The Tennessee House of Representatives passed a controversial bill Thursday that would allow private citizens and organizations to refuse to recognize same-sex marriages without facing punishment.
I really, really would like to love and support my home state but the GOP is making it really difficult. Memphis, my home town, gave birth to blues, soul and rock’n’roll, was pivotal in the civil rights movement, gorgeous view to the Mississippi River and a world renowned BBQ scene. Nashville has a thriving nightlife and a music scene of its own owing to its numerous music halls. Chattanooga and Knoxville are their own little nuggets of Tennessee charm. There’s also the natural beauty: Great Smoky Mountains and the associated national park, numerous smaller state parks, swimmable lakes (e.g. Percy Priest Lake), and so forth. This isn’t even including the extensive Native American history.
Instead of using it’s natural beauty and rich, though troubled, history to make Tennessee a center of the southern U.S., Bill Lee and his Republican-led (i.e. Trumpist stronghold) state house makes it a living hell for everyone. xAI was allowed to install poisonous gas turbines right next to poor, black neighborhoods. ICE and the National Guard were given carte blanche to roam our streets. The south is, truly, a backwards backwater.
From a fellow born Memphian to another. I feels ya. Ain’t no way I could go back full time. I do visit occasionally and reluctantly. Then quickly I retreat back home to the PNW. When folks ask how the trip to my hometown was, I respond by telling them that the best part of my vacation is right now.
I really, really would like to love and support my home state but the GOP is making it really difficult. Memphis, my home town, gave birth to blues, soul and rock’n’roll, was pivotal in the civil rights movement, gorgeous view to the Mississippi River and a world renowned BBQ scene. Nashville has a thriving nightlife and a music scene of its own owing to its numerous music halls. Chattanooga and Knoxville are their own little nuggets of Tennessee charm. There’s also the natural beauty: Great Smoky Mountains and the associated national park, numerous smaller state parks, swimmable lakes (e.g. Percy Priest Lake), and so forth. This isn’t even including the extensive Native American history.
Instead of using it’s natural beauty and rich, though troubled, history to make Tennessee a center of the southern U.S., Bill Lee and his Republican-led (i.e. Trumpist stronghold) state house makes it a living hell for everyone. xAI was allowed to install poisonous gas turbines right next to poor, black neighborhoods. ICE and the National Guard were given carte blanche to roam our streets. The south is, truly, a backwards backwater.
From a fellow born Memphian to another. I feels ya. Ain’t no way I could go back full time. I do visit occasionally and reluctantly. Then quickly I retreat back home to the PNW. When folks ask how the trip to my hometown was, I respond by telling them that the best part of my vacation is right now.
I hear you have great caves too