# Damn, but it's good to be a Blue stater! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [November 8, 2004, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-but-its-good-to-be-a-blue-stater/273644 "2004-11-08T14:36:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![gobear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8dc957/32.png) [@gobear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gobear)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2004, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-but-its-good-to-be-a-blue-stater/273644/1 "2004-11-08T14:36:36Z")
I’ve been trying to be reasonable and conciliatory in the wake of the GOP victory, but this bit of [sarcasm](http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/11/07/blue_state_to_reds/) really encapsulates a lot of what I’ve been struggling to suppress in my own thoughts about the people who voted against their own economic self-interest in support of illusory “values.” > [@](#): > > Look at economic output and educational achievement on a state-by-state basis: it’s painfully evident that we Blues are immensely more productive and better educated than you Reds. We have lots more money. We live longer. We eat better. We work less. We fuck more. We do cocaine and smoke fine Canadian buds, not the homebrew crank and cheap Mexican headache reefer you guys are stuck with. We drink French wine and Stoli martinis, not Budweiser. Our children rarely bother us: we’ve got them on Ritalin and Prozac. Our teeth are straighter and whiter, our necks longer, and our fingernails cleaner. And many of us are the Republican elite who have just punked you. > > It’s good to be a Blue, regardless of which party you join. > > Understandably, you resent us, so you’ve fabricated an imaginary measure of superiority: Christian “values.” Yet you talk about values the way a pre-teen girl talks about “love” in fan letters to Ashton Kutcher. You recycle quasi-religious platitudes and received slogans. You know nothing of moral theology, a rigorous philosophical pursuit that hardly exists outside the Catholic Church and its elite universities. You make of the Bible what you will; you attend prayer meetings with other semi-literates, where you reinforce each other’s sloppy understandings of the text, and combine them with half-digested bits of old-timey Hallmark-card “wisdom.” And when you spout gibberish, you call it “speaking in tongues.” You actually fancy that you’re saints, you silly, narcissistic creatures Yes, the article is way over the top, but it has a kernel of truth. As much whining as we Blue staters (although Virginia as a whole went Red, my piece of Northern Virginia voted Blue) have been doing lately, we haven’t really taken stock of how much better it is to live here than in the Midwest or South. Where I live, [ul] [li]I can hop on the Metro to the Smithsonian museums to view magnificent art from around the world.[/li] [li]I can go to Adams Morgan or to Arlington for terrific nightlife, or head down to DC to clubs to see artists you Red staters have not even heard of.[/li] [li]I live in an area where I can be openly gay with no negative consequences.[/li] [li]We have bookstores galore here. Real ones, like Politics & Prose and Kramerbooks which has a bar inside, not just the paperback rack at Wal-Mart that you lot are stuck with.[/li] [li]The DC area has a brighter jobs outlook than the rest of the country.[/li] [li]We have a plethora of fine restaurants featuring cuisine from every country on Earth.[/li] [li]We have a constellation of colleges and universities.[/li] [li]We have vibrant regional theater (oops, sorry, the-AY-tur), and road shows of Broadway productions make DC their first stop.[/li] [li]You are stuck with a handful of big-budget movies at a crowded multiplex–if your town even has a movie theater. DC has art houses that show the newest foreign and independent films, in addition to the standard Hollywood fare shown at state-of-the art movie theatres with surround sound and stadium seating.[/li] [li] We can buy outstanding microbrewery beers and wines from around the world.[/li] [li]And New York City is a 3-hour train trip away–I can add the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Chelsea, and Broadway to the list of assets I can tap any time I like.[/li][/ul] Yeah, I know I’m bragging, but it seems to me that a little boasting is needed to balance out the Red state crowing over their victory. Although I believe that a second Bush administration will be bad for the country overall, it’s going to be good for me personally. I’m leaving the nonprofit sector for government contracting, which a lot more lucrative and easier than the backbreaking jobs the workers of the Red states are stuck in. And, yeah, you pissed me off by voting for those stupid anti-gay marriage amendments, but all you’ve managed to do is to chase out educated LBGT professionals into the larger cities on both coasts. Thanks! Tell you what, Ohio–we’ll take your gay lawyers, entrepreneurs, and software engineers who could have helped renew your fractured economies, and you can keep your ministers and blue-collar jobs. Gay people have renewed decayed neighborhoods into blooming health–we’ve done wonders for the U Street and Columbia Heights neghborhoods in DC. You could have had that, too, but, oh, well. Your loss is our gain. One of these days, the poor workers who’ve voted “values” will realize that health care, decent jobs, and clean air and water are more important values than what other people do in their bedrooms. ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2004, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-but-its-good-to-be-a-blue-stater/273644/2 "2004-11-08T14:49:20Z")
