how boring must indiana be to think of this as fun

So we got this news

http://www.indystar.com/story/news/politics/2015/04/01/indiana-rfra-deal-sets-limited-protections-for-lgbt/70766920/

ILX has eaten two of my attempts to post here but I'll give it another shot. Briefly, I boomeranged pretty quickly from knee-jerk 'burn the whole state to the ground' disgust towards this legislation to astonishment and pride over the booming opposition. I grew up in the midst of a lot of unfortunate bigotry and general small-mindedness (and god knows it's still pervasive, particularly in the southern part of the state) but I've also seen Indiana make a lot of progress over the years. I was just marveling the other day about the number of people who went to my small, rural high school and who have subsequently come out and are still living in the same general area. I cannot imagine that situation being in any way tolerable twenty years ago. I have no desire to ever move back, but I appreciate feeling like I don't have to hate and distance myself from Indiana.

I hear ya, O.L.

I don't want to pat my fellow Arkansans too hard on the back today. I look back on some of my past "Well, the state might be blood red, but there's like at least a dozen of us who meet for coffee every Tuesday," posts with twinges of regret. We took more than just a few steps backward yesterday, but –

I am inspired by the Arkansas folk who put up this installation on the steps of our Capitol:

http://i.imgur.com/DB89jrG.jpg

Or the Arkansans who lined the halls and yelled "Shame on you!" at the legislators who walked through them:

http://i.imgur.com/4hoIaZW.jpg

Or even the woman on the left who was a national name in the political arena long before the guy up on the wall was:

http://i.imgur.com/dVUyR8f.jpg

(Dr. Jocelyn Elders, former U.S. Surgeon General, under the portrait of Skinny Mike Huckabee)

The crazy people got their way, but quite honestly, I don't think they'd be interested in pulling the same stunt again.

I guess Republicans have been so vocal about Sharia Law invading the US because they wanted to do it here first.

Though wait

http://www.indystar.com/story/news/politics/2015/04/01/govt-and-business-leaders-object-to-ark-religion-bill/70757942/

Repeal these altogether. I do not want to have to join The Church of Walmart when I am 70 and need a job.

The public outcries in both states to these legislations has been a welcome surprise. Not that I didn't know that there would be pockets of people in both states that would feel that way but more than I expected.

maybe we're finally nearing the time when martyr-complexing doesn't carry the weight it used to

Don't understand how you can call yourself a Christian and be for denying people food. That's like the main thing Jesus did!

Not deny people food, but giving it out.

Bible has lots in it about not being lazy, maybe all employees should work 20 hour days.

Is anyone organizing Indiana businesses not run by bigots? It would be nice to isolate the bigots - to see one hateful pizzeria surrounded by shops and restaurants with uniform "everyone welcome" signs.

Folks actually in favor of these bills seem to be a crazy confluence of "gay marriage = endtimes" zealots, and anti-government types of the opinion that any business owner should be able to refuse service for any reason because it's THEIR business.

I agree the huge outpouring of criticism has been surprising, and when it's not just "Hollywood types" but CEOs, it's really heartening to me. Quite honestly I feel that people like that pizza family upthread are a very small minority. There are plenty of Indiana businesses not on board with this imo.

Indiana "turning blue" will not keep the American population from doing so this century

So Tweedy cancelled a show in Indianapolis, punishing his fans for living in a city which does have anti-sexual discrimination laws, because it's in a state which doesn't.

The Arkansas bill explicitly raises religious concerns(in the business sense) over everything else, incl. civil rights.

Don Allred ‏@0wlred

The Supreme Court's expected ruling on gay marriage won't be enough. We need an updated Civil Rights Act ( ditto Voting Rights Act btw).
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6:30 PM -

um cancelling the show is good, not bad, it's the message that counts right now

good publicity

So Tweedy cancelled a show in Indianapolis, punishing his fans

Most played:
Chicago (63)
SF Bay Area (9)
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Denver (7)

http://www.songkick.com/artists/490682-jeff-tweedy

Oh yeah, and Kansas hasn't gotten enough attention: Gov. Sam Brownback removed anti- gay bias protection from state hiring regulations.

Just go to Louisville it's less than 2 hours away.

Or take Megabus and it's less than $12 round trip.

just go to the slippery noodle instead

from the memories pizza yelp page

The liberals ask for tolerance and give none. I hate you more than ISIS.
Great pizza.

