I drive through the jammed freeways of LA 5 days a week...

[Cali_Democrat]

and I've never seen a license plate from West Virginia. That's the only state I've never seen a license plate from. How many people actually own cars in West Virginia? It cant be very many.

I'm not trying to flame. I'm just wondering why I never see license plates from that state. Do they not like Californians? Can they not afford to make the drive out here?

If that's the case then maybe they should vote for the Democrats instead of the Republicans that line the pockets of the oil industry and stick it to the American worker. They should vote their own interests instead of voting on gawd, guns and gays. :shrug:

I feel bad for them. I think many of them have been brainwashed.

[sandnsea]

1. They mine coal

They vote for less regulation so they can work, and less taxes so they can keep what they earn and support themselves without having to go on food stamps. That's all. Not complicated.

[donheld]

2. I'll just bet, a bigger percentage of WVers have cars than

people from New York.

[Cali_Democrat]

3. Maybe NYC....

I don't think that's the case for the rest of NY State.

[donheld]

4. Add the population of NYC and the rest of NY

Still a bigger percent of those in WV drive than in all of NY. Not total drivers, but a bigger percent.

[Cali_Democrat]

5. I'm just not so sure about that

I've been to the east coast many times. I see MANY people from New York in DC, PA, FL, NJ, VA and Maryland. There are also many New Yorkers out here in California.

I know you're talking proportion, but I still don't think that's the case.

[donheld]

8. It was just a guess

[knixphan]

41. NY'er in LA here

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

27. I'll just bet a higher percentage of NY cars

actually run. Not up on blocks in the back 40, with or without plates.

As long as we're having fun with stereotypes ...
:rofl:

[Renew Deal]

38. I bet you're wrong on that one.

I live in NY. There's a car for mom, dad, each kid, and a minivan. More than 1 car per person.

[AZ Criminal JD]

6. The only person who is brainwashed is the OP

What a arrogant, elitist post.

[izzie]

25. I thought it was funny. Now I knew why driving on Ca. roads is

so scary. They are busy reading where we all come from. Maybe they just rented a car, like I did when I got to Ca.

[hfojvt]

7. West Virginians prefer the country roads

blue highways

[RoseMead]

9. When's the last time you drove to West Virginia?

Just curious.

[GoesTo11]

30. Had a horrible experience there

Car broke, no one would help, got totally ripped off by the locals who didn't have any decency for this yankee. Other times when I've had car problems, people just help and mechanics charge what they're going to charge but don't take advantage like some town out of Smokey and the Bandit. I didn't have stereotypes going in, but this was a nasty state.

[RoseMead]

31. No, it was a nasty little part of the state

And I myself was screwed by a tow-truck driver and garage in Buckhannon. We blew a tire right off the Buckhannon exit, and he towed us to a garage that would only sell us 4 tires, instead of one. Our size tires were right there on the rack, but they absolutely would not sell anything but a full set of four. They patched the hole instead, we got a couple miles down the road, the tire blew again, and when we called a second time for a tow, the guy informed us that he'd have to charge us full price again.

This wasn't meanness against Yankees, we were clearly natives. This was just plain assholery, which exists everywhere.

Please don't stereotype us all because of a bad experience with a few people.

[RoseMead]

10. Here's an enlightening tale while I wait to hear of your travels

Two years ago I worked for a doctor of oriental medicine here in Huntington. During the time I worked for him, he spend an entire year travelling to Los Angeles once a month to take additional classes in internal medicine. But you wouldn't have seen his car on the freeway. Know why?

He flew.

Are you also surprised to learn that West Virginia has airports?:shrug:


Yeah, it's all oxcarts and rickshaws here. lol

[Cali_Democrat]

12. Of course West Virginians have been here...

I'm not trying to disparage your whole state. Don't take my OP the wrong way. I'm sure there are many lovely people there that travel all across the US. I was just curious.

