Missouri's Culture

[loyalsister]

I thought I would post something on this because it comes up a lot. The argument is usually made by people who don't live here, so I thought I'd post it in here.
Missouri has extremely diverse culture. In fact, there are a number of different identifiable cultural pockets. It has a lot to do with the states that surround it.
If you go down into Southeast MO, they grow Cotton. You are talking THE South. The Bootheel is surrounded by Arkansas, Kentucky, and Tennessee. Southwest MO is very similar. Neighbored by Oklahoma and Arkansas.
Then, when you get up to STL, and it's just next door to ILL, it's got a more eastern flavor. KC is a Midwestern cow-town. Up north, you have a bunch of cornfields where it merges into Iowa.
Inside you have all kinds of crazy things. From secessionist militia nuts in the Ozarks to the Amish colonies to our little liberal haven in Columbia where we just decriminalized pot. I believe there are even more than what I mentioned. It's quite a mixed bag. It's kind of cool to have that kind of diversity.
I wonder if that's why we pick the presidents. We've been right every time over the past 100 years except for Adlai Stephens.

[proud2BlibKansan]

1. great points

But KC is more than a cowtown. There is so much culture here. Great nightlife. Wonderful museums.

The other thing about Missouri that I think surprises a lot of visitors is that it is so pretty. The Ozarks are beautiful. It is also a great vacation state. There is lots to do here.

[loyalsister]

12. I agree

And, you expanded point.
I stand corrected. :-)

[catmandu57]

2. We're up here in the nw corner

with all the starving farmers, time was back in the depression and up to the sixties they were democrats. Then the racism crept in and they all swung over, and every election some repuke waltzs through here kisses their ass and immediately after shoves a big shiv in their back amd you know what?
These stupid fucks do it over and over and over I've watched it happen.

[Kansas Wyatt]

6. Back when family farms and small towns were not in decay.....

Rural America prospered. A little over 30 years ago, family farms started going under and small towns started going out of business, due to the lack of the agriculture income. Republicans always fought hard for the farmer's subsidies, and most folks in Rural America had to take low wage jobs to survive.

Now, Republicans are selling a myth to rural people that they are going to bring back that small town way of life, that many of them remember and miss. It is astonishing how many agriculture states are in the "Jesusland," and I do not think that label is entirely accurate. A lot of those people in agriculture states remember when rural and small town America thrived, and they think that the Republicans want to bring that way of life back to them. The Republicans are selling an illusion that they are going to bring them back to the rural America and the small towns of the 50s & 60s. You would be surprised how many people in Rural America think Shrub is the same kind of president that Dwight D. Eisenhower was, and that there is no difference between the two.

[w13rd0]

3. I'm in Saint Louis (city)...

...and it in itself is a microcosm. Then there's the county.

[ikojo]

16. Univ City here.....seen as a liberal oasis but

it is as divided by race and class as any part of St Louis County. By the sixth grade most white kids in U City go to private school or their family moves out of U City to one of the whiter suburbs. The U City public schools are majority black by the middle school years.

U City was once a primarily Jewish suburb approx. 30 years ago but Jews did as other white people and went west.

[janx]

19. My parents grew up there. n/t

[Cuban_Liberal]

4. Illinois is the same way.

Very diverse.

[Solon]

5. Agree with most of what you said...

But dangit, you forgot to mention the "Frenchtown" aspects of St. Louis and surrounding communities, though it is tough to see in St. Louis itself. I live in St. Charles, right across the river, with the Republican Strongholds of St. Peters, and Hick areas of O'Fallon, to the mostly Democratic St. Charles City, and downtown Frenchtown, plus, of course, the casino here. :)

Our state is very eclectic, and very conflicted as well, but considering our history as a state, especially during the Civil War, is it any surprise?

[loyalsister]

8. oops

I also forgot the German towns. Herman has A LOT of personality!
You are right about the history.
It was totally divided and didn't secede but then again did when the General Assembly drew up their own Secesionist Act.

[Solon]

15. Yep, and technically...

during that time, our state capital was in Texas, talk about a confusing time!

[loyalsister]

17. yep

I remember hearing about an interview Ashcroft did with a confederate magazine when he was running in the presidential primary.
They asked something to the effect of where were Missouri's sympathies duting the Civil War.
Ashcroft said, "Missouri was in Texas."

hmmmmm. Even for Ashcroft, that was kind of out there.

