Liberal Unfriendly Place: Findlay, OH

Findlay is so conservative, that during the 1992 Presidential Election, George Bush was sent here TWICE by his campaign (not to mention a visit from the Vice-President, Dan Quayle). The second trip by Bush to Findlay, was to give him a "boost" by surrounding him with an overly zealous Pro-Bush, Pro-Flag crowd. If one wished to attend the rally, one had to secure a pass which was regulated by the local Republican Party. This tactic kept the rally "pure" from any opposition to Bush.

The daily newspaper here was titled for many years "The Republican Courier" They recently dropped the "Republican" from the coverpage (to reflect a more objective and non-partisan jounalistic style they claimed), but the Republican prejudice still runs rampant throughout it. Old habits are hard to break I guess.

They claim that there are no Democrats, let alone Liberals, in Findlay, OH and a very large majority of the people here are quite proud of that fact. Well, I can tell you that we are "lurking about" in Findlay.

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I will soon be "lurking around" the flag city myself as my wife and I have recently taken employment there. We will sadly be leaving behind one of the bright gems (though beginning to tarnish) in the crown of liberalism, Madison, Wisconsin. The virtual presence of Findlay, as far as I've been able to uncover it, is mostly negative. This makes it difficult to feel comfortable with our imminent move. We have 3 children; 13, 8 and 4 years old. We will continue to raise them with a full respect for the rights of others and expect they will grow to be independant thinkers in their own right. We are confident that the power of personal involvement in community issues will be as effective in striving for the ideal community in Findlay, Ohio as it has shown to be in Madison, Wisconsin. Personally, this confidence is only able to survive when the level of negativity, sometimes "bandwagon riding" proclamations, sometimes anarchistic volleys, are able to be set aside long enough to remember that people are only people after all and a kind word or deed can wipe the sneer from off most conservative, right-wing snobs as easily as it would from off your own face.

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I lived, schooled, and worked in Findlay for five year,  and, while much of the big business (as "big" business goes in small Ohio towns) is run by Rupublicans, you might be happy to know that their is a nice community of free-thinking liberal folks in "Flag City U.S.A." (possibly in reaction to the republican "stronghold").  In fact, The Courier, the newspaper you alluded to and for which I worked for four years,  is populated at night by a whole newsroom full of free-thinking, republican-bashing, great people (no matter what you may read on the "editorial" page). Sometimes, as I have found from living in the deep South, Montana, and Alaska; there are more animated and charged groups that counter the stereotypical stances of a place.  I guess I'm trying to say that sometimes liberals in liberal communities sometimes tend to get lazy, while liberals cornered in small Ohio towns by a bunch of big business conservatives often leave their boxing gloves on.

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Findlay Ohio is extremely republican and not about to change. It has a large isolated gay community. I don't think the community is willing to except that. It's neighbor Bluffton is more liberal and has only 3600 people! I once considered moving there because it has one of the lowest unemployment in the state but the people are way too conservative for me. Don't get me wrong, it is a booming city but the residents appear to have tunnel vision.