape. Here in Somerville MA, the most dense city in New England, the city is encouraging sustainable gardening and even keeping chickens and bees.
Vermont and New Hampshire are great examples of rural states with completely different levels of political and social temperaments. Based on location, landscape, and density you would think they would be very similar. Yet Vermont is much more liberal, earthy, granola hippy types and almost always votes Democratic. New Hampshire is more the gun-toting red-neck republican types.
Yet Vermont has laxer gun laws (lax might not be the right word, it doesn't really have many gun laws) than New Hampshire. Redneck and New Hampshire just doesn't sound right.
Iowa is interesting.......I wonder how their "strength of church" compares to other more hard core conservative states of similar economic profile.
In my experience, where there is a strong hard core religious base there tends to be significant conservatism in the social policies and voting profile. I wonder if Iowa has a more moderate voter base due to a difference in that aspect of the population.
As I half jokingly posted above, much of northern Midwest (MN, WI are the two I have experience with) is highly Scandinavian, which in turn are highly Lutheran. Lutherans tend to be much more socially moderate than other religions (i.e woman pastors, gay pastors, etc.) Funny though, the family (wife's) I have there is fairly conservative. Also funny is that they have traveled all over the world - they lived in Kenya, Pakistan, Algeria yet are conservative.
Yet Vermont has laxer gun laws (lax might not be the right word, it doesn't really have many gun laws) than New Hampshire. Redneck and New Hampshire just doesn't sound right.
NH is far far from Red Neck......it is 40% MA north.
Unfortunately, in some instances firearms are available to people who I may not exactly want to have them. And this is coming from someone who shoots nearly every week, owns plenty and has an LTC.
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