[megaheckahella]

I grew up in California (Bay Area), and used to talk so much shit about Kentucky. But I went out there a couple of years ago and was surprised to find how much I loved it. I was mainly in Louisville and Berea (founded by ardent abolitionists and radical reformers), mind you -- two diverse, liberal, creative towns. Lots of gay bars in Louisville, art galleries that rival anything in San Francisco, music, bourbon, microbrews, and a lack of smug superiority (so prevalent here in the Bay Area). What I noticed, too, was that Kentucky was self-aware about its racist past and the bullshit that still exists, while here in Northern California there is still an undercurrent of unspoken racism and total lack of self-awareness among many liberal white people -- as if racism isn't a problem in this bubble.