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This thread is getting off track but MovingOver is right, I should have said, "dismayed AT HOW MANY liberals are so intolerant and bigoted."
And I DO KNOW THESE PEOPLE.
Boy, do I know them after more than 50 years of being one. I grew up in an extreme liberal family and community. I was both a political and environmental activist for many years. My husband was a journalist and PBS documentary film maker for liberal policies. And what we saw/experienced consistently for many years was our conservative and independent friends were so much MORE tolerant and open-minded to other's ideas outside their own. Look at what happened to Juan Williams at PBS. I am not talking Democrats in general, but Liberals. They are cited as being "elitist" for a reason.
I apologize for painting with too wide a brush, there are clearly extremes on both sides---I just feel liberals get the upper hand too often on these forums at looking down their noses at anyone with a different lifestyle or ideas.
Let's not derail this thread into politics--my bad. lol
In comparing these 3 areas, another thing that WNC has going for it is it has access to more things to do and see. There are nice beach communities that are warm in the winter which neither Boulder or Vermont have. Also, there seems to be generally easier access for more things to do in WNC---can drive or take train to Washington DC, beaches, historical towns in other states, NYC museums, etc, etc.
I don't know Burlington very well but it seems a little isolated, and Boulder is limited in you only have Denver and it is pretty isolated from much else unless you fly somewhere-- except of course you have mountains and skiing like the other 2 do.
Hey Mountainrose, thanks for amending your statement. :-) I couldn't believe you actually wrote that, but hey, people agreed with you. lol
...Today, I took my aussie up the mtn to do the rattlesnake lodge hike & then cooled off at ledges whitewater riverside park afterwards. Man, that is a nice way to spend a Sunday morning. One poster here talked about the long drives from A'ville to rivers for wading/swimming, and the waterfalls. I share that frustration, esp when time doesn't allow an hour drive one way to get wet, but what we have right here in our backyard ain't too shabby!!
There is a man on a local message board in my community that moved here from the city. He rants and raves against hunters because he thinks hunting is wrong. But he buys meat at the grocery store.
I'm not sure if the contempt for hunters is a liberal thing or just a city ignorance thing. Either way, it's irrational.
Very few local hunters kill for sport alone. Most of them eat what they kill. In fact, there are families that couldn't make it without deer meat in the freezer every year. When I first moved here, the local paper had a photo of a boy - about 11 or 12 years old. He had killed his first deer and the caption said ... "His family won't go hungry with such a good hunter in the house."
That caption was an education in itself for me.
Burlington, Vermont is surrounded by rural land and hunters too, but no one says anything about "gun loving hee haws" there.
...My first day here, when I told a woman working at a grocery store that I'd just moved from Raleigh, she said "What? You moved -here- from Raleigh? Are you crazy?" After she nudging, she explained, "I grew up here, but lived for 20 years in Greenville, which I LOVED. I had to come back to Asheville for family reasons, but I can't stand it. All the people here are REDNECKS (is this any better/worse than saying Hee Haws?). Rednecks everywhere!"
I told her I had heard Asheville had many artistic, intellectual types. A young lady who had been listening chimed in, who by the way sported a nose ring, and said, "That's just downtown & they're all freaks."
The grocery employee said, "Yeah, freaks & rednecks, that's all Asheville has."
Great thing to hear on your first day!!! I haven't found the cool people of Asheville to be freaks at all. And everyone is very friendly. I'm starting to really really love it here. But the rednecks/hee haws do far outnumber the artistic & educated types...just my opinion so far.
You can never go by what one or two people say. Some people will always exaggerate based on their own perceptions which are often ill informed.
A perfect example is that the young lady said everyone is a freak downtown, yet you are not finding them to be freaks. Some people have been so sheltered that they think anything different is freaky or wrong.
I was reading a very old thread here a couple of days ago and a lady from Morganton said she was shocked on her first visit to Asheville because "there were bars everywhere."
Sigh.
She just revealed how unworldly she is. Take opinions with a grain of salt until you can make up your own mind.
I'm not sure if the contempt for hunters is a liberal thing or just a city ignorance thing. Either way, it's irrational.
