Bible belt and tollerance (Houston, Austin: law, moving to, eat)

[baby_firefly]

Originally Posted by solytaire

If you're afraid of intolerance, stay out of Tyler...lol I was raised there and I didnt realize how segregated it is and how parochial people were in their perceptions of certain ethnic groups until I recently revisited. I moved to Houston recently, where all ethnic groups really do integrate quite well with one another and any pre-existing stereotypes can easily be dispelled by the antithesis of that stereotype in Houston. However when I returned home to Tyler, I found it shocking to still be monitored and followed through stores all these years later; as I had sort of grown accustomed to co-habitating with people of different backgrounds and ethnicities in Houston, void of pre-conceived stereotypes...but oh well, that sort of intolerance can be found anywhere I suppose. All I know is that it is more prevalent in Tyler/East Texas so I would stay out of East Texas if you're seeking cultural diversity...lol

really??cause i've read quite a few posts about Tyler and they describe the opposite ,and city data says theres just as many other nationalitysthan white(55.6% white)i'm looking for a town not very metropolitan thats verychurch involved (prayer groups,group activities,etc...)that i could find an apartment/rental housing ,waitressing or bartending job ,thats safe for children and has activities for them if any of you are farmiliar with Lewisville do you think i would find that there and any suggestions if no
thanks

[TexasReb]

I probably should stay out of this thread entirely. Because I know me well enough to know how my hackles rise when I read the broken record query/posts by some yankee or (if there is a difference) "progressive" California person "thinking" of moving to Texas (or any other place in the South), for jobs, climate, slower paced and better quality of life, etc.

BUT...but "oh so concerned" that the price to pay is living in a horrid netherworld of "intolerance" compared to the land they ruined and now try to flee. In other words, love our milk and honey, they do, but hey, they say, let us tell you how we did it "up north."... even if THAT is what they are running away from. I guess it is a yankee thing....

*sigh* Sorry, y'all...I don't mean to be tacky or rude, but I get sick of this crap. Texas, the South, the Bible Belt, needs NO defending. I will not spend one nano-second defensive about my state, my region, our way of life, etc, to those who live in glass houses, and likely don't even know it.

The worst race riots in modern history have been in California, and northern cities. Detroit, Watts, South LA, Newark, Boston, etc.

Sure, we have our problems down here...but one thing about us is that WE are NOT hypocrites about it.

Bottom line? You'll (in the third person sense) find Texas the friendliest place on earth. The most "tolerant" (in the good old fashioned sense of the word) and hospitable in the world, we are. That is, IF an attitude doesn't come down with it. Otherwise, Delta or Southwest Airlines are ready when you are...

Better yet? Spare yourself the cultural shock and us the bill.

I guess I better quit before I get worked up about it all...!

[bresilhac]

I would accept the conservative comments on here with a grain of salt if I were you. Remember, it was these wise conservatives that voted for George W. Bush not once but twice for governor. I come from a state that is not unlike Texas in many ways. One of which is that you'll find many more religiously, culturally tolerant people in the major cities than in the countryside. This is how it is in Virginia where the country folk seem a step behind people in Northern Virginia.

[wehotex]

Originally Posted by aggie2005

Ironically, liberals tend to be the most closed-minded people out there. They want you to be open and accepting to all their views, opinions, and actions, but at the same time call people that don't agree with them religious nuts and bigots. Go figure.

as far as i can tell, the OP is doing nothing wrong, just asking a simple question about why some churchgoers appear to approve of segregation/racism. i was born here (corpus christi) and saw firsthand the prejudice of some of the people here, did not see as much of that in calif, despite the fact that they have actually MORE to complain about over there due to being swarmed by illegals. there are MANY churches here on EVERY corner. you might think that if religion plays such a big role in texans' lives that people would live more jc-like. but instead, some of them aren't, in fact the opposite. your direct deflection of this guys' comment only proves that you have something to hide and cannot properly contradict his statement.

[killer2021]

I like the whole don't ask don't tell idea. Don't ask others about their religion and don't talk about your religion.

[Rocket Power]

People forget that, before George W Bush, the people of Texas voted for a female liberal (Ann Richards) to run the state.

And while I don't have any data to back this up, I'd just imagine the majority of those people who voted back then were native texans and not people from some place else.

I consider myself an agnostic and I've never had any trouble down here. I don't go around telling people who believe in god they need to stop going to church, and they don't tell me I should change my beliefs and need to be saved. It's a pretty good system that works pretty well.

[sig4t5]

I wish more people would consider not moving here!

[TexasReb]

Originally Posted by wehotex

as far as i can tell, the OP is doing nothing wrong, just asking a simple question about why some churchgoers appear to approve of segregation/racism. i was born here (corpus christi) and saw firsthand the prejudice of some of the people here, did not see as much of that in calif, despite the fact that they have actually MORE to complain about over there due to being swarmed by illegals. there are MANY churches here on EVERY corner. you might think that if religion plays such a big role in texans' lives that people would live more jc-like. but instead, some of them aren't, in fact the opposite. your direct deflection of this guys' comment only proves that you have something to hide and cannot properly contradict his statement.

