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While Parker's election is certainly commendable on how it reflects on Houstonians, I wouldn't go quite that far. What it means is that Houston, and the rest of urban Texas for that matter, isn't as conservative as people think it is.
And you're not wrong. I can't tell you how many people here are incredulous that I'm from Houston. "Wow! What a change! It must be so different here to you!" And I'm like, "No, not really." LOL I think ever since the blue and red divide came up during the 2004 presidential election, people have exacerbated the differences between people in different regions to the point of insanity. I met a woman here who didn't know we had Barnes & Noble's and Starbucks in Houston. I mean, come on! It's not like I moved to Mars or something!
I remember going to Atlanta for the first time and telling people I was from Texas. I remember one guy saying "This is completely different than what you have down there, huh?" I just thought it was funny. I responded "No, not really," and you should have seen his face!
My point was that it's been in the national and international news because 1. it's a Texas city 2. in (what most people think of as) the South 3. and the LARGEST to have elected a gay mayor. Parker's election helps dispel long-held misconceptions people have had about Texas and the South. I'm fairly certain that it shocked many people that Houston, of all places, known as the home of Big Oil and Bush country, both of which the left despise, elected a gay mayor before other more liberal cities like Boston (neighboring Cambridge, the Berkeley of the Northeast, has a black lesbian mayor, but she wasn't popularly elected), NYC, and Seattle. Perhaps it's not a big deal to you, but to everyone else it's newsworthy.
(And 4. I live near Providence and while it's a city, I don't think of it as a major city on the level of Houston. It's a major city in its region New England, but even here it is vastly overshadowed by Boston, for a number of good reasons.)
Yeah I agree. Houston beat LA, SF, NYC, Boston, all these other liberal cities to the punch. So the south and TX is not as redneck as a lot of people think. Yeah I've been to Providence and it's a small city to my standards but then again when you live in a huge city like Houston almost every city is small.
Agreed for the most part. I think Houston is overshadowed by Dallas and maybe Austin (gag ) to outsiders, but Texans know the real deal. If any city in Texas is overshadowed even to other Texans it would be El Paso!
Yeah Dallas seems to get mentioned a lot more than Houston. I'm sure part of this is because of the Dallas Cowboys. The Cowboys have tons of fans nationwide so this is part of the reason for Dallas' fame. I heard the new stadium in Arlington makes Reliant Stadium in Houston look tiny. Also the new stadium has the largest LED display in the world. The Cowboys bring lots of attention to Dallas.
Yeah Dallas seems to get mentioned a lot more than Houston. I'm sure part of this is because of the Dallas Cowboys. The Cowboys have tons of fans nationwide so this is part of the reason for Dallas' fame. I heard the new stadium in Arlington makes Reliant Stadium in Houston look tiny. Also the new stadium has the largest LED display in the world. The Cowboys bring lots of attention to Dallas.
It does in a way, but it might be because of location.
While Parker's election is certainly commendable on how it reflects on Houstonians, I wouldn't go quite that far. What it means is that Houston, and the rest of urban Texas for that matter, isn't as conservative as people think it is.
And you're not wrong. I can't tell you how many people here are incredulous that I'm from Houston. "Wow! What a change! It must be so different here to you!" And I'm like, "No, not really." LOL I think ever since the blue and red divide came up during the 2004 presidential election, people have exacerbated the differences between people in different regions to the point of insanity. I met a woman here who didn't know we had Barnes & Noble's and Starbucks in Houston. I mean, come on! It's not like I moved to Mars or something!
Yeah I hear ya. I've been to Boston and all over New England and I don't think it's much different than TX either. I like the scenery in northern New England. The scenery there is very good but comparing Boston to Houston I feel like it's not much different. Going around the U.S. I think most places are the same. Some people seem to think there are big differences going from place to place but every time I go somewhere new I think most things are the same. I agree people really exaggerate their differences.
It does in a way, but it might be because of location.
I was talking about the inside of the stadium. I don't know if this is true or not but I heard the inside of the Cowboys stadium is twice the size of the inside of Reliant Stadium.
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I mean, come on! It's not like I moved to Mars or something!
My point was that it's been in the national and international news because 1. it's a Texas city 2. in (what most people think of as) the South 3. and the LARGEST to have elected a gay mayor. Parker's election helps dispel long-held misconceptions people have had about Texas and the South. I'm fairly certain that it shocked many people that Houston, of all places, known as the home of Big Oil and Bush country, both of which the left despise, elected a gay mayor before other more liberal cities like Boston (neighboring Cambridge, the Berkeley of the Northeast, has a black lesbian mayor, but she wasn't popularly elected), NYC, and Seattle. Perhaps it's not a big deal to you, but to everyone else it's newsworthy.
) to outsiders, but Texans know the real deal. If any city in Texas is overshadowed even to other Texans it would be El Paso!
