Site of the nearby Oregon Country Faire (each July) where each year hippies gather to celebrate their hippiness. Home to the University of Oregon, many co-operatives, communes galore, a real cool Saturday Market, and eco-consciousness.
UPDATE: I wanted to let you know that the Oregon Country Fair WAS a wonderful hippy flavor type hang-out once a year (or often if you know the old owners). Well, the new owners are a little different now. They now let cops in undercover and not, onto private property to gather local revenue of happy-hippy trippers and such. JUST AN FYI….wouldn’t want any wonderful people to go with the impression that the old hippy extraordinaire still owned and operated the scene!!!
HMMM , I grew up in Eugene and gotta say -Beware.
Ya the old owner is dead no -Sorry MR.K I am sure it was a fun trip for ya. Ya the town has gone back toward it’s old small town ways but, is not being a hippy just so close to being a real red neck any how. Hey they poth grow pot and want the G -Man off thier land. Just that the red neck may own the land not just the tent.??????
I lived in Eugene for eight years as a kid, and I frequented Eugene many years later when I had the misfortune of living in that redneck dump 60 miles to the west on the coast, Florence (since the lack of diversity and limited and narrow views of its locals was getting me depressed). The difference between Florence and Eugene was staggering, I couldn’t believe it. When I started visiting Eugene again to revisit my childhood, I was put in a culture shock. I seen lots of hippies, different kinds of craft stores, people who have more broad views on life than the limited, often bigoted and xenophobic views Florence had. The Grateful Dead frequented Eugene, until Garcia’s death, that is, and Ken Kesey lived in neigboring Pleasant Hill (unfortunately Kesey is no longer with us, he passed away a few months ago). You got to remember this was a while ago when I was last in Eugene, I hear that the Eugene police are rather intrusive, they seem hellbent on getting rid of “undesirables” (you know, hippies and anarchists) which often lead to riots, but I had been left alone by the police, believe it or not. I have no idea how Eugene is like now, but hopefully I will return back to check it out. Several things I loved of Eugene is no urban sprawl (they did a good job keeping most of the population within the city limits) and no ugly, ultra-modern strip malls (something you can’t say of Tacoma, try driving down on I-5 through that town, and you’ll get depressed real fast), you get lots of great wilderness, particularly to the east, west, and south (the north is mostly flat). The biggest drawback of Eugene, besides their police, was the last time I was there, their downtown was dying, many businesses had went out of business and there were a disproportionate amount of vacant buildings.
Ah yes. The long time battle between the Hippies and the Corperate Conservitive has been going on for a long time in Eugene.Thats nothing new. Despite that Eugene Still remains the Hippie Mecca of the U.S.
downtown has been over run by the corperates lately. So the Hippies have taken to the outskirts and small towns surrounding Eugene.But their still there.
Me again, I finally got to go back to Eugene, but unfortunately it was because my grandfather just died, so I had to bring my mother over to Eugene to watch over my grandmother as things get sorted out. Anyway, my visit there has been rather disappointing, compared to earlier visits (and during the time I used to live there from the late 1970s to the mid 1980s). Looks like Corporate America is taking over. Ugly strip malls on W. 11th going out of town what used to be nice green fields (and a drive-in theatre, which is long history). City limits are now stretched westward to Green Hill Rd., which used to be a road of farms, is now a road with ugly new housing developments. Two Wal-Marts have came to town, as well as a Target. Luckily the strip malls aren’t as big and unsightly as those found in Medford some 150 miles south on I-5… so far. Many new apartments and condos springing up, but not too many new shops to cater to hippies. Record stores have been really became lame (Record Garden changed from imports to used CDs, LPs and cassettes). Eugene’s much more conservative neighbor, Springfield, known for redneck bars and auto repair shops is getting to look a lot more like how Eugene used to look, minus the countercultural vibe. On the plus side, I was rather amazed at all the environmental, leftist, and feminist bumperstickers I seen on the backs of cars in Eugene. Not to mention the Darwin and Pagan Fish is a normal sight there too. In my town (conservative Lakeview, Oregon), you’ll only find a Jesus Fish, a “Jesus Saves” or a “Save a logger, eat an owl” bumperstickers on the back of cars. The VW Microbus, even the pre-1967 split-window variety is still a common sight in Eugene. Plus there’s still the 5th Street Public Market where you can shop for exotic and unusual goods (even if a Nike Store moved in), sit down at a table by a fountain and talk to a friend or look at the shops. Hendricks Park is the most amazing city park I’ve ever been too! You’ll forget you’re in the city, unless you happened to be paying attention to the traffic of Franklin Blvd. which is a few blocks away. I don’t recall Seattle having a park like Hendricks. And if you really want the ultimate wilderness experience but not go far, try Spencer Butte, just on the edge of town south on Willamette St. Although the good is still there, I’m afraid the countercultural scene in Eugene is going the way of the Grateful Dead and Ken Kesey.
