I have lived in Idaho my entire life and it has become
increasingly difficult to deal with constant back slide of humanity in this
state. The running joke is: “Welcome to
Idaho, set your clock back 30 years.”
This joke has a tremendous amount of merit. This locale boasts some beautiful outdoor
activities and can be a fantastic place to spend camping or hiking.
Incompetent Drivers
Survey of drivers nationwide was conducted to determine
what state had the worst drivers. Idaho
came out on top. No surprise. From the first day of driver’s education it
is clear that the only goal is to just give the bare minimum of driving
etiquette to the general population.
What is very clear is that the mentality of the drivers in this state is
that they would rather assume that the other drivers can read their mind and
get out of my way. There is also the
running theme of; turn signals are optional, seat belts are a hindrance, using
mirrors to change lanes is an anomaly, and speed limits are just suggestions.
Profound Bigotry
In the 50 years living in the southern part of Idaho is
becomes abundantly clear that; “If you ain’t white you ain’t right.” Given the person cannot articulate using the
English language there is an automatic out.
This is also a well-developed skill between the religious sects that are
present here. They can smell what sect
you belong to and will actively discriminate.
There is a very large population of migrant Hispanic workers here and
they are readily treated as slaves on the dairies, farms, and the overly
agriculturally based setting. The overt
distain for gay persons is profound.
People have been targeted for aggressive discrimination by most of the
population. They are very vocal about
not liking that we have a president that is black and is likely a
‘Muslim’. There are several bills that
have been presented to actively limit freedoms for those that may be considered
‘not right.’ The psychotic prosecutors
are more willing to advocate for the Caucasian Christians than them ‘colored’.
Leadership Equates Right Wing Nut-Jobs
All of the representatives are (excluding the Sun Valley
area) are firmly entrenched in the regular shit-bag mentality that is the
extreme right wing. There are a couple
of teabaggers and they are proud of it.
There is a strong presence of anti-intellectualism. No one with an education is to be trusted
and there is a scary approach to education.
This state is ranked 49th in education for a reason. The politicians need to keep the populous
under educated to maintain an uninformed and easily enslaved work force. Funding for education, particularly secondary
education is nearly non-existent. The
rates of pay are abysmal and there is unlikely any change seen in the
foreseeable future. Women are treated
like property and the police forces are corrupt to the core.
If you have money you are easily freed from
your obligations but if you are poor and under educated you will likely end up
in the state’s booming prison population.
There are more prison beds than there are housing beds in colleges and
universities. Expressions of Liberalism
is not tolerated and openly confronted as ‘communist’ – Yes this place is that
far gone. Not to mention the Gun Nuts..
Religion is Everything and Nothing
You can experience any religious affiliation here
unfortunately if you don’t belong to the ‘right’ one you are to be actively
excluded or denied access to jobs, dignity, and respect. Mormons tend to have a Stake House on every
corner followed by the Catholics and the Evangelical whack-Os. After 9 years playing silly games with the
Catholics in southern Idaho (the Mormon Belt) - the goofy war of the worlds
between these two sects is almost intolerable.
All the ‘faithful’ in this part of the state are just plain bat-shit
crazy. Coming out of the closet as an
Atheist is more dangerous than being gay. Direct open hostile responses from family as
well as peers who will ‘Pray for you to
see and accept the love of Jesus. They have no evidence to support their position
and cannot even remotely grasp the concepts related to an intellectual conversation
about a religion. Many if not all the
most religious are not even familiar with the dogma nor the written materials
associated with their chosen faith. It
is just plain sad and painful to watch these humans walk around championing
this banner to imaginary friends, believing that they can do no wrong by
belittling and demeaning others because their forgiveness is secured.
Currently there are legislators and leaders of this state that advocate for the death of children to see god and faith healing is
acceptable. Another that believes he is
being helpful to women thinks he is more knowledgeable of female health than a
doctor. If there was a ‘hell on Earth’ the gates are in Idaho.
I want out.
