Patrick

As if I am not amazed enough that the US is not metric and is about 20 years behind europe technically I now have to deal with the fact North Carolina is about 400 years behind in there thinking.

As most of you know I foster and as part of the foster parent circle we are sometimes asked to mentor new foster parents through the sometimes difficult first couple of months. They only let you mentor one family at a time and we currently have a lovely couple we mentor. This week our Social worker called and asked if we could take a second couple, they have a gay couple about to get their license and have been turned down by over 20 foster parents to mentor because they are gay! This was mentioned in the weekly meeting and apparently our social worker stood up and said "these guys will work with them, they are from Europe!" - I still haven't worked out if that was supposed to be a good thing or a bad thing.

We live in an all white, conservative subdivision and I keep begging my social worker to give us a black child to foster just to piss off all my neighbors, I think it would be hilarious to shake up the hood - I would soon find out who my true friends are thats for sure.

Anyone need a soapbox

Patrick

welykuk

Its sad and scary isn't it. we are watching a church sign near us that recently put up a new monthly saying of "We celebrate diversity not perversity" someone keeps removing the "not perversity" bit and then the following day its back again. Its so pathetic and that thing about PBS broadcasting "Buster meets.."

Bob

The discrimination laws in maine doesn't cover landlords, so there perfectly legal to not rent out housing for homosexuals, there was talk of making an amendment to correct that "over sight" last week, but there was surprisingly quite a large number of people against it....bit sad and scary in this day and age...

Patrick

I really doubt if any state has any legislation that protects sexual orientation! The main ones (race, religion, disability - including aids, family status, sex) are all covered - I doubt if any state senate has the balls to protect gays and lesbians from discrimination.

Patrick

KarnalEcho

We're not all that far from you, In Ga., and I know what you mean about the people around here. I've gotten away enough to see the world isn't all like the south I think what you are doing is so very wonderful and I only hope................you do get a child of another race to piss off the neighbors.

BritGuyTN

Hmmm, its interesting you should mention this - i've been to NC a couple of times and it seemed very nice, but obviously its impossible to guage local mentalities from a flying visit

its unfortunate, but I would have expected those kind of attitudes to be present in the deep south and not NC

my partner is heavily involved with foster care in nashville and they seem to be a lot more lax with regard to gays/blacks etc - I wonder why theres a difference there

grapefruit&milk

I'm confused. How is US behind Europe technically? Is it the cell/mobile phone thing again, or our lack of high speed rail? (Keep in mind rail is a 19th century technology.) Which country represents 85% of all World Wide Web domain sites and which has highest per capita computer ownership?

I go to Europe and am amazed at how old-fashioned the houses seem, as well as a lot of their systems of basic commerce and transactions in stores and shopping centers. But the public transit is and always will be superior to the US. Let's face it: in many regards, US is has a more advanced private realm, while Europe as a more advanced public realm. Such is the nature of the concentration of flow of money in the respective countries/cultures.

And religious conservatism in the US is an individual preference--not my cup of tea either, but I don't think any society has a monopoly on what is deemed "backwards" and "progressive", so it often seems better to withhold judgment. Live and let live by allowing as many perspectives as possible to co-exist. Let the fundamentalists do their thing and if they are not giving you enough room to breathe, there are plenty of places in the US where they are not so prevalent and where secularism is accepted or even welcomed. And those same places will no doubt seem stifling to the extreme conservative groups.

Manc

The State of Florida (which appears on a complete Right to Life crusade) has since the death of Terry Schiavo is now trying to stop a girl from having an abortion whom got pregnant whilst she was a ward of the State.


The girl is 13

the State wants her to have the baby.

That's why this country is in the dark ages.

scrubbedexpat099

I would be very tempted to remove the "diversity not"

And to grapefruit&milk, where I live in US does not seem so much of an issue, but most of us have never come across fundamentalist christianity before, fundamentalism you tend to associate with non 'western' communities.

I remember Maggie at the height of her power mentioning the "G'" word once, never made that mistake again.

But we had divinity lessons at school, a school chapel, Easter holidays etc but even then, a long time ago, it was quite the same as most of here.

Put it down to culture shock.

grapefruit&milk

Yikes. That is hard to read.

Again, can't say I'm crazy about it, but I now live in a hyper-Catholic area just a hop/skip outside of the Bible Belt, and I can tell you that abortion of any sort is akin to condoning slavery for most of the population down here. (Never mind the fact that this part of the country was just about the last place in the world to renounce slavery...)

And I don't think that being pro-choice immediately makes someone forward-thinking, even if I largely support it myself. Those extreme pro-lifers just as easily see the population supporting abortion as having taken society many steps backwards. For them, societies that practice a woman's right to choose are regressive.

I concede: I'm a self-proclaimed devil's advocate.

edwords

In Europe, they laugh at or throw scorn at U.S. technologies, culturual trends, etc.--then adopt them 10 years later (or would like to adopt them if the government doesn't ban them outright or tax them out of reach). And I say this as a U.S., U.K. and E.U. (ugh!) citizen.

NC Penguin

It is interesting to note that the US public will watch TV and movies featuring gay people who have come out or feature gay characters. e.g. Will and Grace, Ellen Degeneres, The Simpsons (I believe).

However, when it comes to real life, some Americans just can't stand the thought of having a gay neighbor or mixing with gays in general.

On the other hand, I live in Durham, NC and gays and lesbians have quite a presence here. Take the Old Lesbians for Organizing for Change who held their annual conference in Durham, NC. I'm sure they wouldn't have chosen this location if they felt they were going to suffer sexual discrimination.




NC Penguin

bxpuser7543

Bullshit

anotherlimey

For me, on a daily basis, the only things that seem backward (or technically inferior) are the cars, the banking system (I can't believe people still use cheques), the cellular phone system and the cable tv system.

I'd like to know where you got the figures for internet domain and computer ownership from?

-tom

anotherlimey

That's rubbish, even if 10 years was an exageration.