yep its now beat here just snobs tweek and schwill bums. A lot of fake people and kesey is dead. Lets not even get started on the state of the fair. Saturday market is still cool but probly not for long. Downtown is filled with sketch balls and drain bows.
I went to the Oregon Country Fair once, back in 1995, and I thought the event was a big load of shit. And I was really disappointed in that, because I was expecting a whole lot more because it was a major hippie/countercultural fair and I was expecting wonderful people, great vibes, and possibly someone offering me a hit off their bong. But that’s not what I got. I found the event overcrowded, and there were just way too many bad vibes and too many fakes and wannabe hippies. Many people operating the booths were total assholes (one of them was selling flutes, and he was being an asshole because I was playing the flutes, and I’ve been to other events where the vendors had no problem with you trying out the flutes before you buy it). That’s too bad, because I could tell the Oregon Country Fair was probably a way cool event years ago that I would very highly recommend. If it was bad in 1995, I hate to know what it’s like now.
As for the person below who said Eugene was full of fakes, well, I can’t disagree with that. Too many times I met people wearing tie-dyes and they don’t seem to act very hippie (it’s almost like it’s now a fashion statement). I think Eugene has the curse of the “trust-fund” types these days (Ashland has them too, which I found way irritating). As for the town being snobby, that I can’t disagree with either. Many of them, as well, pretending to be hippie/counterculture. I was buying some records at Record Garden, there was this girl, likely college age, when I wanted to talk to her, she acted as she was wondering why I was talking to her, giving me that condescending silent treatment (no wonder Record Garden’s reputation has gone down the shitter). This town has become one of those “Hey, look at my nose ring” type of towns. Eugene was paradise, if you were living there ten years ago or more. If there are towns I recommend these days, I need to do a little more exploring to find out (unfortunately I like in a conservative shithole in Eastern Oregon known as Lakeview).
I went to the Oregon Country Fair once, back in 1995, and I thought the event was a big load of shit. And I was really disappointed in that, because I was expecting a whole lot more because it was a major hippie/countercultural fair and I was expecting wonderful people, great vibes, and possibly someone offering me a hit off their bong. But that’s not what I got. I found the event overcrowded, and there were just way too many bad vibes and too many fakes and wannabe hippies. Many people operating the booths were total assholes (one of them was selling flutes, and he was being an asshole because I was playing the flutes, and I’ve been to other events where the vendors had no problem with you trying out the flutes before you buy it). That’s too bad, because I could tell the Oregon Country Fair was probably a way cool event years ago that I would very highly recommend. If it was bad in 1995, I hate to know what it’s like now.
As for the person below who said Eugene was full of fakes, well, I can’t disagree with that. Too many times I met people wearing tie-dyes and they don’t seem to act very hippie (it’s almost like it’s now a fashion statement). I think Eugene has the curse of the “trust-fund” types these days (Ashland has them too, which I found way irritating). As for the town being snobby, that I can’t disagree with either. Many of them, as well, pretending to be hippie/counterculture. I was buying some records at Record Garden, there was this girl, likely college age, when I wanted to talk to her, she acted as she was wondering why I was talking to her, giving me that condescending silent treatment (no wonder Record Garden’s reputation has gone down the shitter). This town has become one of those “Hey, look at my nose ring” type of towns. Eugene was paradise, if you were living there ten years ago or more. If there are towns I recommend these days, I need to do a little more exploring to find out (unfortunately I like in a conservative shithole in Eastern Oregon known as Lakeview).
