Which is the worst state in the United States of America

I've lived in Florida and I've lived in Georgia and Georgia is worse, believe me

The board knows I'm no sentimentalist, so I'm curious: the fuck makes Georgia, Alabama, etc. better than Florida?

I should also note: South Florida is not Florida.

North Florida is culturally similar to Georgia but still better. Gainesville as a college town is better than Athens. Plus North Florida has other charms that Georgia lacks.

the fuck makes Georgia, Alabama, etc. better than Florida

Atlanta.

Last year I spent a week in ATL with my mom (flew in from China, we met there -- in January to be clear.) It was so nice, we had so much fun there, everyone was friendly, we went to some great restaurants, saw a stand up comic who killed us with her dry stoned wit. I want to live there. I know stoned comedy isn't for everyone tho.

I found some very affordable tickets from Tampa to London, but for me the best route was to go to Orlando first. The difference between Orlando and Tampa was striking to me. Maybe it was just the areas of the respective cities I saw but people in Orlando seemed positively hostile much of the time, Tampa was much more welcoming. (I was in downtown Tampa, and the area of Orlando was between the airport and downtown.)

Charleston is also not far from home to me, and what I usually tell people is that they really specialize in their own unique brand of racism in Charleston. Although my cousins went to college there and say the cops will often profile poor looking white people if they're in the wrong neighborhood too. Of course I'm sure the brutality is much much worse against minorities.

Josefa why do you think Gainesville is better than Athens?

between the airport and downtown = yeaaaaaaaah, hard pass. best parts of Orlando to check out are the areas surrounding exits 84 and 85, really.

downtown DOES have some nice areas - the trick is to hit the 'other' side of Orange Ave. once you start to hit the 'club' area, yer fucked.

I have had some lovely experiences at Orlando City Stadium though. having professional soccer in my backyard and also being able to see touring squads come play there has been a godsend (like the US Women's National Team, World Cup qualifiers, etc).

I adore East Atlanta (the artier, more woke side near The Earl, at least)

I’ve only had 3 experiences in Florida, 1) first with a college friend’s parents in Naples for the holidays, the beach was beautiful and the ambience seemed unreal, it was almost a clichéd country club atmosphere. I watched Some Like it Hot with his family and was embarrassed because I thought that they knew I was gay and that that was the reason we were watching it, but they seemed to love it and they accepted me, 2) the second was going to parties and bars in Miami Beach and Fort Lauderdale with gay friends some years later, 3) later had a more sedate time in Sarasota going to restaurants and walks on the beach with my sister, her husband, and her in-laws

They were all different but pretty good and not like any other experiences I’ve ever had. They were all in the wintertime though, not sure I would like it in the summer

Josefa why do you think Gainesville is better than Athens?

Better local music scene ime, and a less pretentious one, although none of the bands I liked from Gainesville ever made it big. Admittedly my frame of reference may be way out of date. I just thought what was happening in Gainesville in my day was more creative, and what was happening in Athens was too constricted by the idea of being "Southern."

Gainesville has quite a few good concert spots/bars. I like The Atlantic.

Also Gainesville is not near any big city, so it has to be it's own oasis in the cultural void, whereas Athens can kind of fall back on the fact that it's near Atlanta.

sorry for the extra apostrophe

mostly remember Athens as a hub for Elephant 6 in the late 90s

what was happening in Athens was too constricted by the idea of being "Southern."

Seems spot on. I can't name any bands from Gainesville tbh. When I was coming up Chapel Hill was the main scene hub, maybe that's a bit played out in a similar way to Athens. But when we became more interested in raves and clubs, Greensboro had some of the best action. I was living in NC by then, and would go to ATL for events once in a while.

Never been to Athens or Gainesville actually, but I like the region around Athens because that landscape suits me -- it's not really that different from Chapel Hill, a little more hilly maybe?

in the late 90s

Mmmhmm, that's when I'm referring to as well. There was a crew from Atlanta called Earthtone Soundsystem that our little rave scene in Asheville was affiliated with.

Full disclosure we were also big fans of Dubtribe Soundsystem back then.

If the poll were done today I think my native state of Missouri would rise in the rankings. Probably third.

