What happened to Michigan? (Detroit, Grand Rapids: university, gated, live)

[AtlasTraveler]

Used to be such a lovely state, from what I can remember. Now all I hear about Michigan is anti-gay bills, extreme racism, xenophobia, poverty, decline, etc. I worked with an individual from the 'burbs of Detroit and was amazed by the xenophobic and racist comments made. Yikes. Is Michigan the new Mississippi? People always mention the south, but...

Does the population decline have anything to do with it? I've met lovely people who grew up in MI, but they all left for SF, Minneapolis, DC, Seattle....

[AtlasTraveler]

Btw, not isolated to just Michigan... While I attended University of Wisconsin there was a HUGE shift... With Madison becoming a bubble surrounded by xenophobia, racism, etc. Wisconsin is very similar, especially with Milwaukee being the most segregated city in the USA. It has become very hostile for minorities. Walker, etc.

Historically MI and WI have been really progressive! It's just very sad for me to hear all this news about discrimination coming from the MIDWEST.

Maybe this is why Minnesota is now labeling itself as part of the 'North.' I know when I was there people really didn't want to be associated with what's currently happening in Michigan, Indiana, Missouri, Wisconsin, etc. Bad PR on an national/international scale.

Everytime I turn on the news it's another crazy law or method to discriminate in these areas. Get your stuff together MI!

[ColdAilment]

Originally Posted by AtlasTraveler

Used to be such a lovely state, from what I can remember. Now all I hear about Michigan is anti-gay bills, extreme racism, xenophobia, poverty, decline, etc. I worked with an individual from the 'burbs of Detroit and was amazed by the xenophobic and racist comments made. Yikes. Is Michigan the new Mississippi? People always mention the south, but...

Does the population decline have anything to do with it? I've met lovely people who grew up in MI, but they all left for SF, Minneapolis, DC, Seattle....

Having actually lived in Mississippi and lived in Indiana along the Michigan border I can tell you safely that Michigan is NOT the new Mississippi, no way whatsoever.

Recent estimates actually show positive growth for the state of Michigan and the greater Detroit area. The city is still shrinking, but the burbs are absorbing people still.

Whites from the suburbs of Detroit may be different from whites in other big cities since Detroit is a special case in the United States. However, most whites I knew from decent areas of southern Michigan are generally good people. Grand Rapids seems to be the exceptional area of Michigan, where things are actually looking up. I will mention that rural Michigan is VERY country, around Union and White Pigeon I felt like I was back in the deep south, but rural areas are like that in a LOT of states, not just Michigan.

[AtlasTraveler]

Ok, maybe not Mississippi, but how about Arkansas?

http://www.buzzfeed.com/dominicholde...ies#.gklNLavJv

Arkansas and Indiana... And Michigan passing 'religious freedom' bills aka reason to discriminate against minorities... I don't see MN, WA, CA, MA, etc. passing these.

That's your governor and your state... So once again I ask, what has changed in Michigan? Obviously a majority in your state elected your current governor? His policies seem very similar to ones in areas of the Deep South...

I ask out of confusion mostly. I didn't realize Michigan had become so backwards! In fact, ppl were talking about it here in CA while the news was playing.

[animatedmartian]

What you describe doesn't seem to be anything new in Michigan. Detroit has been a hotbed of racism and xenophobia since the 60s. It just waxes and wanes depending on the revealing political climate. Michigan overall is a pretty purple state and it's always flipping from one side to the other.

Maybe you've just gotten used to how liberal the West coast is. Likewise, liberal media there might be trying to give you an idea that anywhere that isn't coastal is a lot more conservative than it actually is.

[ColdAilment]

Originally Posted by animatedmartian

What you describe doesn't seem to be anything new in Michigan. Detroit has been a hotbed of racism and xenophobia since the 60s. It just waxes and wanes depending on the revealing political climate. Michigan overall is a pretty purple state and it's always flipping from one side to the other.

Maybe you've just gotten used to how liberal the West coast is. Likewise, liberal media there might be trying to give you an idea that anywhere that isn't coastal is a lot more conservative than it actually is.

This ^

It's the midwest, not the Bay Area. Things are going to be different here, but nothing like Mississippi or Arkansas. Just stop with trying to compare Michigan with deep south states.

The RFRA in both Indiana and Arkansas was reworded so that it did not deny rights to gays, so that is a moot point.

[mjlo]

There are so many ignorant misconceptions perpetuated in the OP of this thread. If you would like to have this discussion please do so in a way that is not designed to bait and belittle an entire state. Negative threads are not allowed per city-data TOS. This thread is closed.