I went to the Oregon Country Fair once, back in 1995, and I thought the event was a big load of shit. And I was really disappointed in that, because I was expecting a whole lot more because it was a major hippie/countercultural fair and I was expecting wonderful people, great vibes, and possibly someone offering me a hit off their bong. But that’s not what I got. I found the event overcrowded, and there were just way too many bad vibes and too many fakes and wannabe hippies. I did met a couple of nice people, but they seemed few and far between. Many people operating the booths were total assholes (one of them was selling flutes, and he was being an asshole because I was playing the flutes, and I’ve been to other events where the vendors had no problem with you trying out the flutes before you buy it). That’s too bad, because I could tell the Oregon Country Fair was probably a way cool event years ago that I would very highly recommend. If it was bad in 1995, I hate to know what it’s like now.
As for the person below who said Eugene was full of fakes, well, I can’t disagree with that. Too many times I met people wearing tie-dyes and they don’t seem to act very hippie (it’s almost like it’s now a fashion statement). I think Eugene has the curse of the “trust-fund” types these days (Ashland has them too, which I found way irritating). As for the town being snobby, that I can’t disagree with either. Many of them, as well, pretending to be hippie/counterculture. I was buying some records at Record Garden, there was this girl, likely college age, when I wanted to talk to her, she acted as she was wondering why I was talking to her, giving me that condescending silent treatment (no wonder Record Garden’s reputation has gone down the shitter). This town has become one of those “Hey, look at my nose ring” type of towns. Eugene was paradise, if you were living there ten years ago or more. If there are towns I recommend these days, I need to do a little more exploring to find out (unfortunately I like in a conservative shithole in Eastern Oregon known as Lakeview).
I only meant to make the entry once, but the website was having one of its periodic technical problems (I don’t know if this occurs on PCs, I own a WebTV).
I have to agree with that last review. Eugene has a lot of great things going for it but the whole area has been spoiled to a certain extent by events that have led to police walking around harrasing people in riot gear…. city officials spending money on fencing in tree sitters when they can barely keep their schools open…and undercover cops at the fair.
I lived in Eugene for 3 years just to get away from Chicago and to attend the University-which is about the only thing Eugene has going for it, along w/the farmers market. Finding a job there was extremely discouraging, people got hired and fired for no reason, employers took advantage of you, and overall the job market sucked. I got sick and tired of the phony new age losers who thought they they only people on the planet. And people around there tend to be unsure about their political beliefs-and their values.They were extremely judgemental-despite its hippie facade. It is a stuck place-the majority of the people there hate change and cant deal that it isnt 1967 anymore-They prefer a sedentary lifestyle of smoking pot and eating raw vegetables and putting other people down who dont buy organic produce. The oregon Country Fair is just a bunch of these people concentrated in a smaller area-mostly these are White people who feel disenfranchised from the larger society.
Every town has all types of people. The country fair is an open event, meaning it gets all types too. But it is the product of many dedicated volunteers that have put lots of work into it for years.
People are a little more closed than they used to me. It is prudent when you are running an event that most of the straight world would like to shut down. But after reading the negative reviews posted here, it seems no wonder that there is a bad vibe going around.
Just remember you reap what you sow. Throwing out negative vibes in response to other bad vibes, just continues the cycle. Self-fulfilling prophesies are everywhere and each of us is responsible for our own experience.
Eugene is no different than anywhere else, a few enlightened citizens try to hold back the Wal-mart tide.
Eugene is just a town like any other, filled with people, buildings and cars. Many of the people are more open-minded than in other parts of the country, and some are not. Many of the buildings are more interesting than in other parts of the country, and many are not. Some of the cars are more interesting than in other parts of the country, and most are not.
