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Comment by gcburn2 | Hacker News Reader

As someone who grew up in Columbus, went to school in Cincinnati, and moved back to Columbus for work, I think you're being a little dramatic here.

I don't know where you're from in the Midwest, but the vast majority of people I interact with around here are extremely live-and-let-live. In fact I can't remember the last time I came across someone or a situation that was actively hostile about beliefs or sexual orientation. Obviously these are just my anecdotes, but I run in a pretty sexually and racially diverse scene and they all love Columbus as well.

Your hyperbole and vindictive reactions to a diverse region of the country are certainly going to help close the divide.

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"extremely live-and-let-live"

That's the attitude that I like. I can't stand false liberals and progressives. Nobody gets to tell anyone how to live their lives. If I wanted that I'd move to a rural village in Pakistan.

Columbus native here. It varies wildly; my wife lived in an upper-class suburban area and reports an experience similar to yours, but I grew up in a poorer, slightly more rural-adjacent area. I can’t even begin to count the number of times I was called a “faggot” for things like wanting to recycle or not wanting to get in fistfights. I overheard racial epithets on a near-daily basis; telling racist jokes where the punchline was the death or maiming of a minority were widely socially acceptable.

Culture is the #1 reason that I have no desire to move back to Columbus.

Was this during the 80s or 90s? Things have changed all over the place since then.

I graduated from Ohio State in 2011 and moved away in 2012, so much more recently than that actually. A woman that I dated in high school is now a teacher at the school we graduated from, and she told me that she sees pretty vile behavior from her students (particularly after the election). So we are not talking about a long time ago, nor are we talking about one or two isolated incidents.

Things are much different in Columbus now, also you can't run from ignorant people. They exist everywhere, even in SV.

Then how is this legislation getting passed?

Motivation to get out and vote, probably. Remember Proposition 8 in California?

A Democrat just won in Alabama. It's about motivation for voting. The research triangle in NC is the most heavily populated area in NC, it should carry the state with 1/5 of the state's people living there and actually voting.

And you ignoring a problem that very much exists isn't either.

Further, why is it their responsibility to "help closer the divide" when the other side does not believe they should have fundamental rights?

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