"the liberals just don't tolerate our stupid bigoted beliefs, what hypocrites"

My wife is speaking at a conference in Indiana next week and suddenly our state has stopped paying for any travel to Indiana. The conference was already paying travel and lodging, and angry and embarrassed conference organizers contacted her today and said they'd cover the per diem that her university was no longer going to pay for. I'm curious what the vibe at the conference is going to be like.

The law is now "fixed," but a law professor explains the basic employment etc law problems still in place, pretty much across most(or a lot) of the USA:
http://www.slate.com/blogs/outward/2015/04/02/indiana_religious_freedom_law_the_fix_still_doesn_t_protect_gay_hoosiers.html?wpsrc=fol_tw

@BryanJFischer
The pizzeria owners are the new Anne Frank. Hiding in a house in fear for their lives.

lol what

Hiding in fear until the check for half a million comes from wingnuttia

http://www.theverge.com/2015/4/3/8339383/indiana-memories-pizza-religious-freedom-crowdfunding-campaign

ah yes, these Anne Frank like situations all play out the same way

tbf Anne Frank got some really mean Yelp reviews

Now the gays are going to go to some other pizza place to cater their wedding.

i am opposed to pizza marriage.

next thing you know pizzas will be marrying calzones, think of the children

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/1484956/henry_betty_fite.jpg

Wilco uncanceled their show today.

I love how so many of the people in their comments say things along the lines of "politics and music shouldn't mix" and I'm like WHERE HAVE YOU LIVED FOR THE LAST MILLION YEARS?

I love how so many of the people in their comments say things along the lines of "politics and music shouldn't mix" and I'm like WHERE HAVE YOU LIVED FOR THE LAST MILLION YEARSARE THE NEW PROTEST SINGERS?

Haha everyone already cancelled their babysitters and now the Wilco show is back on? Some teens are gonna be so pissed.

Did Wilco explain why they are un-cancelling? Is money just too important to let go?

My guess was that they are only punishing their fans, who likely don't support these laws anyways.

But won't the money their fans spend that night go into the local economy and end up in the coffers of oppressive state power?

Perhaps they uncanceled because the law got sligtly rewritten?

The official statement:

We consider the changes to Indiana’s RFRA a good first step toward creating the sort of welcoming environment we encourage everywhere, so we’re reinstating our May 7 show at The Murat, which we canceled earlier this week. To quote an Indiana University statement from yesterday, "religious liberty and equal protection under the law are both cornerstones of our democracy and they should not be in conflict with each other.” Well said, IU.

Now for the practical stuff: Tickets purchased through Ticketmaster or The Murat are still valid. If you purchased your ticket during the Wilcoworld pre-sale, you will be contacted directly regarding repurchase. If your plans have changed for whatever reason or if you no longer want to attend the show, refunds are available at your point of purchase.

We’ve been putting on shows with our neighbors in Indiana for more than 20 years and are happy to continue that at the Murat in May. We'll also donate a portion of the proceeds from this show to organizations fighting to build on the progress we hope this change makes in Indiana and beyond. More details soon.
Love, Wilco

I left Indiana in 1982 and haven't lived there since. Is the coast clear? https://t.co/NNXlKiPXdk

— Dennis Perrin (@DennisThePerrin) March 22, 2019

my spouse had to visit indiana this week for work and saw a confederate flag within five minutes of leaving the airport

stay the fuck away from indiana, is my advice

sometimes you have to run for President just to get out of the place

If pretty much all of my family didn't live there, I would drive out of my way to avoid ever crossing the state line.

I hadn’t been there in decades but moved back to Michigan recently and had to pass through the NW corner to get to Chicago last year. The gas station I stopped at had a shit ton of Trump / Jesus / US /Confederate flag bumper stickers and only sold beer warm in what appeared to be a state-mandated attempt to shame you. Then you get to go through the reeking dystopian industrial carnage around Gary.

And still everyone seems to complain way more about Ohio

only because most people gave up on indiana long ago

giving up on ohio is probably also a good idea, indiana is the ohio of the future. the place to put in the effort is the near south imo, let the midwest rot

My hometown, once a bustling mini-metropolis of which my grandparents had nearly unrecognizable photographic evidence, is well on its way to full Mad Max-ification. I'm stunned every time I return by the increasing number of homes with collapsing roofs or just, like, big hunks of exterior wall missing altogether. Hoosier pride!