Full disclosure we were also big fans of Dubtribe Soundsystem back then.

Do It Then

Oregon may have overly rosy public relations, but it is far from the worst state on any measure, including racism.

Full disclosure we were also big fans of Dubtribe Soundsystem back then.

Do It Then

Ha thank you! I wanted to pull some meta zing out of that but I just didn't have it in me.

(For what it's worth, Earthtone Soundsystem was nowhere near as trendy/cultish as Dubtribe. All of them that I met were genuinely cool people, much like Cloudfactory in the SF Bay Area for example.)

Regarding Oregon, it's not just the historic white supremacy. As was briefly mentioned upthread the demographics continue to be quite monochrome compared to most of the South etc. According to the US Census, Oregon is 87% white, 2% Black; Mississippi is 59% white and 38% Black. (It is best to only capitalize "Black", not "white"; or to capitalize both? Genuine style question, no troll.)

So yes on average OR is light years more progressive than MS. But I would guess that even in Oregon on average there is more support for Republicans among whites than among Blacks in Mississippi. Maybe I'm wrong.

why is delaware so high up on this? the tax haven thing? it seems innocuous.

in oregon (along w/ louisiana) you could be convicted of a crime if 10 people on a jury said guilty and 2 said not guilty until the u.s. supreme court outlawed it last year

Oregon is 87% white, 2% Black

There's a reason why the Proud Boys et al. are always marching in Portland and not, like, here.

Kentucky is a tough one. They do have two asshole senators, but they have a democratic governor, and there is tons of cool shit in the state, from the bourbon trail to the Muhammed Ali Center to Mammoth Cave to lots of good music. Plus, the state is really pretty. Also, centrally located, and not too big.

tipsy to thread!

(It is best to only capitalize "Black", not "white"; or to capitalize both? Genuine style question, no troll.)

I'm curious what the thinking is on this as well. lowercase white vs uppercase Black might on some level support the implication that whiteness is "default"

unsurprisingly it seems like a no win situation the more you think about it

Here you go:

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/05/insider/capitalized-black.html

I noticed just the other day that the New Yorker capitalizes "Black," which maybe they've done for years? No idea what they do with "white."

about what I figured. not really a satisfying answer but that's the nature of style (and change in progress). xp

the New Yorker capitalizes "Black," which maybe they've done for years?

I believe "everyone" (meaning "the media") started capitalizing Black more or less in the last 12 months. I know that's when I started doing it in my own writing, for Stereogum (and in my upcoming book).

I miss Atlanta so much :(

xpost

Here's the revised AP style guide on "Black" etc (it's dated from July 2020 but I saw a Guardian article from June, referencing the AP decision to capitalize Black):

https://apnews.com/article/9105661462

Atl is a legit great city. And if you don’t have to be in the car much its ranking goes way up imo. The urban canopy really is remarkable.

For sure, the predominant car culture is main issue there. But within the city limits at least it looks like they're doing their best to move away from that.

(I was without a car for a few days there taking care of some business, and I have to say it's quite cool how there are little public shuttle buses that go all over the place and which seem to have sliding scale payment. Of course MUNI in SF is also sliding scale if you know how to avoid the driver's eyes as you slip in the back door. I would never!)

*main issue I have

*the

Gonna go against the grain here and say I found Atlanta to be pretty depressing and grey

Apparently it's Alabama, but even that is better than DC:

https://today.yougov.com/topics/travel/articles-reports/2021/04/13/us-states-ranked-best-worst-according-americans

if you look at the Bloomberg Vaccine Tracker, Alabama is the only state with a mega light-green shade.

why am i not shocked.

https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0331/3061/products/Mutual-Feelings_60x36_Flag_Photo_1200x1200.jpg

Jersey tied with Iowa and Arkansas.

Been trying to think up what trouble those three states could get into together, with no luck.

I reckon TX has this now

otm

Certainly top contender for worst state that has the most awesome things in it ruined by the shittiness.

Nov, 2022 is when we're hopefully going to get rid of Abbott. If Texas doesn't do something about the bastard I'm going to have to move. Fuck this shit.

If you lose Abbott, you're only going to get somebody worse because he was primaried.