Liberal Places/Conservative Places

[migrendel]

I can give my opinions of the liberal/conservative tilt of municipalities based upon my travels.

Most every city in the Northeast is liberal, such as Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington, at least in terms of voting patterns. To give you an idea of the general breakdown of ideology in any one of these cities, I'll explain it based upon Boston, the city I know best. There are socially liberal areas such as Beacon Hill, where I grew up, and such extraneous suburbs as Cambridge and Brookline. There are culturally conservative areas such as South Boston. Despite their shared economic liberalism and Democratic majorities, there is an intense conflict between them. A famous example was when a court order went into effect ordering busing to end de facto segregation in the city. Students from the black enclave of Roxbury were bused into South Boston, where they were met with rocks being thrown, jeering mobs, and death threats. If one watches footage of this, it still shocks the conscience to see housewives, police officers, truck drivers, and construction workers yelling the most coarse epithets at students who merely complied with court order. Incidentally, the lobbying arm of the anti-busing people was led by a former Congresswoman, Louise Day Hicks, who was also a Democrat. I was not alive when this happened, but from my family, I heard it was a time when many in Beacon Hill were outraged by the lawlessness and manifest racial hatred. That is not to say, though, that this was the only incident of conflict between working class people and progressives. For example, a group of construction workers assaulted peaceful protestors outside of the New York Stock Exchange in 1971. Rather than being sent to prison for using violence to disrupt the discourse inherent to a free society, they were honored at the White House where they presented President Nixon with a hard hat.

Moving on, Southern cities are often moderate-to-liberal, such as Dallas, Houston, and Atlanta, with their political influence diminished by the conservatives denizens of the area living in suburbiam. West Coast cities, such as San Francisco, Los Angeles, and San Diego, are often liberal on matters of culture and economics. Midwestern cities, such as Chicago, Detroit, and Milwaukee, are overwhelmingly Democratic, their agendae often shaped by economic populism.

[migrendel]

I think that in one respect you are somewhat off. I believe that the wealthy liberals might be more supportive of busing than someone in Queens because of something other than wealth. Someone's background might determine their outlook on these things more than the amount of money they have. Perhaps the type of experience of social liberals makes them more receptive to the notion.

In addition, I believe that under our Constitution's guarantee of Equal Protection, the state has an affirmative duty to attempt to end any form of segregation, for it is a badge of servitude, by creating schools which reasonably approximate the racial balance of the community at large. I believe that busing, including inter-district busing, is an acceptable method of doing this.

[migrendel]

It is hollow to speak of equal opportunity if circumstances create such a chasm that the opportunity cannot be utilized. Just saying that segregation is unconstitutional will not do away with it. The government needs to take action to make sure Jim Crow is dead, not just officially deceased. I will defend busing as a means to do this, because I feel it is at times the only way to make sure that our guarantee of equality under the law is extended to all our citizens, and not just given lip service.

What I would ask the South Boston parents is: Why do you oppose this? Why do you throw stones and scream? They're 14 years old and obeying the law. Don't you see the seeds you sow?

What I ask you, dazzleman, is: Why should we tolerate segregation if it is unnecessary? If not this, what?

[migrendel]

I know that their displeasure stemmed from racial animosity. I also think it helps to distinguish between de jure segregation, where it is decreed where to go to school, and de facto segregation, where circumstances segregate the races. I fail to see the practical distinction if there is no differentiation in the school's racial composition with both systems.