[ultraist]

7. It's also all white Americans, no color & no foreigners

It's not racially or ethnically diverse, that's for sure. Very few people of color or foreigners live in Mo. In fact, it has a well below national average for population diversity. (USCB stats)

[bling bling]

9. St. Louis is about 50/50 black/white

I know this because I've seen studies on racism conducted in St. Louis specifically due to the the 50/50 number. BTW, the results of the studies were shameful, althought to be fair they were done over a decade ago.

But it is definitely one of the most segregated cities I've seen. I went to Memphis a few years ago and saw how integrated the cultures there were at least in the city area compared to St. Louis. It made me feel sad that we have so much potential here but nothing seems to really change.

[loyalsister]

11. Unfortunately that is pervasive

Columbia is shamefully segregated, as well.
I actually think it is a function of a lack of afforable housing, economics, and job availability more than anything.

[ultraist]

21. US Census Bureau Stats on Missouri

It looks like most of the Blacks are in St. Louis which has a disporportionately high number of blacks for the state. (50% compared to the state 11%).

The minority pop is below the national average but it's not quite as bad as I first thought, at least the Black population. My state is 22% Black, so Mo is very white from my perspective. Same for Hispanic population, which is extremely low in Mo at 2.3%.

I didn't look up foreigner stats, but here is the stats on race:

http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/ACSSAFFFacts?_event=&geo_id=04000US29&_geoContext=01000US%7C04000US29%7C16000US2965000&_street=&_county=st+louis&_cityTown=st+louis&_state=04000US29&_zip=&_lang=en&_sse=on&ActiveGeoDiv=&_useEV=

White
4,702,055
State: 85.0
National Average: 76.1%

Black or African American
625,676
State: 11.3
National Average: 12.1%

American Indian and Alaska Native
24,081
State: 0.4
National Average:0.8%

Asian
74,873
State: 1.4
Nat'l average: 4.1%

Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander
1,402
State:0.0
Nat'l avg. 0.1%

Some other race
33,171
0.6
4.8%

Two or more races
73,495
1.3
1.9%

Hispanic or Latino (of any race)
125,406
State: 2.3
National Average: 13.8%

[loyalsister]

10. You should check out Columbia

We have Middle Eastern, Asian, Indian, Hispanic, and definitely African American communities. We have restaurants of all varieties, and even have a Mosque here.
I have also met people from Africa. These are people who usually live here for 4-5 years at a time, because of college.
Undergraduate, Graduate, Med school, and some have even moved here.
They are of all different ages, and some have children in the schools.
I am not sure what the actual data is, but I know from my own experience that there is a great deal of ethnic diversity here!
Seems like it was picked up and dropped in the middle of this state somehow.

[proud2BlibKansan]

14. KC is very diverse

The rest of the state may not be but there is a large diverse population here.

[sarcasmo]

13. Decriminalized pot, How much is considered legal a 1/4 ounce?

[loyalsister]

20. Legal vs decriminalized

Two different things. If a person gets busted, they get a ticket and they have to go to city court if it's less than a certain amount. (I can't remember how much.)
The court can fine a person, or make them take drug education classes, etc. It keeps us from putting non-violent offenders in jail, and allows students to keep their financial aid.
We also passed a medical marijuana measure where a person can get a recommendation and would not be ticketed if caught with pot.

[Eric J in MN]

18. Make Missouri the first state to have a Dem. caucus or primary (nt)

nt

[FormerOstrich]

22. I'm originally from Springfield....

(I live in Arizona now). I still get homesick on occasion. Some of the best people I know live in Missouri.

My parent still live there and my mother just amazes me. I don't know how she manages to get her information (she didn't have internet access until very recently) but she somehow keeps up on everything.

Mom and I never discussed politics until * came into office. I was too busy not knowing the world around me. I was stunned when we did start discussing things that we agreed on almost every point. I am so impressed with her.

I think if my Mom can be able to keep current (largely without internet access) from Nixa Missouri, there is no excuse for the millions that chose not to see it.

[chlamor]

23. Used to Live in St. Louis

Family still does. Can't stand the pollution in St. Louis but must say I always feel good when i visit. The people are so friendly. This last summer held up "Bush Must Go" signs all around East/Midwest. Response was rowdiest, most supportive in St. Louis.
Lifelong Cardinal fan Brock, Gibson, McBride, Templeton, Hendrick, Simmons etc.
Newspapers are crap now including RFT which misses Ray Hartman.
Used to drive through the Ozarks often for canoeing. Most awesome cold spring anywhere is on RTE. 19 at Greer Spring near Alton, Mo. Wat bown south. Damn, I liked Missouri.