I'm just talking about my own experiences and why I don't see many West Virginians out here. I'm sure many folks from WVA have been here, I just don't see a whole lot of them. They are very few and far between.

[RoseMead]

17. Yeah, I appreciate that say you don't mean to put us all down

But when you leap from commenting on the lack of WV plates on the LA freeway to surmising that it means West Virginians don't own cars - you do see how that comes across as rather condescending, don't you?

Also, nobody likes to be called brainwashed, especially when the term is used so broadly. Some people here are brainwashed, some are not. Some people in California are brainwashed too. I think it's called humanity.

BTW, the first reply on this thread did a good job of explaining why up why WV votes the way it does.

[Cali_Democrat]

22. You're right....

My curiosity in my OP was condescending when I think about it. I apologize. Sometimes I don't think before I type.

There are definitely brainwashed people here in California just like every other state.

Let's just all work together to get them Dems elected in the fall :patriot:

[RoseMead]

24. Amen! :) nt

[Two Americas]

11. depends

I never see California plates and I travel all over. We move in different circles, it seems.

Never could figure out what is wrong with those California people - who would want to spend their life on freeways in LA? Have they no imagination? No souls? Do they all practically live in their cars? That seems stupid. Can they even imagine life without cars and freeways and subdivisions and malls?

Not trying to flame here. I feel sorry for them. I think they have all been brainwashed. Why else would they live that rat race? I wonder what we can do to help them?

[woolldog]

13. you sound like someone from Northern California.

heheh. That's how they talk about Southern Californians.

[Cali_Democrat]

15. I know...

most Northern Californians hate us. We don't even think about them. I think that's what angers them more than anything. They want to be heard while we could care less.

[Cali_Democrat]

14. Can't disagree with you when it comes to spending our lives in our cars!!!

It sucks and yes, I do feel like a rat at times!! At least I can admit it ;-)

We can't go anywhere without our cars and I hate it!!! We need more public transportation. LA has shit for public transportation. Endless urban sprawl here. It's horrible!!!

But it's still 100x better than a lot of other parts of California or the country!! The weather is AWESOME!!!

Definitely worth it :thumbsup:

Plus the women are awesome!!

[RoseMead]

16. LOL

My doctor friend drove the LA freewaysin a rental car. I think it may have taken several years off his life.

Also, West Virginia has:

No earthquakes
No threat of tsunamis
No volcanos

We do have floods, especially small-stream flash floods. And the occasional forest fire. But I can't remember ever seeing an entire neighborhood here go up in flames.

Probably just nature's way of compensating us poor, brainwashed, benighted creatures for our otherwise miserable existence.

[Cali_Democrat]

18. speaking of earthquakes....

I had a little laugh when the Mid-Western folks were going crazy over a 5.2 quake there recently. :rofl:

5.2? That's nothing! Maybe a few destroyed buildings and cracks in the road. Not much to worry about ;-)

When the Big One comes we will need your help.

I'm sure we will need all the help we can get. We know it's coming. I donated to my fellow Americans after Hurricanes and I trust you will do the same for us when we are in need!!

[RoseMead]

19. One of my cousins was in San Francisco

for the earthquake in 1989. She was actually surprised that her apartment building didn't suffer much damage. But I think when it was happening, she probably thought the world was coming to an end. lol

I sincerely hope the big one never hits, but I especially hope it doesn't happen until after we get some things fixed in this country. I never want to see another New Orleans.

So of course I and other folks here will contribute whatever we can to help in your time of need. :) One thing about West Virginians, we're poor, but we're also generous. And odd as it seems, some of the biggest gun-toting fundies would be among those giving the most, because their churches would probably be among the organizations taking up donations. Wierd, but true.