It’s also an hour away from the coast, an hour from dense temperate rainforest, a couple of hours away from big mountains, and several hours away from the desert. Within all of these areas are many beautiful rivers, lakes, and other wonderful features.
Along with some of the people and buildings, these are the things that make Eugene a really special place.
Anyone who spends their time bitching about what a town was, is, or could have been is in need of a new fucking life.
My girlfriend and I just moved to Eugene a few months ago. Based on what I had been told about the place by a few of my friends who had lived here years ago I was expecting to find a community full of open minded, caring people. What I found instead was a town full of people who are pissed off that I would assume they would be open minded and caring and lots off, Bush Inc. supporting, 4×4 driving, flag waving close minded assholes. The rest were either new age latte sipping wanna be’s or ultra radical, army boot wearing, I’ll kick your ass if you disagree with me feminist, environmentalist etc.etc.
Being a carpenter by trade I didn’t think that I would have any problem finding a job once I got here. Wrong again. Apparently unless you have 35 years of experience, can singlehandedly build a house by yourself and are willing to work for free you can’t get a job as a carpenter. Hell I can’t even get anyone to return my phone call in response to the ad THEY PUT IN THE PAPER. Everyone bitching about the economy and throwing more bumper stickers on their import.
Maybe my opinion will change once spring arrives and I’ve found a job. I realize that not everyone here is as I’ve just described but if you are looking for a Mecca for free spirits and open mindedness Eugene IS NOT IT.
Eugene has some of the best places to go toke. Spencers Butte, Skinners Butte, and a whole lot of forrest and places to go and just chill. Usually people don’t even care if they see you smoking weed, but there are some assholes that will call the cops. I like Eugene because most of the people are really nice. I’ve lived here for 5 years and I only plan to leave because I’m joining the Air Force.
I noticed that my comment I had entered her about 6 months ago had bben removed from the website!! Nice sensorship!
I am writing in response to noah. What was written was a very good observation about the races. I am a predominately black american women who has a lot of culture in my family and married out of my so called race. Over the years I have become rather obsessed with demographics and race simply because usually an area that is well represented culturally is acceptant of inter-racial relationships. I have found that white folks seem more threatend about the loss of their “race” and this causes them to act real ignorant. My husband experienced first hand the looks I received by folks as we drove cross country. People looked at me as if i were alien! Its a trip. Unfortunately, the places I want to live are too expensive even for wealthy people (California bay area) this area seems to have gotten the diversity thing. Its seems to be a live and let live thing here and because realstate is so high people have a sense of having a piece of the pie. It seems a lot of folks out here bought homes several years ago and now they are worth 4X what they paid. Any way if this makes sense its just another perspective is all. I grew up in an ivory tower community in CT, and though things have change a little its just nice to live or be in a place where, if people aren’t culturally diverse, I will settle for educated or at least tolerant. Its a terrible feeling having to be stared at or called so bull**** racial slur that puts you back to 1950’s United States.
Peace to you.
I’m in my early 30’s and have lived in Eugene for about 5 years. After reading the other comments posted I felt compelled to add my own 2 cents worth. I grew up on the east coast in PA.. When I turned 25, I grew tired of the ‘rat-race’ that chews on the fabric of human moral, understanding & compassion etc. (better known as “the east”) I packed my shit and hit the Appalachian trail for a bit and then bused my way to Charlotte, N.C. and then Asheville. Asheville, N.C. is considered by some to be the ‘Eugene, Oregon” of the east…or south or…well you decide. I call it the south. I actually met a few people from Eugene while I was in Asheville. They all praised Eugene over Asheville. Through what I consider to be a twist of fate, I ended up moving to Eugene, Oregon in 1999.