[Scout1071]

24. Ummm, I agree with much you said, but cow-town?

I mean we do have a stockyard here, but KC is much more than a cow-town. And I agree with you that St. Louis has more of an "Eastern feel," which is why I don't understand why it carries the tag of "Gateway to the West." Everything about it feels Eastern. IMHO, KC is the Gateway to the West. Petty? Yea, probably!

[HeeBGBz]

25. I'm down here in the Ozarks

There's a whole nest of fundies here in the Branson area. I'd like to move, but my family homesteaded in this county and I'd hate to give up on it.

[ikojo]

28. Branson is downright extreme right wing...the town has seen

conferences hosted by the "Rev" Pete Peters of Scriptures for America, a purveyor of the "Christian" Israelite religion, more commonly known as Christian Identity although he shuns that label.

[HeeBGBz]

29. Not to mention Jim Bakker and countless others

They were damn evil right after the election. I have a lot of resentment towards the groups that have moved here and who run off any normal entertainment possibilities. Not to mention the trashing of the environment which is what drew people here in the first place.

[me b zola]

26. My memories of Missouri are a little different

When my son was a baby, I was single, I moved to mid-Mo to be closer to my parents who had retired there. There were two black families that lived in outlying communities, but that was it for diversity unless we drove 30 miles into Jefferson City. My son is Chicano, and this was years before any migrant workers came to the state. When he started school they didn't know (were to ignorant) any racial slurs for a Hispanic, so they called him n*gger. He grew up fighting, as the teachers always claimed they didn't hear the name calling and their parents didn't know where little johnny would have learned a thing like that. They eventually left him alone because he got so good at fighting, he would take on a group of the little bastards & whoop their inbred asses.

The small town that I lived in did not permit diversity of any kind with out there being repercussions. Don't look or speak different, and definiatly don't think differently.

Jefferson City was okay, I went to Lincoln University which is a historicaly black university founded because University of Missouri would not admitt blacks. Back in the early 1900's the area around Lincoln U was a haven for black intellectuals.

I always liked Columbia, it was the only true area,IMO, where diversity was truely celebrated.

[Wise Child]

27. KDHX in St. Louis

http://www.kdhx.org

88.1 FM KDHX St. Louis Community Radio. One of realitive few community radio stations in the country. Very little corporate radio for me.

Also, for the first time in about fifty years, more people are moving back into the city, than leaving, and light rail track is expanding in St. Louis.

[Touchdown]

30. After living in KC for 10 years, I'd have to agree.

I always saw Missouri itself to be devoid of an identifiable culture itself.

West is Ks, East is Il, south is Ar, and North is Ia. KC has an identity crisis, and always tries to compare itself to StL, instead of breaking out. A friend of mine summed up the staid, quiet desperation and subtle judgementalism as the "Midwest mentality". I always thought that the gay community in KC was pretty screwed in the head. Here you have all those repressed small town boys and girls who come from Kansas and the Ozarks and bring all their emotional baggage to KC...and then spawn.

One thing KC is that hasn't been mentioned...It's also a roach motel. Once you get in, it's almost impossible to leave without some of that baggage rubbing off. A real nice place to be from.;)

But, why it's a bellweather state? I haven't a clue.

[newportdadde]

31. I live in a Suburb of Kansas City,

grew up in Cass County out on a farm, by farm I mean a real working farm, not 40 acres with 3 horses. Up until 10 years ago they still had PARTY Telephone lines lmao.

My dad and I traveled all over the state looking for a farm for him to finally buy of his own and also for various cattle sales etc. The only area I never got to is the boot heal. Your points are pretty good, I remeber being in the Amish pocket you mention in the northeast of the state. The sparse pockets in the NW of the state just 10 miles from Iowa, looked at a large farm there 1000 acres but the area was being cut apart due to corporate Hog growers moving in.

Love a town called Herman, were the first of my family came to when they immigrated over around 1900. Pretty much a little german town with october fest etc, bed and breakfasts. Four years ago my father, mother and my wife and I tracked down my great grandfathers grave which had been lost to the family outside of Herman in an old church graveyard nestled in a large hilly area with trees all around.

The SW, Springfield area has gone RW in a big way as I've heard.

[snooper2]

32. It's still a shitty state to live in...

I grew up the DeSoto/Festus Jefferson County area...

High state taxes, roads go to shit after every winter, people in the country keep their property looking like trash, you have to drive over an hour from anywhere to find decent work, and the cops all in all, suck...Just get on 21 South from 141 and drive for two hours. The armpit of America...

Been in Dallas over seven years now, and find it to be a much better quality of life. And, I would say the diversity in Dallas rivals New York or L.A.

In my Engineering department of 50 people, 7 different Countries are represented. +, No State Income Taxes and the roads seem to, well, stay together :)