Well put:) I recently departed Cambrdge for the midwest. Though I did enjoy a variety of positive aspects of life in Cambridge, after a number of years I had come to the conclusion that some of my neighbors didn't share my views and values. I did run into a few other conservatives while living there - seems we had a type of conservdar - a sense of who each other were.
Cambridge is rapidly falling apart under the weight of successive socialist administrations. It reminds me of the way Brookline was several years ago, a town which has now fallen to abject socialist decay.
I think it's an instinctual recognition of the wrinkles and lines on the face. Since they weren't formed by having a sour expression on one's face 95% of the time, we just look different. :-)