Then answer this. Why have the worst race riots in modern history been in northern states or in California? Why do blacks and whites in the South (defined for polling purposes as the 11 Old Confederate States plus Kentucky and Oklahoma) express the most optomism on race relations? Why did Dr. King once say something like "if you want to teach a white Southerner how to hate, send him to Chicago."....?

On a related tangent, there also seems to be a genre of Texans/Southerners ever ready to apologize for our faults, past or present, real or perceived. What?, pray tell, do we have to apologize for in relation to any other part of the country? To my way of thinking, before one indicts a whole culture of people as sinners, then you better first be able to identify the saints.

And I have said it before and will say it again. The biggest difference in Southern problems vis a vis the rest of the country is that we were, and still are, less hypocritical about it.

So, I am not trying to "deflect" the question the OP asked. I AM, however, trying to frame it in a proper historical and cultural perspective. In fact, really, come to think of it, I can more easily overlook the OP question because maybe (seriously, meaning no disrespect) they don't know any better. I am less tolerant (that word again!) of my fellow native Texans/Southerners who buy into it and feel a need to reflexively agree with every negative stereotype thrown at us.

Again, I don't mean to be tacky or rude, but this kind of thing just gets me a bit riled! *wry smile*

[wehotex]

Originally Posted by TexasReb

Then answer this. Why have the worst race riots in modern history been in northern states or in California? Why do blacks and whites in the South (defined for polling purposes as the 11 Old Confederate States plus Kentucky and Oklahoma) express the most optomism on race relations? Why did Dr. King once say something like "if you want to teach a white Southerner how to hate, send him to Chicago."....?

On a related tangent, there also seems to be a genre of Texans/Southerners ever ready to apologize for our faults, past or present, real or perceived. What?, pray tell, do we have to apologize for in relation to any other part of the country? To my way of thinking, before one indicts a whole culture of people as sinners, then you better first be able to identify the saints.

And I have said it before and will say it again. The biggest difference in Southern problems vis a vis the rest of the country is that we were, and still are, less hypocritical about it.

So, I am not trying to "deflect" the question the OP asked. I AM, however, trying to frame it in a proper historical and cultural perspective. In fact, really, come to think of it, I can more easily overlook the OP question because maybe (seriously, meaning no disrespect) they don't know any better. I am less tolerant (that word again!) of my fellow native Texans/Southerners who buy into it and feel a need to reflexively agree with every negative stereotype thrown at us.

Again, I don't mean to be tacky or rude, but this kind of thing just gets me a bit riled! *wry smile*

Good post. you definitely back up what you say i've pondered the same question as to why so many riots (what we think of as riots) happen more in the north than in the south/west coast. i was there in the 92 LA riots and think that it's b/c those areas are/have been more permissive. if similar events (riots, not demonstrations) had happened in the South, it would have meant hanging, vigilanteism in southern states. In other areas of the country, they have law enforcement. but they don't lose their lives from stealing a television, microwave oven. in texas and the south, they are more "open" about their prejudices like saying "hey mexican, hey n-word" if you upset them, not asking you to lunch, etc. in my fifteen years in calif, i never experienced anything like that. i would have to agree with you about northerners being prejudiced, but they're more subtle about it except if they're among their own. my texas experiences are from 20 years ago. maybe things have changed since then?

[baby_firefly]

Originally Posted by TexasReb

I probably should stay out of this thread entirely. Because I know me well enough to know how my hackles rise when I read the broken record query/posts by some yankee or (if there is a difference) "progressive" California person "thinking" of moving to Texas (or any other place in the South), for jobs, climate, slower paced and better quality of life, etc.

BUT...but "oh so concerned" that the price to pay is living in a horrid netherworld of "intolerance" compared to the land they ruined and now try to flee. In other words, love our milk and honey, they do, but hey, they say, let us tell you how we did it "up north."... even if THAT is what they are running away from. I guess it is a yankee thing....

*sigh* Sorry, y'all...I don't mean to be tacky or rude, but I get sick of this crap. Texas, the South, the Bible Belt, needs NO defending. I will not spend one nano-second defensive about my state, my region, our way of life, etc, to those who live in glass houses, and likely don't even know it.

The worst race riots in modern history have been in California, and northern cities. Detroit, Watts, South LA, Newark, Boston, etc.

Sure, we have our problems down here...but one thing about us is that WE are NOT hypocrites about it.

Bottom line? You'll (in the third person sense) find Texas the friendliest place on earth. The most "tolerant" (in the good old fashioned sense of the word) and hospitable in the world, we are. That is, IF an attitude doesn't come down with it. Otherwise, Delta or Southwest Airlines are ready when you are...

Better yet? Spare yourself the cultural shock and us the bill.

I guess I better quit before I get worked up about it all...!

plus all the swastikas being spray painted, and the nooses showing up in columbia university in nyc