[UA] 10 Most American Things

[Russell Rayburn]

On 1/10/07, Mike Lake <mdlake at well.com> wrote:
>
>
> On the subject of billboards, you could play up the inconsistency
> of billboards on the highways: religious messages are common, but so are ads
> for roadside stores hawking numerous vices--porn,
> liquor, cheap smokes, fireworks, topless bars--often mixed in rapid
> succession with Christian signs.  This could even form the mystic tension
> for a minor magical school.

There's one downtown that says something like 'Jesus is watching' or
some such, put up by the former owner of the building.  The new owners
turned the building into a bar, much to the chagrin of the former
owner.

> I haven't found any more xenophobia in my Midwest upbringing than I see here
> in the orbit of NYC.  (Take this with a grain of salt; I grew up on the
> outer edge of Chicagoland rather than a cornfield, and I've never been all
> that good at reading social subtext.)  The Midwest does, however, have
> greater racial and cultural homogeneity than the coasts.  It's not
> monolithic, mind you, but more homogeneous.  This makes different people
> stand out a little more, and makes racism a bit more visible where it
> appears.
>
> Homophobia *is* decidedly a notch more visible and intense.
>

In places, I'd agree.  However, there are Very gay neighborhoods here
as well.  Rainbow flags, HUGE pride parades ( with corporate
sponsorship ), a good sized transgender scene... enough that an avatar
of the mystic hermaphrodite, while not blending in per say, might find
a few places to hang out.

-- 
Psychotics think two and two make five.
Neurotics know two and two make four
but they can't stand it.
- Anonymous