The term I use, which I picked up from a good lady over at the Alaska forum, is "urban liberal". It's an accurate term, really. People with an urban, liberal mindset. People who are terrified by the idea of killing an animal, yet go to expensive steak houses in the city and eat a fillet, one of the most unsustainable cuts of beef there is. Basically, these people have not had any experience outside of a city, which is a micro-world where everything is different from the world outside of large cities, and there is a mindset that goes along with that. Gun phobia, generally thinking that they know what is best for everyone else because they live in a city and are therefore extremely sophisticated and intelligent. And to MoveOver or whatever it is, I don't make this stuff up. These people actually exist. I didn't say it applies to you, but there are people who think that way.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Shooting Stars
Burlington, Vermont is surrounded by rural land and hunters too, but no one says anything about "gun loving hee haws" there.
Why is that?
That is a very astute observation, and obviously it's because this is the South, and people in New England couldn't possibly be rural, have accents, and go hunting. Some people should probably just stay in cities and quit pestering people in rural areas to change their ways.
My parents, and my siblings, who are all republicans to the bone, don't believe hunting is rational. They would never be caught with a gun in their hands. But I do know some democrats who like to hunt. All I said was I don't like to hear the sound of gunfire. This doesn't make me or anyone an urban liberal. And it's my prerogative. Everyone is different, it's supposed to be that way. Too many people paint with too wide a brush here. Comes across as quite intolerant & bigoted. ~Marie ("it")
Also want to add that I don't think I'll ever get used to the sound of gunfire I hear so often. I'm an animal lover & don't understand the urge to kill for sport. But I do understand its cultural & will respect their right.
I don't think anyone is blaming you that the sound of gunfire makes you nervous since you've never been around it. I know you don't think you'll ever get used to it, but you probably will ... eventually. I wasn't used to it either, but after 10 years here, I am.
As we said, few hunters here are doing it for "sport", just as animals slaughtered for grocery stores are not killed for sport. The only difference is that commercial meat production very often subjects the animals to inhumane conditions.
That's the part most of the anti-hunting people don't get. They have a right to their opinion, but they should at least understand the issue better.
Also You can't buy local venison or wild turkey in the stores and both are healthier sources of meat. You have to hunt for them. My new diet book recommends both, and it makes me wish I had a family member that was a local hunter.
I am a huge animal lover too, but I don't do well health-wise without meat. Since I need to eat it, I'd rather eat the healthier stuff from the forest if I had a choice.
My parents, and my siblings, who are all republicans to the bone, don't believe hunting is rational. They would never be caught with a gun in their hands. But I do know some democrats who like to hunt. All I said was I don't like to hear the sound of gunfire. This doesn't make me or anyone an urban liberal. And it's my prerogative. Everyone is different, it's supposed to be that way. Too many people paint with too wide a brush here. Comes across as quite intolerant & bigoted. ~Marie ("it")
I went out of my way to say that the "urban liberal" label does not apply to you necessarily. You just are uncomfortable about guns, whatever, you'll get over it. Or maybe you won't, and you'll go back to the city. Whatever you do, like you said, "is your prerogative". There's no one here telling you to change your ways, and there's no one here accusing you of anything. So what are you so defensive about? Like I mentioned before, the "intolerant and bigoted" thing goes both ways, and you will find those people in big, generally liberal cities as much as you will in the rural, generally conservative areas.
And Shooting Stars, I bet you could hunt just fine if you so desired. There are plenty of people around here who could show you the ropes, and let me tell you, fresh venison or fresh wild turkey is about as good as it gets. I haven't shot a deer in a long time for various reasons, so I've been getting my venison from friends lately, but there's always a bunch of it around during the holidays.
Now, I know it seems as if this thread has veered off topic, but in a way I think it's right on. This thread should be an indicator for anyone who is considering living here as to what it is generally like in this area. Now, Asheville is urban liberal heaven, and OP would fit in there much much better than here in Big Ivy Country, where the people are real and your stress melts away. I stay away from cities.
My biz partner has a brother in Florida who hunts down there. We are considering paying the fees for him to hunt up here just to get some local venison.
We asked a local butcher shop if they ever have it, but it is illegal for them to sell it.
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