Most other people (in their review on this page) focus on every negative aspect of Eugene. In my opinion, this ‘type’ of person is the exact reason for the downfall of many small cities/large towns, which is what Eugene is. Although the traffic is bad like most places in this country, Eugene is not what I would call a big bustling metropolis like Chicago, Philadelphia or New York which, in my experience, tend to be composed mostly of judgemental, self-righteous, self-involved, GREEDY individuals that never have enough for themselves. So what do these people do? I think they move to towns like Eugene. Once there, they somehow (slowly but surely) infect the town like a disease, attracting others like themselves to impose (perhaps unknowingly) their ingrained “city-life” on the town. If you notice people like this are very pre-occupied with themselves and what THEY want (like a job). How many people in how many states in this country need a job?…Raise your hand? In a town like Eugene one tends to appreciate the roof over their head a little more because of the seemingly large number of transients seen on this and that corner around town. Now how many people move to a town without researching the job situation? Many people get the job before they move, right?….’cause it’s the smart thing to do I suppose, right? Anyway, I DID research before I moved here and with the exception that Mt. Hood has not erupted on schedule, I have to say my expectations have been fullfilled. The location can’t be beat. 1hr. from pristine coastline, 1hr. from mountains and beautiful wilderness, 1hr. from the desert, (this state is LOADED with natural wonders) approx. 2 hrs. from Portland (a fantastic city full of cool places, cool times and cool people, Eugene itself is well developed, offering all the modern conveniences of any other city. It’s not too spread out so you can get anywhere in 15 minutes or less EVEN ON A BIKE, which brings me to the main attraction of this town…..parks, parks and more parks. This town without a doubt, is geared toward the outdoor loving, health-concious individual. There are miles upon miles of bike paths. On this impressive, well-kept network of asphault and cement you can easily travel to any location in and around town. Want to ride to work in the morning?…You will probably get to work faster on your bike! Want to spend your days off cruising along the river bank through beautiful parks….NO PROBLEM! You can literally ride from one city limit to the other without putting one ..uh…tire in the street. I have not been to a place that even comes close to what Eugene can offer for health, excercise, and good old outdoors R&R! The weekend market is perhaps the oldest in the nation and despite the fact you can’t just walk around smoking pot everywhere(where can you do that anyway?), you CAN check out all the cool local artist’s stands which are fantastic and the fresh produce are always a good thing and you can lounge around listening to live musicians or maybe just bring a drum or guitar and jam with some others hanging out around the market. Cops?…who cares man….puff or drink before you come…trust me….there’s no need to be paranoid if you keep it discreet. After all, one man’s poison is another mans medicine… you know? That goes for others…not just YOU. Another cool thing about Eugene is the fact that despite the inevitable invasion of Wal-Mart, there are more small, cool, privately owned business here than many places. Eugene and Porland excel in this category, compared to the rest of corporate run America. The people here ARE generally more friendly, helpful and kind than many places I’ve been. The Country Fair….well it’s just one of many festivals and events in this area like the “Bach Festival” and “Eugene Celebration”…..I personally think the Country Fair is good for the entertainment and change of environment but the real fun is hanging out with your friends and camping out overnight on one of the many surrounding properties (I prefer to do that in one of the many 100’s of other great campsites and parks in the state) …that is unless you can manage to stay inside the festival overnight. Apparently that is when the real freaks come out and all the fun happens! By the way…. when I say “freaks” I mean it most affectionately. Freaks, Hippies and people who don’t fit the typical cookie cutter “greedy, fat, glutonous American” mold would be most happy here in Eugene….more happy than they would be in most cities and towns I’ve seen. Let’s not forget that the word “Hippy” meant and still means just that…”being or doing what is hip” which is, as far as I can see, simply being yourself, trying not to judge others for their differences (like others posted here do) maybe being good to the planet in big or small ways and the rest is pretty wide open. I don’t recall any guidelines ever being set by the…ummm…..”original” hippys..? The bottome line is …over-all Eugene is a great little town with one big problem….people that move here that don’t respect THE TOWNS personality. It’s a melting pot of white and blue collars, jocks and hippies, gays, transients and transvestites, anarchists, and conservatives, loud and soft-spoken mouths and apparently a handful of dipshits that moved here from just plain crappy towns and cities who don’t know a good thing when it’s served on a silver platter! We all get along and respect each others differences more than is so in your average American town. However Eugene is fragile like most places it’s size (or smaller). I hope that as more people move here, these newcombers RESPECT Eugene as I do, for what it is (one of the few remaining places in this country that still has a personality of it’s own) and NOT EXPECT Eugene to become what THEY wish it to be.
