Urban Archipelago

The Stranger online ^ | 2005 | Editors of The Stranger

[aaronbeth]

The one at the top should be familiar. It's one of those red-state/blue-state maps that have been tormenting Democrats, liberals, and progressives since November of 2000. Over the 36 days that George W. Bush and Al Gore fought for the White House in Florida, "red" and "blue" became metaphors for America's divided electorate. Red vs. Blue--Democrat vs. Republican; liberal vs. conservative; pro-life vs. pro-choice; gun-huggers vs. gun-haters; gay-huggers vs. gay-haters

[aaronbeth]

I found this as I was looking at DU. I love reading their drivel-like a train wreck- it's horrible, but it's hard to avert my eyes. This is a long article that explains how cities, populated by liberal intelligensia, are going to turn their backs on ignorant red state morons, and leave them to their guns, botched abortions, and SUVs. The writers maintain that as a result of their 'no longer caring' about red staters, we will all shoot each other,starve when blue state taxes stop supporting family farms, etc.

[cripplecreek]

The only problem with the democrats thinking is that they are desperately trying to avoid the truth. A look at the red/blue county maps for 2000 and again in 2004 show the blue islands becoming smaller and less numerous.

[Publius6961]

We live on islands of sanity, liberalism, and compassion--New York City, Chicago, Philadelphia, Seattle, St. Louis, Minneapolis, San Francisco, and on and on. And we live on islands in red states too--a fact obscured by that state-by-state map.

Alas! This would make the "ultimate" disaster movie for the delusional... Huddled in the dark, slowly starving to death... no power... no food...

Tons of sanity, liberalism and compassion; AIDS running rampant and no medical supplies... and no means to force the moron slaves to provide it to them, because they happen to be the fighters, too.

Lucifer's Hammer of a couple of decades ago gave us a glimpse of their starkest nightmare.

Poor babies!

[frankiep]

What total idiocy. The arrogance and holier than thou attitudes the communi...Libdems continue to spew out is breathtaking. Let me get this straight. Only people who live in big cities should be allowed to decide who is president because these annoited city folk "live on islands of sanity, liberalism, and compassion" and "reject heartland 'values' like xenophobia, sexism, racism, and homophobia, as well as the more intolerant strains of Christianity". My God, what a freak. Maybe the communi...Democrats should have picked him to head the DNC instead of Dean. Oh, and I would love to see the annoited city folk turn their backs on 'red staters'. If, or rather WHEN, that does happen I guarantee that the "intelligensia" will be literally eating each other the day after they stop receiving food from the dim witted country folk. And there won't be a damn thing they could do about it either; they cleansed their streets of evil guns while those dumb red state hicks are still allowed to be armed. Uh, no, I haven't spent any time thinking about this type of situation in the near future....

[aaronbeth]

All I know is:if the map colors were reversed, I would have a very sick feeling in my stomach for the future of the Republican party, and for America as a whole.

[Gingersnap]

What a long, strange read! I think the author hasn't really thought this through. Sure, single people, "artists", students and DINKS like the urban experience but so do the destitute, the addicts, the homeless and the chronically unemployed.

The suburbs and the dreaded "exurbs" are the fastest growing areas of the country. The internet is offering people a way to find employment in small towns and rural areas.

This guy needs to think this through.

[cripplecreek]

Its kind of like their theory that global warming will cause the ocean to rise and swamp the lowlands and islands.

In this case the ideological waters are rising and they have chosen to pretend they aren't.

[aaronbeth]

I know- the part in the article that maintains they will have no guns, while red state knuckle draggers will have plenty "lying around." On DU, one of the replies to this article was: "yes, where do I sign up? once we have our blue cities in action we will have those red states by the balls! they will HAVE to sell us their food, and we can pay anything we want(alluding to low prices they could give red states for food products)!!" Well, I am not an economist, but I do know that if I lived in a non-food producing city, and food was available from only a few sources-red state suppliers in this case- mass hysteria panic price gouging black market prostitution for food, etc would ALL occur in short order. Ask the Russian folk who were in their cities during WW11 with the germans blockading outside. How do sawdust and vaseline pancakes sound,blue staters?

