Liberal Unfriendly Place: Birmingham, AL

The State of Alabama has an idiot (Gov. Fob James) running the State. He would send the National Guard out to protect a Judge (Roy Moore) who is forcing his religion (Baptist) on everyone. We have a strong climate of intolerance here (Ellen is no longer shown because she is a lesbian) as well as a tight culture of Southern Society People who do not welcome Liberal thinkers. Birmingham does have a small alternative culture and perhaps one of the best music festivals (City Stages) anywhere. This year the festival had 275,000 attendees in 3 days with over 250 bands at stages set up through-out the center city. Has potential as a place if the politics were so darned right-wing.

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As a resident of the great state of Alabama, I fear that my public leaders wish to make Christianity the official religion of the state. Not only does this policy violate the U. S. Constitution as I understand it, it also disregards the actions of Christ. As a Christian, it is my duty to serve my fellow man before myself. Sometimes that means giving of my time; sometimes it means giving of my means; never has it meant that I have any right to judge another based on his or her behavior in any given situation. The current governor of my state not only wishes to judge others based on behavior, he wishes to make behavior that he decides is unacceptable in the sight of the Lord unlawful. This policy not only is UNCONSTITUTIONAL, it is unscriptual. I hope the rest of the world does not assume that all Christians are as narrow-minded as Fob. I understand that the vast majority of the population of Alabama is Christian, but in NO WAY does that give us the right to tell others how they must live their lives.

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Ahh, Birmingham. I've been here ten years and this is why I fit in: I am a middle-aged, middle class professional, a married straight white male; I go to (protestant) church on Sundays. Why yack about Birmingham? Be just like me and we will accept you!

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Birmingham is at least twenty years behind the rest of the country in almost every aspect. People here relish their ignorance, they take pride in it and they never cease to amaze the socially conscious individual with their enthusiastic embrace of everything mediocre. Like so many sheep, they celebrate the opening of the newest strip mall, they scoff at recycling and refuse to accept the fact that the air they breathe is contaminated well beyond dangerous levels. They do not ride bicycles though they could do so year-round in this warm climate. They believe in their hateful, divisive, backward religion to their great detriment led like lemmings to unreasonable positions on almost every social issue. They openly discriminate against all but white baptists. Indeed little has changed in race relations since the violent attacks on black demonstrators in the civil rights marches of the sixties. Now technically black people can eat in the same restaurants as whites, but few actually dare to do so.

The roads are a tremendous hazard. I have lived in seven different states and visited most of the others and have never seen worse drivers than in Alabama. They refuse to use turn signals, weave from lane to lane suddenly, are absolutely incapable of maintaining uniform speed, cut each other off and in general go to great lengths of stupidity to get in front of everyone else. In fact, I concluded the other day that southerners in general and Alabamians in particular are the rudest people of anywhere I have ever visited. What makes this even more remarkable is that they truly believe that they have great consideration for others and practice superlative hospitality. This is obviously ridiculous as in one five minute drive you will see that 90% of the people on the road won't even extend you the courtesy of a tiny movement of their littlest finger on their right hand to signal a turn and allow you the opportunity to avoid an accident.

If you are at all progressive or anything else but an idiotic right-wing fundamentalist christion, Do not even think about coming to Birmingham. There is nothing for you here. Like to eat good food at restaurants? Well, sorry, there aren't any here (unless you like pork barbecue) Like to eat fresh vegetables? Well, sorry, you can't get them here. I think other states dump all their unsaleable produce here (and charge double.) Like to take hikes? Few parks, no wilderness. Like to ride bike? Get ready to take your life into your hands. Support legalization of Marijuana? In Alabama last year the district attorney here in B'ham attempted to prosecute the owners of a store for selling hemp jewelry, clothing and sterile hemp seeds. Eventually they dropped the charges when the lab couldn't find any THC in the hepm necklaces they had confiscated, but this was after threatening the defendants with a twenty year sentence.

Feel that christian prayers have no place in public schools, government, or any other tax supported endeavor? Well, you believe differently from most Alabamians. In small towns they have run Jews out of town by persecuting their children at school. Supposedly christian kids who very likely prayed that morning in a school sponsored prayer were the same kids who painted swastikas on the jewish kids lockers. A few other miscellaneous annoyances: no inspections of autos despite debilitating air pollution; no mandatory insurance (don't get into an accident here, over 60% of drivers are uninsured;) almost all restaurants are national chains (and almost exclusively use illegal immigrant labor;) the entire city is filthy, the residents think nothing of throwing all trash out their car windows, woefully inadequate public transportation; and, perhaps worst of all: an unspoken system of social hierarchy with the rich whites on top and many strata below them. I hope that some more liberal and progressives move here so that we can begin the arduous task of dragging Alabama into the twenty-first century, though I do not recommend that any intelligent, conscious individual even visit here, much less settle in such a backward place.