[tcskeptic]

The narrow minded comment made me chuckle. I no longer surprised by how myopic certain people can be. In my personal experience moving between Chicago, Appalachia, LA and now deep in the rural heart of Texas is that "broad mindeded" people (especially those in larger cities) often overestimate their own tolerance, and see no reason to be tolerant of, interested in understanding the rural or southern culture within their own country, and have a profoundly limited, almost cartoonish understanding of the motivations, predjudices and attitudes of the same. I remember with particular humor a roadtrip with people that I had worked with in some rough areas of Chicago to Lvingston, TN. During the trip a couple of the group got into a discussion without every having stepped from the van about how backward and prejudiced the people in the area were.

[nspiegelberg]

This. I moved to Silicon Valley from Huntsville, AL (< 1hr drive from KKK birthplace, snake handlers, and 'To Kill a Mockingbird'). I've heard more racist and sexist comments from educated people in SV than I did living in AL. Sure, you have your fair share of stereotypical rednecks in AL, but the vast majority of the population is mostly past that. SV just has a bay segregating them instead of city blocks.

My coworkers expressed disgust that they might have trouble in AL going around the office proudly proclaiming they were atheists. I told them that CA had a similar paradigm too: Fox News.

...That being said: Atlanta is a cautionary tale of how laze-faire central planning doesn't work.

[flogic]

Guns are a good illustration of this. Where I grew up, kids have been known to get guns for Christmas so they can go deer hunting. It's probably not the safest thing but it's not really a problem. Here in NYC though it's completely different. A stray bullet has way too many opportunities to hit something important. Not to mention, all minor conflicts from people living so close together.

[protomyth]

Yeah, I remember during HS students and teachers comparing hunting rifles in the school parking lot (they had them in their trunks since they intended to start hunting after school let out). Every place on earth has its "no big deal" that horrifies someone else.

Safer than a swimming pool....

[davideckoff]

I think you're so right about that. I can definitely imagine just about all of us overestimate our own tolerance. Something to definitely consider. I recently had a chance to see the Dalai Lama during his visit to Atlanta, and he talked a lot about the benefits to us of actively practicing compassion. Something that probably most of us, including me, don't do enough of day to day.