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I was wondering how most of north carolina is about gay rights and smoking. Also dose north carolina people have strong southern accents. Thank you
People in NC are generally tolerant of gay folks. However, as far as gay rights, NC's laws lag behind the social norms, as is usually the case. But since your question asks about NC compared to the rest of the South, yes, we are among the more progressive states in the South. The only one that does not yet have a Constitutional amendment against same-sex marriage (although some conservative lawmakers are once again trying to get it on the ballot, for 2012).
Oddly, "liberal" when it comes to smoking tends to mean stricter smoking laws. I.e., you find smoking tolerated in the more conservative parts of the country while the more "liberal" areas such as California have the strongest bans. On that front, NC must be "liberal" because smoking was just banned in all indoor businesses, including bars.
Your question about Southern accents is odd--what does that have to do with being "liberal" or not? It's a completely different question. I know some very progressive people with Southern accents and some very politically conservative people with Northern accents. Yes, NC has its own accent, more than one actually, but to hear the generic "NC accent", listen to our governor Bev Perdue on any youtube clip.
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what part of north carolina would be the most liberal?
Any of the urban areas (this is true in every state, of course--rural areas are always more conservative than cities). Chapel Hill/Carrboro, Charlotte, the Triad, and Asheville.
If you are gay and a smoker, and are thinking of coming here, you might try the Winston-Salem area. There are some really liberal areas there but, since it was built on the tobacco industry, they are as smoker-tolerant as you can find in NC, I think, at least in the cities.
Your question about Southern accents is odd--what does that have to do with being "liberal" or not?
Somehow I get the feeling he/she thinks people with strong southern accents must all be hard-core right wing rednecks
I apologize if that is not the case. And I'll just echo what others said that Asheville, Charlotte, Triad and Triangle are the most liberal areas of the state.
I would say NC is the third most liberal state in the South, with Florida being the first and Virginia being the second.
Florida is not culturally considered "The South", by and large (plus they have some weird anti-gay laws, such as gay people not being able to adopt), and you'd be surprised about Virginia--they pass some amazingly "backwards" laws, particularly regarding gay issues or other social issues. Northern VA is very liberal, but other places, even Richmond, not so much. NC has one of the few Republican Senators, Richard Burr, who supported the repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" (as did our Democratic senator).
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Somehow I get the feeling he/she thinks people with strong southern accents must all be hard-core right wing rednecks
That was my read on it, as well, which is exactly why I addressed it. Funny how someone can be worried about being judged for being gay but then turn around and (it seems) judge someone for having a certain accent. As someone who is both gay AND has a Southern accent (as well as a Masters degree), I see this all the time, however. Being part of one stereotyped group certainly doesn't stop you from stereotyping another.
-Chapel Hill and Carrboro (Home to UNC)
-Asheville (and Weaverville!!)
-Boone (Home to Appalachian State)
-Raleigh (Where I live, but southerners only live in the south part of the city and around NC State, whereas Cary and the northern parts and historic parts of the city are composed of rich engineers who have moved down here. Both are liberal, but the parts with richer people vote red)
-Charlotte (More liberal than it used to be, but the suburbs are as red as ever)
-Greensboro and Winston are democratic, but some of those votes are from blue dogs
- The rest of the state is conservative leaning, but with a lot of blue dogs (often older white people and most rural black people) who vote liberal, especially in the east. There are parts of the mountains that are actually more liberal-leaning than the east, but vote red because they see government as bad
-The areas immediately to the north and west of charlotte are probably the most socially conservative.
I know this is late, but wanted to post something
PS. I wouldn't call southern Florida or northern Virginia parts of the South culturally. I'd say NC has the most liberal southerners.
-Chapel Hill and Carrboro (Home to UNC)
-Asheville (and Weaverville!!)
-Boone (Home to Appalachian State)
-Raleigh (Where I live, but southerners only live in the south part of the city and around NC State, whereas Cary and the northern parts and historic parts of the city are composed of rich engineers who have moved down here. Both are liberal, but the parts with richer people vote red)
-Charlotte (More liberal than it used to be, but the suburbs are as red as ever)
-Greensboro and Winston are democratic, but some of those votes are from blue dogs
- The rest of the state is conservative leaning, but with a lot of blue dogs (often older white people and most rural black people) who vote liberal, especially in the east. There are parts of the mountains that are actually more liberal-leaning than the east, but vote red because they see government as bad
-The areas immediately to the north and west of charlotte are probably the most socially conservative.
I know this is late, but wanted to post something
PS. I wouldn't call southern Florida or northern Virginia parts of the South culturally. I'd say NC has the most liberal southerners.
Very on-target. I agree with virtually everything you say, except that "Southerners only live in South Raleigh". I know tons of Southerners who live in North Raleigh and even grew up there (my generation, who were young children when North Raleigh came into being). Though yes, it's more transplant-ish in the suburban No. Ral.
People who think in simplistic Red/Blue terms don't have a grasp the subtleties of NC politics, as you allude, where you have "modern"-thinking people who vote Red because they're affluent ("Country Club Republicans") or "Blue Dog" people who vote Blue but are socially conservative (including large African-American populations). Overall the state is just about the "Purple-est" there is, but some surprisingly conservative or liberal politicans can be elected.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by GreyAlaska
I'd say (Liberal to Conservative):
-Chapel Hill and Carrboro (Home to UNC)
-Asheville (and Weaverville!!)
-Boone (Home to Appalachian State)
-Raleigh (Where I live, but southerners only live in the south part of the city and around NC State, whereas Cary and the northern parts and historic parts of the city are composed of rich engineers who have moved down here. Both are liberal, but the parts with richer people vote red)
-Charlotte (More liberal than it used to be, but the suburbs are as red as ever)
-Greensboro and Winston are democratic, but some of those votes are from blue dogs
- The rest of the state is conservative leaning, but with a lot of blue dogs (often older white people and most rural black people) who vote liberal, especially in the east. There are parts of the mountains that are actually more liberal-leaning than the east, but vote red because they see government as bad
-The areas immediately to the north and west of charlotte are probably the most socially conservative.
I know this is late, but wanted to post something
PS. I wouldn't call southern Florida or northern Virginia parts of the South culturally. I'd say NC has the most liberal southerners.
I'm 30 miles west of Charlotte in a town that is still a majority of natives. It's majority Democratic. The local weekly tackled this a couple of months ago, bemoaning that while the county leans Democratic, for many offices the county is paired with rampantly Republican areas so it's difficult for Democratic candidates to win.
But as been alluded to NC democrats are as about dixiecrat as you can get. On a local level they differ from Republicans, but nationally have more in common with Republicans than Democrats.
But as been alluded to NC democrats are as about dixiecrat as you can get. On a local level they differ from Republicans, but nationally have more in common with Republicans than Democrats.
SOME. Not Kay Hagen, David Price, Brad Miller, etc. Most districts are ery competitive and in swing districts, a more progressive Democrat couldn't get elected. But yes, we also have the Blue Dogs such as Shuler and McIntyre, both who are about to be redistricted out of their seats.
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