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Comment by davinic | Hacker News Reader

You're also dealing with a hostile state government in the bible belt, and surrounded by far red areas. I'm leaving Missouri and wouldn't consider Georgia for that reason, although I have always enjoyed Atlanta.

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So you can't stand to live in a place where many people don't think the way you think, yet you'd probably appreciate a more "diverse" city? You appreciate places like San Francisco because while others may look different, they think the same. That's fine, people are more comfortable around those who agree with them; but quit kidding yourself.

The comment you are replying to explicitly mentioned a "hostile state government", none of the ax-grindy stuff you're bringing up.

That's an uncharitable interpretation of the OP. It's not that people think different, it's that people are actively discriminated in Atlanta (well it's less an Atlanta problem and more a Georgia problem). For context I write this as an African American living in the Bay Area with family that's based in Atlanta.

For example as a Black person I know my vote won't count for much in Georgia, and that the state is actively working to disenfranchise it [0]. I also know that I won't have the ability to plan my family [1]. I know I might get weird looks if I'm in a non-heteronormative relationship [2].

So the problem most people have with "red" states isn't that people love God, love cops and love pickup trucks, it's that these areas actively working to restrict our "blue" freedoms.

0: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/aug/14/stacey-abram...

1: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/07/us/heartbeat-bill-georgia...

2: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/20/us/tennessee-internet-min... (Note, this is about Tennessee, but similar attitudes pervade the South)

You think your vote counts in the bay area?

Say what you will about voter suppression in Atlanta, but a vote counted there is worth a lot more than a vote counted in California.

Flip Georgia blue, and you’re making real change.

It counts for a lot in the CA statehouse vs what it would be in GA. That said at the federal level, my vote is largely meaningless. But for the majority of my voting life I've had a bifurcated federal government that gets nothing done. So from my vantage the state is where real policy is coming from anyways.

SF tore down a major black community within the city (Filmore) and its policies have resulted in an exodus of blacks except for some impoverished communities.

This is a disengenuous argument. Even people who genuinely like diversity are not obligated to want to live near all possible kinds of people. I like diversity, but I don't want to live next to neo-Nazis, anti-vaxxers, serial killers, etc.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paradox_of_tolerance

So you’re lumping in Republicans with “Nazi’s, anti-vaxxers and serial killers”?

No, I'm giving examples of the kinds of people one wouldn't want to live next to even if one wanted diversity.

The idea that liking diversity means liking all possible humans is flawed.

Which is exactly why liberal voters should move to Georgia. Georgia is purple, and it's close to going blue. It makes much more sense than concentrating these votes in California, which is as blue as it gets.

California votes are "useless", whereas Georgia votes "matter". (I don't mean to offend by this, but the swing states have an outsized impact.)

I voted out Karen Handel last election -- in a very close race -- which felt truly amazing.

State laws matter more for quality of life, and I’m not going to hold my breath waiting for the backward states to catch up to CA (and other progressive states).

What liberties do you enjoy that we don't? The only egregious thing I can point to in Georgia is the heartbeat abortion bill, which if you aren't paying attention is merely a ploy to get it in front of the Supreme Court so they can make it national.

We were so close to defeating Governor Kemp and making this not happen. Now it's a risk to you and the entire nation.

Assisted suicide, pro choice and pro proper sex education discussing contraceptives, sick leave, parental leave (and family leave), overtime pay (and other job benefits like being able to sit and generally pro labor, non compete ban, marijuana freedoms, stricter environmental standards etc.

It’s not all roses, there are improvements to be had, but it’s leaning in the right direction. I don’t even know why people consider states without family leave acts.

I appreciate that you are helping turn the tide though by living in a Georgia and voting to support the people that will help push the country forward, but unfortunately I can afford to live elsewhere where my daughter doesn’t have to worry about unpaid maternity leave or having to go back to work after a few weeks. I’m flummoxed as to how to fix the political system giving too much voting power per capita to conservative states without a war though.

I've spent my entire life in a purple island surrounded by red. It's someone else's turn.

Thanks for posting that! It reminds me that things can change for the better. I remember the way that her actions really damaged Susan G Komen for the cure charity. You make a good point about changing things. I'm on the west coast, I'm from the south. I at times am tempted to move back to the south, or one of the swing states and help move things along. It's not the best for people to segregate as we have into liberal west coast states overall, but I love living here more than my racist home town with high crime rates; I also get I'm not doing anything to help that.

What makes CA and NYC politics better? A place where you struggle to house and educate your family on a six figure salary seems to be sorely lacking.

To me it seems like we are doing terrible where it matters; - cost of living is terrible due to unwise regulation (housing, taxes for ineffective measures etc) - the vast amount of poor that live on our streets do not tell anything good about our safety net - peoples capability to engage with people of different opinions is dystopic, leading to social isolation - the education system has in the last 40 years gone from one of the best to one of the worst

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