Does Austin have less of a "Liberal Echo Chamber" than other Liberal cities? (Houston: school, quality of life)

[ragnarkar]

To facilitate intelligent discussions, if you don't know what an echo chamber is, please read up here and here.

Echo Chamber:

A place free of serious debate where everyone repeats the same opinions, no one calls anyone else out, and criticism is frowned upon.

First of all, I'm not very into politics. Honestly, I'm not even 100% sure where I lie on the political compass because I simply don't care about most political issues and the few that I do care about I have views all over the place. I don't dislike nor do I find an affinity with either Liberals or Conservatives BUT what I have an extreme distaste for are Echo Chambers where people large groups of people have same or similar opinions and political beliefs and their discussions and interactions with each other only further reinforce their existing beliefs rather than challenge the status quo or introduce new beliefs into the system.

Two places I've lived (and currently life) are prime examples of locations where Echo Chambers abound: San Francisco and Midland. The far-left echo chamber is alive and well in SF while the far-right echo chamber in Midland. Although they are out there, people in both places rarely encounter others with radically different beliefs than what's prevalent in the locale which results in an Echo Chamber. On the other hand, you also have places like Orange County which lean moderately conservative while being located in a largely blue state (California) and the echo chamber effect there seems much less apparent.

So what about Austin? I'm wondering if this sort of thing happens here as well because Austin is known as one of the more Liberal cities in the country and yet, the state of Texas is one of the more conservative. Which I'm hoping creates the perfect storm for making echo chambers difficult to sustain. My theory is that since Austin is an island of blue surrounded by a sea of red, the average Austinite (who is more likely to be Liberal than Conservative) still comes in contact with folks from outside of Austin on a regular basis (who is more likely to be Conservative than Liberal.)

Do echo chambers still materialize in Austin and if so, are they as big as the ones in other liberal (or conservative) areas?

[centralaustinite]

have you read The Big Sort?

Sadly, people are increasingly sorting themselves into enclaves of similar thinkers, and (other) research has shown that when "sorted" extreme beliefs become reinforced and the whole group moves that why.

Austin is definitely sorted into various enclaves, the urge is as strong here as anywhere. But I will say that "liberal" and "conservative" cut differently here than in other places. Plenty of meat-eating, truck-driving, gun owning liberals, plenty of gay-friendly, non-church-going, Tesla driving conservatives.

[Austin97]

Originally Posted by ragnarkar

To facilitate intelligent discussions, if you don't know what an echo chamber is, please read up here and here.

Echo Chamber:



First of all, I'm not very into politics. Honestly, I'm not even 100% sure where I lie on the political compass because I simply don't care about most political issues and the few that I do care about I have views all over the place. I don't dislike nor do I find an affinity with either Liberals or Conservatives BUT what I have an extreme distaste for are Echo Chambers where people large groups of people have same or similar opinions and political beliefs and their discussions and interactions with each other only further reinforce their existing beliefs rather than challenge the status quo or introduce new beliefs into the system.

Two places I've lived (and currently life) are prime examples of locations where Echo Chambers abound: San Francisco and Midland. The far-left echo chamber is alive and well in SF while the far-right echo chamber in Midland. Although they are out there, people in both places rarely encounter others with radically different beliefs than what's prevalent in the locale which results in an Echo Chamber. On the other hand, you also have places like Orange County which lean moderately conservative while being located in a largely blue state (California) and the echo chamber effect there seems much less apparent.

So what about Austin? I'm wondering if this sort of thing happens here as well because Austin is known as one of the more Liberal cities in the country and yet, the state of Texas is one of the more conservative. Which I'm hoping creates the perfect storm for making echo chambers difficult to sustain. My theory is that since Austin is an island of blue surrounded by a sea of red, the average Austinite (who is more likely to be Liberal than Conservative) still comes in contact with folks from outside of Austin on a regular basis (who is more likely to be Conservative than Liberal.)

Do echo chambers still materialize in Austin and if so, are they as big as the ones in other liberal (or conservative) areas?

echo chamber

[als1741]

Austin is definitely a liberal echo chamber. There's a ton of young people here, who tend to be liberal. There are some conservatives that live here, but they are few and far between.

[verybadgnome]

Austin city council is very much an echo chamber with often a single dissenting voice as in this example. On some topics if you disagree with the majority your motivations will assumed to be from the bowels of hell, despite the fact that the reality is often much more complex. Ironically people who should know better, like our soft-spoken mayor, will go along with the mob.

City Council approves aid for immigrants after emotional debate

[skycaller23]

I do visit Austin once a year for an annual lunch with friends and spend a few days there.
Been doing this for 10 years now.

I absolutely notice the changes when I come into town and from my perspective the changes don't seem good.

[Westerner92]

Almost everywhere is a political echo chamber. We're all voluntarily segregating ourselves to the point that linguists are starting to notice regional dialect patterns realigning to voting patterns rather than the other way around. Austin is picked on a lot by the state government and the rest of the state to the point that Austinites have a tendency to be more liberal almost out of spite. There's a noticeable difference even when you cross from Travis into Williamson County.

I'd say Dallas, Fort Worth, and Houston are much less echo-y. I don't think it makes the quality of life there better, but people in the large Texas cities tend to not fit neatly into political boxes. I think Houston is one of the more interesting "political labs" in the country.

[centralaustinite]

Originally Posted by als1741

Austin is definitely a liberal echo chamber. There's a ton of young people here, who tend to be liberal. There are some conservatives that live here, but they are few and far between.

You just don't know where to look!

Alex Jones lives here for pete's sake. Plenty of alt-righters, looney libertarians, as well as the old-fashioned bidness-first, establishment-types Republicans.

[Trainwreck20]

Don't know about the city as a whole, but my little corner of SW Austin seems to have all types of people still. Do we hang around and argue politics? No. But do we all pretty much get along, all the while knowing there are some pretty fundamental differences? Somehow, yes. I think it is more of a 'personal' echo chamber you see now-a-days, rather than a city one - if someone doesn't agree with you, you avoid them. If they do, you affirm your position via them. This is more true online than in any geographic locale, I think.

Recently, someone posted (on FB) a link to the Lake Travis 'Project Graduation' Baccalaureate, which is apparently having a Christian and 'other faiths' program - separately but at the same time. It seems you had to immediately agree that this was a terrible thing or get chastised. Not saying it is good or bad, but I simply asked was it school sponsored, what was the driving force, who initiated it, and whether there was any specific 'exclusions'. By God, you would think I had exposed myself to small children!

[Lokemoki]

Honestly, OP, I find Austin and its direct environs to be a wonderful, sometimes contradictory, mix of a huge variety of people. That's what makes it interesting, fun, and ever-changing. I agree wholeheartedly with centralaustinite's #2 post. I might also add that most "liberals" here seem more laid back and easy going than those found in SF or NY. "Conservatives" here also seem to be more relaxed than those in Dallas and east Texas. All told, both "sides" (I hate using that term but can't presently think of a better one) are more amenable, less militant, and definitely more open to others' beliefs and quirks. Having said that, you can, and no doubt will, encounter some with nailed-shut minds, irrational fears, and outright hatred, but those folks definitely seem less prevalent here. I'd worry more about insane drivers or 100+ F heat than what pronoun I choose to be called by or who I vote for. I definitely feel more relaxed here than I ever did in Berkeley or Houston. You'll be okay ... no fears!