A Nod to Southern Liberals

In the past I don't think I, or many people, have been fair when painting the south as a solid red teabagger mecca. For to me it seems obvious that there are many democrats in the south who speak loudly and stick up for what is right.

This comes to mind when I think of all the southern fishermen who tragically might now be ruined by BP's incompetence. This comes to mind when I think about those who were devastated by Katrina and neglected by the government when help was needed the most. This comes to mind when I think about Mexican immigrants who just want a better life and black citizens who still see the ember of racism flair up during times of political discourse.

But this also comes to mind for any southerner who sees a better way just as their friends in the north do, black, white, Latino or any ethnicity. Cheers to southern liberals! Thank you for all that you do!

Your comment has overwhelmed me.

:pals:

I know smart, educated, progressives that follow NASCAR.

The South gave this country a huge percentage of its greatest writers and guitarists.

It's entertaining (well, this season not so much).

And tell me I'm not smart- I'm fixing for a PhD in history in less than a year.

Hi there, btw.

And rarely leave it except to go the the neighboring second bluest county or to pass through to another state.

Makes it much easier to live here.

Still "southern" though.

a lot of us need a little extra kindness and encouragement this week.:loveya:

I never have been sure why I was different from most of my family and the people with whom I grew up. But I was. I spent the '60s on the Mississippi Gulf Coast (yeah, that one) and the early '70s in New Orleans. I love the area the way a child loves a terribly exciting, confusing mother and feel the same conflicted desire to be a part of it and to avoid major parts of it that you might excoet such a child to feel. It's nice not to be insulted and nice that people I truly loved and who were truly awful in some ways aren't ONLY hated.

....the spill should make a strong environmentalist out of every Gulf fisherman....and what genetically modified seeds and their owners are doing to growers, should turn every farmer into a strong progressive....

....to be a liberal/progressive in a 'red' environment takes extraordinary fortitude and effort....my hat is off to ya'll....keep up the good work....

... long before it ever became popular to be an "environmentalist."

And no, it won't. If you aren't from around here, you probably wouldn't understand. The economy of the area depends much more on oil and chemical refining than it does fishing. For every fisherman, he's probably got sons and cousins and fathers and nephews working on the rigs or in the plants. The commercial fishermen will be impacted for the next few years and then life will go back to normal. The sport fishermen... the charter captains, will be hurt more severely simply because the oil rigs are where they make their money. For every rig that fails, there are thousands upon thousands that haven't, and they are virtually all great habitats for fish.

for Progress, only to be shot down at election time. But, there are glimmers of hope. Regardless, we aren't giving up the fight no matter how thankless it is.

NGU - Never. Give. Up.

I live in amarillo, texas, it's mostly conservative, me and my family, are true die hard liberal's, my father who divorced my mother went from liberal to dumb ass teabagger, suck's when there such a small number of dems here and what suck's worst i live next door to a crazy right wing religous whack job, who threatened to kill me for taking care of his dog when he wasn't home, but atleast were smart and know right from wrong.

from North Centrl Texas

:fistbump:

Fight the good fight!

From the Texas panhandle! :D

:hi:

~VR in Wichita Falls.

just down the road. Live in Denton now, but will be moving to the Weatherford area for college: teaching college, that is. :P

There is nothing in Henrietta. :rofl:

Good luck with the teaching gig. I'm getting ready to get back into school. It's scary, but I have to do it.

I come up for the Pioneer Reunion ocasionally

I always felt like a displaced Texan there, but compared to Columbus, this town is soooooo boring!

from a former resident of Amarillo AND Pampa as well. Yee haw.

Come on down anytime when you want to see what a city full of Texas liberals is like. We're a fun rowdy bunch that'll welcome you with open arms.

Politics can make life a pain at times, but I simply cannot handle cold weather and would never even consider moving north. In fact, if I had a million bucks in the bank I would move even further south. Those 50-degree winter days are tough on us old folks.

Texas Liberal Democrat
Always have been - Always will be

Another thought: it is a lot harder being a liberal down here,
but this is where the fight is.

It means a lot.

There's a lot that goes on in the South that many people in other parts of the country aren't aware of.

And if all of us who want make a difference leave, then it definitely won't change. I stayed because I wanted to help change things, for the better I hope.

...we know what it's like to be on the front lines. Every day of our lives. We actually still believe in the New Deal. Imagine that.

We live with the racists who were just positive that their beloved United States would NEVER elect a black man for President and are plenty pissed off that they were wrong. We know the people who get all their "news" from Faux and know how they think.

In spite of the ridicule and sometimes outright ostracizing we still do our best to educate those who will listen.

Oh and thank you.

Glad to be acknowledged in such a kind way. I'm representing one of the blue dots in Texas! I'm so hoping we are able to elect Bill White - (D) and get rid of Governor Hair (Perry).

:hippie:

I can get tired of being painted with the broad brush. I know sometimes the conversation doesn't leave room for much but generalities--such is our fast paced world. But it sure is nice to hear someone remind me that they get this every now and then. Cheers!

Lotta stupid in these parts.

We have lost a lot of our Texas liberals, but we keep fighting anyway.

I live in a college town, and am completely amazed by the ignorance of the people here.

I am from Henrietta - moved about 55ish years ago, but I still call it my hometown. :hi:

:hi:

Miss you, mom.

Woot woot

Though never been there, I've heard good things about it from other liberals.

I live in Birmingham and I'm a liberal ....let me tell you, it's daunting at times. And there are so many times when I think of moving to some blue state where I might be in the majority but Alabama needs MORE people like me, not less. So I suffer through it....lol.

after being born in MS. My brother who's as liberal as I am, still lives in Mobile.

I've been in Nashville for 30 years and it's not bad up here. Us and Memphis are the bluest part of this red state.

It's extremely frustrating to see all Southerners broad brushed on a daily basis here. Good folks who want to make a difference in the world should know better than to assume everyone from x____x or who look like x____x are of like mind.

To our liberal brothers and sisters sticking it out in the red-zones! :toast:

Julie

Even here on DU. Cheers to your hard work. :toast:

:grouphug: :toast:

Arizona used to import bad ideas for government from Alabama, now we manufacture our own.

But AZ does have substantial areas of liberalism - mostly Tucson/Pima County, but the state is really more purple than red.

In 2006, we moved from one of the Bluest Northern Cities (Minneapolis) to a Deep Red Rural part of The South.

The South is beautiful, and belongs to everybody.
We claimed out little part.
We love it here.
(Eating HomeGrown Strawberries as I type this.)

bvar22 & Starkraven
Turning The South Blue

I'm not from the south, but I lived several years as a liberal in Oklahoma, which is a wannabe-southern state.

I've since moved to a more liberal state, but will gladly raise a glass to those southern liberals still slugging it out :toast:

I grew up in Texas but now live in Washington State. I just couldn't raise my children around so many racist, sexist, and bigoted people. You southern liberals are very courageous. Thank you for keeping up the fight.

Baton Rouger here. I have about as much use for conservatives as a T-Rex has for large, muscular arms.