[KarlInOhio]

Well, I am not an economist, but I do know that if I lived in a non-food producing city, and food was available from only a few sources-red state suppliers in this case- mass hysteria panic price gouging black market prostitution for food, etc would ALL occur in short order.

The Korean restaurants in New York City will strip the trees of Central Park to make their Pyongyang Platters.

[Frumious Bandersnatch]

Yeah, and how are the blue-staters going to eat?

[frankiep]

If you take a group of city slickers and a group of country boys, isolate from outside help, and tell them that they can only use what they already have in their environment to survive - bet on the country boys, every single time.

[UpstateNYRouser]

How can any liberal remain a liberal after reading such tripe? Do conservatives write like this? I don't see it, but maybe I'm missing something. Have a grandson who has gone "liberal" and I worry about his being affected by crap
like this. Think I'll copy it and see if he'll read it and let me know what he thinks. Hope he's not beyond saving. I'm a senior citizen and almost glad I won't have to put up with this nonsense for another 50 years. To you younger people - keep your powder dry. This country IS worth dying for.

[AZ_Cowboy]

On DU, one of the replies to this article was: "yes, where do I sign up? once we have our blue cities in action we will have those red states by the balls! they will HAVE to sell us their food, and we can pay anything we want(alluding to low prices they could give red states for food products)!!"
---
As usual, things are 180 degrees out of phase at DU. If we have all the food and they have none, really we could just keep it all to ourselves and force them to buy the rest on the open market. In the meantime, we will also control the entirety of Domestic Oilfields. We will always have what we need to support ourselves out here in Jesusland, folks. Think of it...if we cut off the blue cities, we'd probably cut our demand for oil enough that we'd be independent. We country boys and gals would have all the food and oil we'd need. These blue-city dopes would unwittingly be bequeathing us our self-sufficiency! On top of that, without the burden of the cities, our taxes would fall off dramatically, so we wouldn't need as much money to hold the same standard of living. In the mean time, they would no longer have the government to beat up on the producers, so they'd be forced to pay what everyone else is used to paying for imported food and oil. What are they going to do to us if we don't sell to them, anyway, start a war? We've got all the guns and most of the ex-military to boot.

So, tell me again, who's got who by the balls? I haven't even addressed their defense problems yet, let alone their need for people to maintain that infrastructure they depend on so much.

[Mr. Jeeves]

The writers maintain that as a result of their 'no longer caring' about red staters, we will all shoot each other,starve when blue state taxes stop supporting family farms, etc.

Their future is Detroit. Ours is Scottsdale, Arizona.

I'll take that trade. ;)

[Libertarianize the GOP]

Owning land and living in the country offers a different approach to life. It is possible to provide the necessities without relying on others. From that perspective trading with others is an option but not a necessity.

Living in a city makes manipulating and controlling others a necessity for existence since no individual can provide for all of their own needs. Voluntary trade is still an option but compulsion is the only alternative. Government is force and using its power allows for controlling and manipulating people.

[BobS]

" I'm a senior citizen and almost glad I won't have to put up with this nonsense for another 50 years. To you younger people - keep your powder dry. This country IS worth dying for.

If you are a senior and have some time to kill, read up on Mao Tse Tung in China about 1948-9. Mao said "we will control the countryside first, and the cities will fall last". You can put a hefty bet that human nature hasn't changed at all; for thousands of years.

[wbill]

I thought that Kerry was a "uniter, not a divider". What a bunch of claptrap.

Stay in your cities, your "urban islands". I like where I live just fine.

[Michael.SF.]

Look at our famously blue West Coast. But for the cities--Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and San Diego--the West Coast would be a deep, dark red.

San Diego is red. In fact, due to the large population of Vets, it is RED, white and blue.

[onja]

HaHa Funny about calling the huge cities sane. BTW- If they did seccede they'd be in really big trouble. Food and oil Embargo and us country folk who have guns.