My friend, I have absolutely nothing against you, or the majority of people who live in Tennessee. In fact, the great majority of my family live in the part of the South that bleeds into the Midwest... and I live as far west as I can possibly get from them because there's a fundamental disconnect in terms of belief system and interests between them and myself, and between myself and the greater population of conservative areas such as but certainly not limited to Memphis.
I'm not even all that liberal politically (politics are probably a source where disconnect might come from for some hackers), I'm pretty middle-of-the road as far as extremes to the American right and left are concerned -- but when I lived in the South, I felt distinctly uncomfortable and out of place. In California and the PNW and even Colorado, I don't generally feel this disconnect with my surroundings; I feel more connected to the place and with a fraction of the populace greater than just a few individuals.
This is 100% personal, but I don't think I'm entirely alone in expressing these sentiments. I moved away because I was sick of always being uncomfortable, which didn't contribute to my quality of life, nor to that of the people who were probably mutually made uncomfortable. & again, by SF or NY standards, I'm not strange/liberal/letting my freak flag fly in the slightest. I'm (mostly) white, but therein lies part of the problem I have with the Midwest and the South.
I certainly understand. I do get sick of feeling like a weird liberal occasionally. But really, is it that bad?
Also, there's clear evidence [1][2] that people are leaving "mixed" communities to live in areas that are more homogenous and in line with their politics and culture. I don't want to be a part of that, as I consider it a problem.
Again, this is personal, but people in the South and Midwest seem to generally have and occasionally let fly... sentiment... against those who don't appear fully white on first glance. Yeah, combine the conservatism with the racism, and it really is that bad, sorry. The conservatism alone probably wouldn't have chased me away though.
The sort of sentiment I occasionally encountered seems to be a cultural thing, really. Ergo I left.
I'm not even all that liberal politically (politics are probably a source where disconnect might come from for some hackers), I'm pretty middle-of-the road as far as extremes to the American right and left are concerned -- but when I lived in the South, I felt distinctly uncomfortable and out of place. In California and the PNW and even Colorado, I don't generally feel this disconnect with my surroundings; I feel more connected to the place and with a fraction of the populace greater than just a few individuals.
This is 100% personal, but I don't think I'm entirely alone in expressing these sentiments. I moved away because I was sick of always being uncomfortable, which didn't contribute to my quality of life, nor to that of the people who were probably mutually made uncomfortable. & again, by SF or NY standards, I'm not strange/liberal/letting my freak flag fly in the slightest. I'm (mostly) white, but therein lies part of the problem I have with the Midwest and the South.