**gobear** , you’re letting out the secret. Shussh! ---
**Author:** ![Neurotik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/91b2a8/32.png) [@Neurotik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Neurotik)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2004, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-but-its-good-to-be-a-blue-stater/273644/3 "2004-11-08T14:57:42Z")
Isn’t Virginia a red state, **gobear**? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![tagos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@tagos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tagos)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2004, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-but-its-good-to-be-a-blue-stater/273644/4 "2004-11-08T14:58:22Z")
> [@Zebra](#): > > **gobear** , you’re letting out the secret. > > Shussh! Yea - STFU already. Even as we speak the hicks are piling their belongings into the old jalopy, crowning the precarious mess with Granny tied into her chair, coming to, as the UK’s own Mrs T put it, ‘swamp us with their alien culture’. I mean, man. Sheesh! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9fc348/32.png) [@The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Flying_Dutchman)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2004, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-but-its-good-to-be-a-blue-stater/273644/5 "2004-11-08T14:58:46Z")
What a bunch of elitist bullshit. Its that attitude that makes a lot of us who toil in the hinterland to provide the resources to feed and house you elites while you “administrate” the national culture that makes us wary of adopting more progressive views. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2004, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-but-its-good-to-be-a-blue-stater/273644/6 "2004-11-08T14:58:46Z")
Yeah, yeah, yeah. If you’re gay and want to get married, you still have to come here. And I’ve ridden your so-called “Metro.” “Pay what we tell you to pay if you want to leave the station”? WTF kind of fucked up system is that? But let’s get to the real crux of the matter – how are the beaches around there? ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Ashtar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ea924/32.png) [@Lord\_Ashtar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Ashtar)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2004, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-but-its-good-to-be-a-blue-stater/273644/7 "2004-11-08T15:02:03Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > But let’s get to the real crux of the matter – how are the beaches around there? Virginia Beach is fine, so long as you don’t mind sitting in an ashtray. ---
**Author:** ![Neurotik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/91b2a8/32.png) [@Neurotik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Neurotik)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2004, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-but-its-good-to-be-a-blue-stater/273644/8 "2004-11-08T15:03:28Z")
> [@grienspace](#): > > Its that attitude that makes a lot of us who toil in the hinterland to provide the resources to feed and house you elites while you “administrate” the national culture that makes us wary of adopting more progressive views. Vancouver Island is the hinterland? :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![gobear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8dc957/32.png) [@gobear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gobear)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2004, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-but-its-good-to-be-a-blue-stater/273644/9 "2004-11-08T15:11:16Z")
> [@Neurotik](#): > > Isn’t Virginia a red state, **gobear**? 🙂 I addressed that in the OP: > [@](#): > > (although Virginia as a whole went Red, my piece of Northern Virginia voted Blue) > [@Grienspace](#): > > Its that attitude that makes a lot of us who toil in the hinterland to provide the resources to feed and house you elites while you “administrate” the national culture that makes us wary of adopting more progressive views A. You’re a Canadian, so you can deal with your elites in Ottawa. B. You miss the point; the plebs in the hinterland take in more tax money than they put out; thye live off our labor in the cities. Moreover, the “progressives” are on the side of the rural workers. It’s the party the Red staters support, the GOP, that treats them with contempt and indifference. Expect any reforms in health care for the impoverished from the GOP? Good luck with that. ---
**Author:** ![Homebrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Homebrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Homebrew)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2004, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-but-its-good-to-be-a-blue-stater/273644/10 "2004-11-08T15:12:21Z")
I’m sure there will be a Red Stater come along to point out that Fort Worth has a fine museum and Saint Louis has theater. That Dallas has art galleries and you can take a bus in Little Rock. But take a look at the [county-by-county](http://www.princeton.edu/~rvdb/JAVA/election2004/purple_america_2004b.gif) breakdown of the vote and you’ll see that those cultural oases they’re bragging about are all Blue Counties or Cities within the sea of Red. ---
**Author:** ![Roland\_Orzabal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c2a13f/32.png) [@Roland\_Orzabal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roland_Orzabal)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2004, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-but-its-good-to-be-a-blue-stater/273644/11 "2004-11-08T15:18:02Z")
> [@Lord Ashtar](#): > > Virginia Beach is fine, so long as you don’t mind sitting in an ashtray. Amen to that. One word: Buxton. No crowd, no overdevelopment, no blatant commercialism. Just sand, sun, solitude, and some pretty decent fishing. If you don’t want to feel _completely_ removed from the rest of humanity, Nag’s Head is a serviceable happy medium. ---
