Trying to gauge if I’m going crazy or a little too much “online.”
I currently live in Texas, and moving has been on my mind a lot lately as the Republican party and Texas itself seems to be slowly moving toward fascism. I don’t know when the slide toward fascism will stop, and how much more authoritarian the state will get. I do not feel very good about my tax dollars going to support this state.
I am a middle-aged cishet white man; middle to upper middle class software engineer. I have leftist opinions (libsoc/ansoc), but I’m not an activist (I am very introverted, probably a little bit on the autism spectrum, and pretty much a hermit right now). I do seldom indulge in marijuana consumption, which is illegal here.
I really don’t have much tying me down here. I have no close friends, no family in the state, and no current romantic partners. Last year, I moved within the state for a job, but the company was bought out, and everyone was layed off. I have very high autonomy at my current job, and could probably work fully remote if I wanted. Moving would be expensive (I am in an upside-down mortgage), but I have enough savings to take the hit.
I am personally feeling very isolated here (Texas suburb), at this point in my life, and am thinking about moving into some sort of intentional community (eco-village, cohousing, or land trust; not a commune) in a blue state (or even in Canada if I could pull that off).
Also, the weather in the last 2 years has been absolutely oppressive, and I have a hard time keeping anything alive in my veggie garden :)
Am I being over dramatic? Should I just stick it out here, and try to rebuild my life in a state that doesn’t align with my beliefs?
Also, I’ve heard arguments that libs should stay or even move to red states, but I’m not convinced. The state rules with an iron fist, and pre-empts anything progressive Texas cities try to do. And the district I live in is already pretty solidly blue. Not to mention, red states put families that contain females or lbgt people in danger.
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Texas population is purple, we just need more people to vote. My work and social circle are 85% blue and 15% moderate red. You’re going to find people who agree and disagree with you in any situation and that’s how it should be. You have to do what’s right for you, but wherever you are, vote and encourage people around you to vote. That’s the only way anything gets better.
“people who […] disagree with you and that’s how it should be” I mean… except for human rights. Like there’s a ton of crap that no decent human should agree with going on in states like Texas, Florida, and more. Some of that is inexcusable, even if the person is uneducated and easier that way. Plenty of knowledge freely available on the internet. Many of the social positions of conservatives simply cannot be excused, even as a “we need differing opinions”
Yup it’s getting harder and harder to have that conversation. Like the video posted yesterday of the guy who went to a Trump rally, had civilized conversations with some of the people there, and found out they mostly had the same thoughts the the left had (i.e. the rich shouldn’t be as rich as they are, we’re living in an oligarchy, everything shouldn’t be owned by 6 big corporations, etc.). That’s nice and all, but at the end of the day, who are these people voting?