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Kitsu-ne t1_jdval65 wrote

You got Trans Safe Haven laws yet? Cause I'm actively trying to get out of Florida.

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CaptServo t1_jdvi1fy wrote

Aspect ratio on that flag is dildos.

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angeldeb82 t1_jdvokr1 wrote

Wow! I like to get a bottle-opener like this one! 😮🙂

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2PlenTiful4U t1_jdvoq47 wrote

A wide eyed donkey would be a better reminder of Connecticut.

−36

SonnyNYC t1_jdvqs3m wrote

From what I'm reading, the CT Legislators should probably have one of these. Was a car flipped over near the Capitol?? DWI?

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jpr_jpr t1_jdw2g5d wrote

Genuinely curious. What makes it better than the South? Not that I disagree.

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GatekeeperTDS t1_jdwdvjl wrote

We stay the fuck out of people's bedrooms, genitals, and uteruses. We don't care who goes into what bathroom to take a shit. We don't ban books, don't care how M&Ms dress, and aren't offended when Disney recasts their characters.

And yes, New Haven style apizza is to die for.

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CallMeSkii t1_jdwkjdc wrote

The funny part is those states that love to scream the hatred for big government battle cry are the ones who actually love it. They are the ones enacting all the laws that tread upon people's personal lives.

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Rauschenbusch OP t1_jdwkq3n wrote

Well, in addition to u/GatekeeperTDS's pithy list, I'll add my perspective as someone who grew up in Connecticut, went to college in Texas, and now lives in Florida. Although let me say that I recognize the grass is always greener, etc., and also pretty strongly believe that every state/region has positives and negatives.

  • There's the way the states are run, especially the recent turn toward culture-war issues above all else, including the economic well-being of their residents. And this isn't new. Texas still hasn't expanded Medicaid despite having a huge number of people who can't afford health insurance. As a parent with two queer kids, this is a problem that has just gotten worse and worse across the region, even in states not run by likelt 2024 presidential candidates. Meanwhile, the governments are so beholden to their market-fundamentalist ideology that they make life more expensive for all but the super-rich by jacking up sales and property taxes to balance the budget rather than introduce progressive income and corporate taxes. Meanwhile, infrastructure falls apart, as evidenced by Florida's failing home insurance market and Texas's inability to keep residents from freezing to death during cold weather.
  • And then there's the people. Lots of great humans live in Texas and Florida, and of course part of what makes the leadership so reactionary is their fear of losing power as the populace diversifies and liberalizes. But those who support these politicians are genuinely scary – pickup and gun culture, giant Trump flags (and worse – we lived down the street from someone flying hardcore militia flags), and during COVID, an uncritical embrace of every selfish, individualistic instinct over any effort to care for their community, which fed directly into longtime efforts to undermine public education by underpaying and demonizing teachers, professors, and critical thinking in general, never mind public health and science more generally.

In short, there's something wrong here, and as someone who studies history and religion for a living, I can say that something is a regionwide refusal to reckon with the atrocities it committed for centuries against Black people. Almost all of the ideological obsessions of the region – idolatries, if you're Christian – can be traced back to the patterns of thought that justified slavery and segregation: the irrational suspicion of government; the pervasive, fear-based embrace of guns; the distrust of public education; the obsession with perceived sexual deviance; the nostalgia for a rural "true America" that never existed; the rejection of so-called "elites," which is code for scientists, public health authorities, and university professors; and and of course the stultifying Christian fundamentalism. All of it was incredibly useful when defending slavery from the "atheistic," industrialized North, and then in resisting and eventually outlasting the effort to force them to treat Black people equally during Reconstruction. Even if none of the people currently alive would accept the overt arguments against racial equality that initially spawned these ideologies, they continue to embrace them because doing so is easier than accepting the ugly reality of their cherished traditions.

All regions of the country have to deal with their demons; Connecticut in particular was the site of numerous massacres of Indigenous people, especially the brutal Pequot War. But that particular sin/crime/stain is more or less universal to the entire country. The modern day South is what happens when a region's people collectively decide not to confront their "peculiar institution" for centuries and centuries; for anyone no longer willing to go along with the collective amnesia, and the ideological and political fictions that uphold it, it's an oppressive atmosphere. For those who are anything but cisgender, hetereosexual, white, male, and upper middle class or richer, it is literally oppressive.

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uscg_medic04 t1_jdwkufe wrote

It’s Connnnnnnnnneeeecctttttttttticccuuttttttt

7

GatekeeperTDS t1_jdwl2tp wrote

Every accusation they make is a confession.

"The left" doesn't want to control people. "The right" operates in a zero-sum mode where if someone gets something, surely that must mean the "other side" is getting fucked over.

Meanwhile, the culture bullshit is to distract us from the fact that people are hungry and homeless, medical care is a fucking joke, and corporate profits are running rampant.

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GatekeeperTDS t1_jdwmlza wrote

If you have two queer kids, please get out of Florida. I'm a gay man and I will never step foot in that state again.

However small, there is now a nonzero chance that I'll get taken to a death camp if I ever go there.