I love Eugene, I’m happy to call it my “home”. Peace, T.
I’m writing this from Eugene, which I think is the one place in the US empire where almost everyone you meet (except people from the suburbs) are questioning, searching and seeking meaning in life. From the countless incredible festivals and markets to the bicycle-friendly infrastructure, to the thousands of non-profits trying to make a difference here and everywhere, Eugene is only boring if you haven’t an idealistic bone in your body. In which case, you’re probably not a hippy.
My comment is in response to Todd’s comment. Thank you Todd, your entry was the most informative I’ve read on the comment boards for the places I am planning to visit. If you have any good tips that people may not want posted on the website (such as places to pitch my tent or get good cheap food, im from Maine and now have less than $200 in my pocket and i just reached Utah.) I would greatly appreciate getting an Email from you, brokentarot@netscape.net And if I dont hear from you, thanks for posting your message.
– Joe Grey
“Reverse the first four letters and EVOLVE”
I lived in Eugene and left, b/c there were so few jobs. While Eugene does have many wonderful qualities; hiking, biking, and so forth, it definitely has its negatives. It is very pretentious-many of its inhabitants do prance around thinking they are morally righteous. I once was driving around in my friends car w/Illinois plates, and I slowed down at an intersection with a “yield” sign and some guy literally follows me for 3 blocks honking his horn yelling out his window, “We Oregonians STOP at yield signs”.
Then, on another occasion, I once asked this 20 something woman who was working in a bookstore if Safeway was open (it was 11 pm at the time), and she put her nose in the air and stated, “I wouldn’t know, because I don’t shop at Safeway”. Obviously she is too good to shop there, and snubs those who do. Personally, my experience living there was both good and bad. I did meet some cool people, those who shared similar interests. However, the job market is pretty non-existent, as one person commented on. I think that if you get lucky and find a good job then living in Eugene would be alright. But, often you find typical college mentality;very politically correct, preaching diversity when there are about 4 black people on the whole campus, and acting as if they know everything when they isolate themselves from the rest of society and refuse to watch TV or read newspapers. I find the general attitude complacent and apathetic. The worst kinds of people to run into there are the onoes who only wear organic cotton and only buy organic. There are so many spoiled rich people out there-I mean, who else could afford to live in a place like Eugene and work at a health food store and drive around in an SUV?
I’ve been to the Oregon Country Fair three times now.
It’s been progressing towards bad, which is not how
I expected the fair to be, but something just isnt right
anymore.
Here’s my own story:
2002: “Whoah, cool!”
First time was really neat, since i’d never been exposed to
so much hippy crap all at once. I took lots of pictures,
and met a few freaky people.
I was working with one of the entertainment crews before,
during, and after the fair. This particular group had been
there for a long time (almost as old as the fair I think) so
they had an established presence and many rights to various
free passes for the staff on the crew. I myself just had daytime
passes, but being how cool I thought the fair was I wished I could
have gotten a camping pass too. “maybe next time” I thought.
2003: “Yep, cool.”
Second time was more of the same, but I started to become
a little unsettled by the freakish quantity of people that filtered
through the place during the day. It’s startling to learn just
how many people go through each day, and how many more people
are on the staff. This time through the expirience was less enjoyable (not to say it still wasnt pleasant); I was seeing the
same things and hearing the same sounds, but something seemed
so thin about it. Like as if everybody was trying to be different
or unique, but all ending up the same. Kinda like how dumping
lots of different colored paints together turns gray.
As for my daytime duties on the forementioned entertainment
crew, i’d discovered just how irritating it is not to get the
right kinds of passes for the right days, or even the right sections
on the fair. For I got stopped and grilled by the security crew a
few times that weekend because my pass wasnt “right”, although
I still got through eventually after insisting I knew who I was with
and where I was going. I’m rambling a bit, but basically what I
started to see was a complicated, intricate system which the entire
fair ran on that hindered the feeling of a open, free-love kind of event which it so desperately tried to emulate.
