Why are people in Washington so pissed off?

[NCDavid]

Originally Posted by Basilide

Most people I meet out here have lived here their entire lives and said they never want to leave. Some are even 3rd generation Pacific Northwesterners. Like I said, I can usually spot the foreigner. Although, I've noticed if some people live here long enough (and they're from the midwest) it's harder to tell the difference.

Latest figures I could find in a quick search. I'd bet the native-born percentage is even smaller now:
According to the 2000 census:

Seattle residents:
39% born in WA state
43% born in US, but not in WA
18% born outside the US

So, I repeat an earlier post: don't blame the natives for traffic and other problems you encounter in Seattle.

[elkotronics]

HOW about pepper spray or a baseball bat?

Nowhereman-exactly. Hey, I sort of slung some arrows but I hope everyone on here who might feel like they were a target knows that I didn't mean you personally. I have tried to stay out of the gun debate but somehow allowed my opinions or feelings to get drawn in to it. And I'm not saying that anyone on here caused that, either. I still feel how I do about guns but I realize that the U.S. is a very gun-oriented land and that the wars involved in U.S. history had to have weapons used heavily, obviously.

So my views are my views only. I knew they wouldn't be popular and quite honestly, my Dad was not a hunter, nor was his Dad. It's not in my family. So our son was not taught gun use and feels like I do, as does my wife. I don't want to propegate bad feelings on here, either, so I'll just leave it like that.

But pepper spray may work in an attack on me or my loved ones. To be honest, it's not something I even worry about. I don't "practice" what I would do if a moron were to break into our house. Pray to God above, at least. The pepper spray idea is one that a lot of you would probably poo-poo because it wouldn't be abrasive enough, eh?

[Transmition]

Originally Posted by PS90

Why should we assume all Muslims are good despite a few outliers, but all gun-owners are bad BECAUSE of a few outliers???

The only reason I can figure = more liberal hypocrisy.

You know that works both ways, with conservative hypocrisy, who say the same thing but reversed. You are really just calling out hypcrites, but turned it into an anti-liberal rant.

[NewbiePoster]

Originally Posted by Basilide

All these quotes made me laugh pretty hard. Verbatim what a lot of visitors have said to me personally about the area, and I agree (having lived in different areas but from the PNW). I would never want to live in Seattle because of all these listed reasons... I stay here for the scenery, not the people or the policies.

I am generally very friendly/warm with strangers, which is apparently weird, to the point I get raised eyebrows and like I'm going to molest their children just by saying hi or commenting on the day or asking a question. And I can almost always pick out someone who isn't "from around here" by how they smile and try to engage others instead of keeping their faces stuck in phones or books or anything to pretend they're not in public. One of the most surreal experiences I had was sitting on a bus where literally ever single person had ear-buds in. Every single one except me. It was also pretty funny at a bus stop when there was two other people waiting for the bus with me, and I started a conversation with one (who wasn't from Washington) and tried to include the other, but she shrank into the corner of the bus stop covering with her arms crossed and refused to make eye contact as if I asked her to give me her soul by trying to talk to her.

Someone from Chicago moved out here and his mother was visiting, and she tried to ask a man at the grocery store what he was buying at the deli counter because it looked good, and he literally tucked his food away and glared like she was trying to steal it from him! So, as you can tell, her impression of Washingtonians didn't go up much.

Funny stories! But generally, I agree, it's this anti-social quality. I'm still not understanding the OP's thing about "pissed off" people. I didn't encounter that when I lived in Seattle. I think you have something here, with the idea that the tendency to withdraw and avoid might be seen by outsiders as "pissed off". But that's not what it is at all. I noticed that once you break through the icy surface, people are pretty mellow. Or maybe the OP is projecting his own state of mind onto others?