I am amazed that the listmembers who have had such a problem with generalizations of the American people, and who object to labeling or boxing others, have not responded to the idea that those of us who live on the West Coast, especially in California, are not as intellectual as those of us who reside in the Northeast, and NYC. And as that statement seems to be founded on one person's experience in LA makes it even more offensive. I feel (note that!!!) (I am speaking of MY feelings and repsonses to that statement), as if I (and the millions of others on this coast)have been marginalized by not only the first post, but the lack of response to it by others on the list.
Have you heard of UC Berkeley and the Free Speech movement? Stanford, UCLA (where AL Gore now teaches a class), and other great colleges and universities? I attended UCLA where Angela Davis was a teacher and her mentor Herbert Marcuse taught at UC San Diego. (Davis was fired by then-governor Reagan becuase she was a member of the Communist Party.) I feel (there's that word again) as if I have been "labeled" a bleached blonde, bubble-headed surfer girl lying in the sun, while the others (more highly evolved) of the species migrate to the East Coast to offer their political "advice" to the rest of the world. In California (and I thought in the US), one of the great freedoms was freedom of speech. And one of the great joys was discussion and the exchange of information. The myriad viewpoints of the people who comprise the United States, with the wealth of different cultures, is our strength. I am deeeply offended by that statement which has been largely ignored by those on the list who have been so vocal on other subjects lately. Darice