[democracy1st]

21. It would be great to see the democratic party invade WV and have a series of townhalls etc

and also bring some of those manufacturing jobs we've sent overseas back home to different regions of Appalachia

[RoseMead]

23. Those jobs would be very, very welcome

but the Democratic Party doesn't need to invade - they're already here. Take a look at our state and local officials, as well as our members of Congress. They are Democrats, overwhelmingly. And even though I see people saying WV won't vote for a Democrat for president, the truth is that out of the last ten presidential elections, the state only went to the Republican candidate four times. By comparison, California voted for the Republican six out of the last ten years.

[woolldog]

20. Anything under 6.0

I sleep (or work) right through. :smoke:

[Joanie Baloney]

26. I think the OP is pointing to a deeper issue

That is this whole thing that country folk are somehow *better* than city folk. They are the hard-working, backbone of America who are self-reliant, tough and resilient. We in the cites are not viewed in the political sphere as any of those things.

I just notice that there is so much attention paid to places like WV while the huge states with huge economies and huge populations living in cities get almost ignored.

Not intended to be a "waaahhh I didn't get the respect I so richly deserved" post, just an observation.

[RoseMead]

29. lol That's ironic

because most people in WV probably feel like we're ignored the majority of the time. And honestly, if the nomination had already been decided before our primary, few folks on DU would have cared how we voted, regardless of which way the vote went.

As for city vs country folk, I think those feelings - on both sides - have been over-hyped in this election. Most people I know are probably kind of jealous of people who live in real cities, because they have access to more cool stuff, and more cool jobs that allow them to make money with which to buy said stuff. I personally would love to have a real, big-city bookstore, for example. All we have is the Borders in Barboursville. I've been to Boston, where there are real bookstores. The B'ville Borders is a travesty by comparison.

[RoyGBiv]

43. Oh horse feathers ...

Huge populations of people living in cities are almost ignored?

I'll have some of what your smoking.

[Two Americas]

46. right

When oh when will California ever get any attention? Those poor neglected and ignored people. You never hear anything about California or LA, and they have no influence or power.

[eridani]

28. Because it's 3000 frickin' miles away?

People on the east coast can be pretty provincial--witness the old joke about the Boston schoolteachers vacationing at Disneyland.

"It certainly is hot today."
"Well, what did you expect? We're more than 3000 miles from the ocean!"

[salbi]

32. Maybe they fly out and rent cars

West Virginia is a long way from California. Maybe if they visit, they fly instead of drive. Or, maybe believe it or not, there are other places they would rather visit than L.A. I'm from IL, and though I have been to L.A. a few times, it is not top on my list of vacation destinations.

[DU GrovelBot]

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34. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[asthmaticeog]

35. This is the correct answer.

:thumbsup:

[DesertRat]

36. So you haven't seen a license plate from WV

on the "jammed freeways of LA", so you speculate that not very many in WV "actually own cars". That's the most twisted logic I've heard in a long time!

Ever consider that many people who travel across country prefer to fly and rent a car?? Or prefer to avoid the jammed weekday freeways? When was the last time you drove to West Virginia? :spank:

[marions ghost]

37. I googled

West Va cars & found this...

http://www.theautochannel.com/news/2008/02/06/076855.html

WV and California have something in common, according to these statistics....

[bobbert]

45. Most out-of-state plates you see are probably rental cars

If WV is really that much more expensive to keep and maintain, then why would rental car companies want many cars registered in WV? I think that's all it says about WV because most people fly to CA and rent a car.

[crankychatter]

39. Like everyone else in LA, they get cars with new plates and then...

...a daily gig in Santa Monica or somewhere... then six weeks later... they're from Bakersfield.

Who can blame them?... ya'all are such assholes.

I mean that in the best possible way.

[crankychatter]

40. here's my proof... you wrinkled your nose when you saw "Bakersfield" dincha?

confess

[snooper2]

42. I've never seen one in Texas either...

I did see a few growing up in Missouri if I remember correctly :rofl:

[Neshanic]

44. There are some that just moved in my complex. They LOVE that football team judging from the cars.