**Author:** ![Elza\_B](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Elza\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elza_B)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2004, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-but-its-good-to-be-a-blue-stater/273644/12 "2004-11-08T15:21:29Z")
Thanks for reminding me yet _again_ that I hate where I live. Ava ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Moto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de0a6/32.png) [@Mr.Moto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Moto)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2004, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-but-its-good-to-be-a-blue-stater/273644/13 "2004-11-08T15:22:28Z")
There’s something to consider here. The primary targets of terrorism are blue states or blue cities. And the people serving in the military come disproportionately from red states and red areas. So, in essence, the red areas are protecting the blue ones. Enjoy DC, Wilson Boulevard, and Old Town all you want, **gobear**. The guys in the fighter planes and helos above DC will be covering your tail while you do so. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9fc348/32.png) [@The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Flying_Dutchman)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2004, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-but-its-good-to-be-a-blue-stater/273644/14 "2004-11-08T15:25:05Z")
> [@Neurotik](#): > > Vancouver Island is the hinterland? :dubious: We supply wood and fish to North America. ---
**Author:** ![gobear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8dc957/32.png) [@gobear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gobear)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2004, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-but-its-good-to-be-a-blue-stater/273644/15 "2004-11-08T15:25:56Z")
> [@Mr. Moto](#): > > There’s something to consider here. > > The primary targets of terrorism are blue states or blue cities. And the people serving in the military come disproportionately from red states and red areas. > > So, in essence, the red areas are protecting the blue ones. > > Enjoy DC, Wilson Boulevard, and Old Town all you want, **gobear**. The guys in the fighter planes and helos above DC will be covering your tail while you do so. And I’m grateful to 'em, believe me. I’d like to raise their pay and increase their benefits, but that’s not to going to happen with the GOP in charge. ---
**Author:** ![woodstockbirdybird](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/woodstockbirdybird/32/7905_2.png) [@woodstockbirdybird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/woodstockbirdybird)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2004, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-but-its-good-to-be-a-blue-stater/273644/16 "2004-11-08T15:28:06Z")
> [@grienspace](#): > > What a bunch of elitist bullshit. > > Its that attitude that makes a lot of us who toil in the hinterland to provide the resources to feed and house you elites while you “administrate” the national culture that makes us wary of adopting more progressive views. Hm. I live in California. I always thought we were pretty self-sufficient as far as resources for food and housing went. Please tell me what resources you in the hinterland (and Canada) are providing me. If you make a strong enough case, maybe I’ll send you some of Humboldt County’s finest to make your toiling a little easier to bear. ---
**Author:** ![Nutty\_Bunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/d07c76/32.png) [@Nutty\_Bunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nutty_Bunny)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2004, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-but-its-good-to-be-a-blue-stater/273644/17 "2004-11-08T15:37:03Z")
> [@gobear](#): > > And, yeah, you pissed me off by voting for those stupid anti-gay marriage amendments, but all you’ve managed to do is to chase out educated LBGT professionals into the larger cities on both coasts. **gobear** , We’ll take you here in NY state. I live near Albany, but it’s nice here because I’ve got 2 other blue states within 30 miles. So I’ve got easy access to 3 very beautiful areas. The Green Mountains in Vermont, The Berkshires in Massacheusetts, and The Adirondacks in NY are all I need. The people are generally friendly and open-minded (although my brother visited from Chicago and said Albany is a rude city, so go figure). ---
**Author:** ![Saltire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saltire/32/553_2.png) [@Saltire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saltire)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2004, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-but-its-good-to-be-a-blue-stater/273644/18 "2004-11-08T15:57:09Z")
> [@woodstockbirdybird](#): > > Hm. I live in California. I always thought we were pretty self-sufficient as far as resources for food and housing went. Please tell me what resources you in the hinterland (and Canada) are providing me. If you make a strong enough case, maybe I’ll send you some of Humboldt County’s finest to make your toiling a little easier to bear. Are you under the impression that California is a Red State? I’m pretty sure Oakland went blue as well, if you’re going by local area. ---
**Author:** ![Saltire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saltire/32/553_2.png) [@Saltire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saltire)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2004, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-but-its-good-to-be-a-blue-stater/273644/19 "2004-11-08T15:58:51Z")
Sorry, never mind. It’s early here, and I haven’t had enough caffeine. I thought you were replying to the OP, but now I realize you were not. Sorry. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2004, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-but-its-good-to-be-a-blue-stater/273644/20 "2004-11-08T16:04:24Z")
> [@Saltire](#): > > Are you under the impression that California is a Red State? I’m pretty sure Oakland went blue as well, if you’re going by local area. Only the coast went blue. The rest of the state went red. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-but-its-good-to-be-a-blue-stater/273644.md?page=2)