Wow. I'm being hammered by my Southern friends about Vermont's health care decision.

[appalachiablue]

87. Sorry to hear about those awful people who you were around, and since gone.

I've never been around really overt hateful people in my own group, at work or among neighbors except a few and I'm very grateful. Up thread my replies mention folks ignorant of geography and bad attitudes about the South that I've encountered. It's entrenched, convenient to think ignorance and hate are all in the South for many I think. Or that the South is responsible. Even a couple well known progressive media hosts I like, after talking about a gun incident or bigotry event in a NON-South state say- there you go, those Southern gun nuts, rwingers at it again! One host idealizes Scandinavian countries and their social democracies. But they are even experiencing a lot of hate, anti-others because of economic austerity, anti-EU sentiment, immigration. Little of this is covered in US media but it's there in overseas news.

The left's indifference and inaction to the influence of Fox, hate radio and online hate for 20+ years is concerning to me. It's actually propaganda and legal since the media was deregulated in the 1990s and is now owned by 6 major media corporations that control 90% of all TV, radio and print news. The lies and dividing of people promotes conservatism and policies of the rich. Many don't realize it's untrue, not news and that they're being manipulated to support the 1% or 10%, not themselves. This drives the left crazy, but apart from Gore's Current News they won't or can't counter with a quality, accessible media in many formats for the left.

The country's become much more conservative and uninformed in 30 years. I never saw the US so bad, such outright racism, sexism, homophobia, anti-immigration and ant-govt. beliefs. That fear increases when there's a declining middle class, great income inequality and instability like we have now. The turn to conservatism and the right began with Reagan. Things were so different in the 60s, 70s, 80s, even 90s although not perfect especially for gays. Lost my little brother in 1992 in NY. Such a great person, so brave, joyous, bright and loved by many. Our family would be a lot stronger and healthier if he were here.

Correct about hate being uneven and in pockets, but the South as a region of course has a long history of legal discrimination and white Xian majority population although demographics are changing, scaring the majority group perhaps. Plenty of bigots and racists exist in the North and West, also white supremacist groups. Occasionally there's a comment about intolerance and hate in their state, like Oregon or NY but those areas are not considered a problem overall. A poster up thread even says NY state has become more conservative. I know it, yet friends in CA, WA don't want to hear it or believe it. To see the liberalism and prosperity for American workers in the US I remember waning is terrible. I pray things get better through grassroots organizing and getting money out of politics!