I've read so many diaries attacking places where shit happens (Arizona - Kansas - Virginia - California) and understand the attacks on these places. But those of us who live in St. Louis/Ferguson/Phoenix/Kansas/etc. are not all the pig-dog racist ignoramuses you think we are. Yes, we LIVE amongst pig-dog racist ignoramuses, but there's always a bit more going on.
I'm a 56 year old, white, progressive, pro-Obama (with all the reservations rational people have about this wonderful man) who was born in Richland, Washington, lived in Oregon (Hood River), Seattle, Norwalk/Santa Fe Springs(CA), Westwood, Venice (CA), Florence (Italy), and a huge number of other places and ... St. Louis, Missouri (Missour-EEEEEE) since 1991. I'm an evolving Midwesterner. Why do I love this place? Read below the orange puked up hairball of cat liberalism below:
I ride the bus. I ride the trains. Why is this important? The real working types (mostly black - not me) take public transit. I didn't learn to drive until I was 39 and I gave up our household's extra car 5 years ago. I think places where people use public transit a lot (SF, NY, Chicago) mix people together in a healthier way. St. Louis is NOT that kind of place ... yet.
I worked on Kerry's campaign, my wife worked on Obama's first, and I attended DailyKos II (the last). I'm claiming liberal street cred here.
The Ferguson debacle is breaking the hearts of many of us who live here. We're fully cognizant of the historic and current racial dimensions of what's going on. St. Louis, like America, is "complex." (quotes intentional).
Stream of consciousness thoughts on how this small town Washingtonian (Yakima Valley), cultural Angeleno, UCLA shut-down-Murphy-Hall during Gulf War I librarian, came to love St. Louis, Missouri (Misery).
I figured I'd take my first professional position at the University of Missouri-St. Louis, an urban institution of no note that I'd never heard of, then move on to a REAL position in a REAL place after 2 or 3 years. Twenty-three years later, two children raised here, I've found my home.
Housing: Houses are cheap. In LA, my wife helped build the Space Shuttle and was making 60K a year in the late '80s, and we couldn't imagine buying a house unless we wanted to live 2 hours away near Magic Mountain. Within 3 months in St. Louis, after a 60% cut in income, we had a nice 3 bedroom home in Olivette on my $24k a year salary. To this day, almost 90% of employed St. Louisans can afford to buy a home (average income compared to average house price).
Rush hour: It only lasts 2-3 hours. In LA, I remember rush hour was about 5am to 9pm.
Free zoo. Free museum. I remember going to the San Diego zoo and hearing parents yell, "Damn it! We paid $100 to get in here and YOU WILL HAVE FUN!!!" St. Louis zoo? We actually go there in the middle of the week and look at animals for 45 minutes. Then go home and relax. Don't poo poo a place that values cultural institutions to the level that they are free for all. The zoo is the place you're most likely to see white and black people freely mixing in public. And the penguins rock!
Race? Race? Yah. Racism is BIG here. Unlike the rest of America. But most St. Louisans swim in the racial issue. Ferguson isn't atypical, actually. THAT makes a lot of us cry. I'll let others diary those issues, but I WILL NOT DENY THEY EXIST AND SUCK AND ARE AWFUL ... but we try.
My university keeps me sane. We're the only public university in the area. We got lots of black people, white people, Chinese students, Bosnians, etc. And none of them are here because we're a sexy place. They're here because they want an education. I love every single one of them.
Ferguson. Ah, Ferguson. Six miles away. Two of my colleagues live there. A chunk of the student body does too. I heard we had 100 or so enrollees cancel admission out of fear of the Ferguson stuff. Sucks. Cry. Frustration.
The Arch! Greatest public sculpture in the country.
The City Museum! Incredible brain child of the late bastard genius Bob Casilly.
The baseball Cardinals! Required by law to root for them. Yes, there's a problem with black fans coming to the stadium (they are welcome, but just don't come in numbers) but riding the bus/train, 90 percent of the passengers wear Cardinals gear (and the ones wearing Cubs hats are tolerated).
Drivers: TOO polite! "After you ... no, no, after you ... " Damnit! Just DRIVE THROUGH THE FREAKING INTERSECTION YOU'RE ON MY RIGHT ... GAHHHH!!!"
Imos Pizza. Imos pizza SUCKS! The square beyond compare. Crackers with tomato sauce. There you go.
Ted Drewes. (look it up)
The patron saint of St. Louis: Larry Rice. Comes across as your normal televangelist, but look under the hood. I'm an atheist and I think this guys a saint. He pisses off the local government and truly believes in helping the poor (he puts up - deeds).
Weather: insane. If you like weather, live here.
Music: Damn. We're some sort of secret music super culture that nobody sees ('cept for the Nelly and Chuck Berry fans). Music. Whole 'nother diary. You can STILL go see Chuck Berry perform at Blueberry Hill (yes, I made the pilgrimage).
St. Louisans have a chip on their shoulder. They want to be loved. They try REAL HARD. They fail a LOT (see Ferguson). But they're people, like all of us.
St. Louisans? Add stuff.