Yes, California is neoliberal hell. Yes, California is part of the United States and the US is evil, so by extension so is California. The state was built on stolen land and genocide, just like the other 49.
But I've been in the weird position of defending California on this site not because it's "good", but just because I think for those of us who have no choice but to live in the US, it's the least bad option.
I think the issues around homelessness are a good microcosm to look at. Yeah, CA is really shitty towards our homeless population, no doubt. But at the same time there are quite a few people here who actually want solutions that help homeless people and there are programs at the state and local level - feeble as they may be - that try to do this. Meanwhile, since I'm a transplant I can compare CA to my native Midwestern state. Back there, they are only a couple steps below "just fucking shoot homeless people we don't care". Literally every person I know back home sees homelessness as a "problem" that just needs to go away. If I was homeless I would never even consider going back to where I grew up, I'd stay here.
So yeah, I would sorta defend CA here. And now I feel like over the last year you've seen how absolutely christofascist the red states are going w/r/t abortion, trans issues, even gay marriage, you all are starting to see just how awful most of the US can be for anyone who isn't a well-off cishet white guy.
Fun CA fact: if you can land a job in CA state or local govt (including in the massive UC system), your health insurance is required by law to cover all gender affirming care, including expensive surgeries.
I hate California but I also hate all these Texan chuds who think California is a legitimate socialist state doing a secret insurrection by sending transplants everywhere. They make me defend California to their faces just because I hate these white Texan fascist idiots. This is such a one sided rivalry too. I really doubt Californians spend any seconds of their day complaining about Texas.
What makes this extra dumb is that Californians are moving to places like Texas because California is expensive and Texas is cheap, essentially the capitalist market forces chuds love so much. Californians are literally following the rATioNaLiSt advice of "if you can't afford to to live where you do, it's your personal responsibility to move somewhere affordable, :debate-me-debate-me: :very-intelligent: :jordan-eboy-peterson: trying to make things better through BiG gOveRnmEnT is tyranny!"
All these gaddamn commieFORNIANS coming here making Texas like the place they LEFT! Even tho Texas is gerrymandered to shit and at no point has there not been a strong gop control of the vast majority of the state.
The grid failed again? Ercot? WELCOME TO THE GREEN NEW DEAL 🤣🤣🤣
On the contrary, it gets old being told how great California is by Californians living in Texas.
I think they meant californians in their home environment.
Nah, that happens too. Texas is a stand in for red states and so it's an easy layup in liberal discourse.
You really underestimate coastal contempt for the south.
I had thought that contempt manifested as pretending the south doesn't exist unless it's time to make a joke about all the hicks living out in swampland. Whereas southerners never shut up about California being the cause of all problems.
I'm biased, since I don't know many people from the coasts
The folks I know use Texas as California's foil to boast about how enlightened we are
Because Texans aren't flooding California after messing their own nest. Then, after arriving in their new home, they begin advocating for the same policies that drove them away in the first place.