That year was still cool, but it didn’t seem right.
2004: “Hmm, this is getting annoying”
I have yet to actually attend the public-version of the fair
this year, since it doesn’t start but in 10 hours. (midnight now)
But even so, the whole mess is getting in the way when I
just want to do my job.
If only I hadn’t been working behind the scenes.
I probably would have just attended the fair like a good little
paying member of the public and always wondered why the
event looked so happy and free, but seemed somehow fake and ironic.
However, I suppose if i ever manage to make friends with a person
on the fair staff who was high up enough, I could just obtain
all the passes I need, be one with the elite VIPs,
and party all night after the annoying, stinky,
excessively wealthy and evil conserative S.U.V. driving
public are kicked out.
Ahh Eugene. *smiles*. If you’ve read the reviews and information on these pages yet, you might be starting to get the idea…..
People hate it people love it. Its covered in Hippies, and W’04 bumper stickers. The Country Fair is great fun and supports a counter culture, and a total sell out. Its got a tons of homless, alot of social services, and is home to some of the wealthist people in the world. Its a city of deviersity with few minorities. Everyone has an opnion, in a city ridden with apathy. The only people who live here are Retirees and College students. It has a public library that is amazing, only becasue the old one was so bad. And people still think it was a waste of money.
There is desert an hour away. And Rainforest. As well as the beach and some of the most beautiful mountian ranges you’ll see anywhere. In the winter you think it will never stop raining. And in the summer you get 4 of the most beuatiful months of weather that you can possiably imagine.
I’ve lived in New Jersy, I’ve lived in a van. I backpacked, and written computer software that allows one of the biggest coperations in America to send more junk mail to the box infront of my house. I found Jesus and now I simply sit quitely on my floor with my eyes closed worshiping no god. I’m a cocky jerk, and one of the most compassionate people you’ll meet.
What do I say? I love this town and all its contrasts. I try to make it a better place if I can, and strangly enough, that seems to be what most of the people who live here are trying to do. Some of them so passionatly so they believe they know how you should do it to. Are there better places to live? Its possiable. Though for me I can’t think of any. Are there more interesting places to live? Possiably, though I haven’t seen them.
The only think I can say for certian, is you might like it here, and you might not, but I seriously doubt you’ll think the experience a forgetable one.
This is about DIVERSITY and RACE in general. I have lived for about 20 years in Atlanta Georgia. This city is about 60% BLACK. My schools were generally about 50% black students.
DIVERISTY IS OVERATED!!!! Why is it so important to have “Diversity”???
Blacks and whites got along a lot of the time in my schools and in the city. But they often also had cultural conflicts.
My experience is that because blacks have been so enslaved for centuries they are so poor that they are infatuated to some degree with the joys of new wealth. To many of them a nice car and an education are the topic of the day. In effect, many of them are living as though in the 50’s (when america became more aflluent after a period of poverty).
That is not to say that black folks are backwards. Actually I think they are noble for what they have been through. White southerners can be extremely ignorant, evil, and generally retarded about their relationship and abuse of african americans.
But why is it neccessary to have blacks or other minorities living with whites? In my experience white people often have a different outlook and focus in their life that other races. Especially hippy, new age, or alternative minded people.
So of course don’t exclude minorities. And also I love all the races. But this idea that minorities should be shipped from somewhere else is ridiculous. Why is it such a problem if a place is all white? White folks dominate in the northwest because only white folks had the money and social acceptance to make the move. Blacks simply stayed where was home to them: the east.
Also, in my experience other minorities (asians, latinos) CAN be stuck in the past too to some degree. A lot of them are even more patriarchal and male dominated than white rednecks. Its just more subtle.
Honestly, it seems like no big deal that its mostly white folks up there in the NW. And if there are lots of white hippies thats really great because there aren’t many places in the US like that.
Honestly, I would love to leave Atlanta for a place that isn’t just white redneck rebels and black gangsta wannabees. If all that nonsense isn’t a part of where you live then count your blessings.
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,thank you.