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Rauschenbusch OP t1_jdwn51i wrote

We're leaving this summer, although sadly can't leave the region for a while longer. It is definitely no longer safe here for people who are too different from the imposed and enforced "Christian" norm.

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raynethackery t1_jdwn672 wrote

Just leave the crappy politics and conservative mindset behind.

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Gravco t1_jdwo9h0 wrote

What? No Hosmer Mountain or Foxon Park? And you call yourself a nutmegger! Lol welcome!

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Tailor_Excellent t1_jdwoehy wrote

TIL: our state motto is "He who transplanted sustains." It's in Latin on the flag. Since I transplanted myself from Illinois 38 years ago, and I'm still here, I guess it's true!

P.s. Congrats on the move. Sorry about the taxes.

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Rauschenbusch OP t1_jdwp3rg wrote

Omg, I love Foxon Park! In the South, Mexican Coke is about the best we can do. When I took the family up there for a visit a few years ago, we stocked up on Foxon Park sodas from Stop n Shop on the first day so we could try a new flavor every night..

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jengopeanuts t1_jdwtllb wrote

stop hating on the south it's warm af down there

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bigbread2020 t1_jdwty9v wrote

10 cents a bottle fam, gotta hop in the Tahoe to the bottle processing center across the state

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1b1situacion t1_jdx1kmz wrote

Sounds like you should move back to CT which aligns with your values rather than complain about how “Southern” states are so bad

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jimgray24 t1_jdxl4g0 wrote

Thank you both for putting into words what I have struggled with for the last 4 years. I just moved back to Connecticut after a 4 year stint in South Carolina. Simply put "There is something wrong here" is absolutely correct and when you are surrounded in it, it is all you see. I felt like I had a target on my face and they knew I wasn't one of them. I was not able to understand or tolerate the way of life and had to leave. I have been "home" for two weeks now and this is the most relaxed and happiest I have felt in years.

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ioncloud9 t1_jdxw0nd wrote

My house in SC would cost 600k in CT if I were to buy the same size house up there. But then again they don’t debate executing women for having a abortions in the CT state legislature.

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imnotthatguythough t1_jdxxloo wrote

When you realize you like to have two beers at a restaurant and that CT is about to make that illegal by lowering the BAC limit to .05….

−1

Remigius t1_jdxytrd wrote

Would much rather live down south

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Interesting_Ad837 t1_jdyed9r wrote

What I’ve learned in all my travels is that most peoples favorite state is never the one they’re in

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senrankagura8 t1_jdyl5c6 wrote

Nobody who is from Connecticut would agree with you unless it's in August or September

−1

Iwstamp t1_jdz8e5y wrote

Love CT besides the fact it’s the only state that makes Mass look affordable

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Itellfactsbackup t1_jdze9vs wrote

The fucking irony…. You are the reason change doesn’t happen… 🤦🏼‍♂️ 40% of the political funds that come out of private sector are from CT… fucking educate yourself before speaking absolute nonsense that isn’t even factually accurate

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jesskamb t1_jdzj75v wrote

This also sums up pretty much exactly my experience in Tennessee for almost 5 years. There’s just something wrong here and it’s DEEP. I’m not in love with the idea of higher taxes and ostensibly more crime, because more people in CT compared to where we are now, but the culture and atmosphere accounts for so much.

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NirnRootJunkie t1_jdzw75m wrote

Oh yeah! Remember indoor plumbing and school systems? Ahh, the north.

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CTSwampyankee t1_jdzznub wrote

Cost of living in the top 10, they tax everything, property tax at 12k, too many gun laws, shit culture in cities….can’t wait to go!

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mkt853 t1_je044bg wrote

More crime? CT violent and property crime rates are 1.6 and 16.1 per 1000 people respectively compared to 6.8 and 22.8 in TN. Violent crimes in TN are more than quadruple that of CT, with nearly 40% more property crime. CT, despite being mostly urban, is still one of the safest states in the country, and without looking it up, likely safer with less crime than every single state south of the Mason-Dixon.

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jesskamb t1_je1sfzd wrote

I mean as far as state statistics go that’s very reassuring! But we’re looking to move from a more rural area to a more urban one so it’s going to be an increase either way. I’m sure there’s crime here but it isn’t much. Unfortunately, Memphis makes up an inordinate amount of the state’s crime statistics and we’re not near there. Anyway, that does all make me feel better about it in general though so I appreciate it!

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wheresbillyatschool t1_jeddhja wrote

How do you know what I do to advocate and fight for rights in both our state and other states from one comment? I’ve lived in several areas of the US, but truly came back because I felt that I could effectuate more change here. I work with some of the most helpless folks in society to help level the playing field DAILY. I foster children who need a home and give up any semblance of a personal life. But it’s worth it to help children feel safe and loved. I donate to organizations that can actually effectuate change in states where rights are being robbed. If everyone could get in there and make small grassroots changes, then maybe we could make some movement as a country towards a better life for everyone. One where EVERYONE’S basic needs are met. But until then, all I can do is try to make the most of this one life I’ve been given, to use my voice and advantages to advocate for others. Just wanted to share that you can’t make an assumption about someone based on 2 sentences on a Reddit thread.

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