I can't help but compare the reaction to the recall loss in Wisconsin to the loss on Amendment 1 in North Carolina. After the NC loss I saw a number of diaries calling on people to boycott NC, to move the convention elsewhere. Diaries that excoriated the people of NC for failing to stop this from happening. In contrast, after the WI loss I'm seeing diaries about all the great work that was done, how progressives fought the good fight, how this wasn't really a loss. Why? What's different?
Let me be clear - I don't really think anyone should boycott Wisconsin over this. And I really do think that the people who fought to recall Walker deserve the praise they are getting. But I think the same thing about North Carolina. People fought like hell against Amendment 1, knowing that it was a steep, uphill battle. We were devastated, but not surprised, when it passed. The reaction of some on Daily Kos, reviling all North Carolinians as a bunch of ignorant bigots who deserve what they get, was an added blow.
So please, can someone explain to me the difference in reactions? Is it because the NC vote was seen as a religious issue and the WI was seen as a labor issue? I don't know why that would make a difference, but maybe it does. Is it simply the stereotypes of bigoted Southerners and hard-working Midwesterners? For the record, I spent the first half of my life so far in the Midwest and the second in the South, so I know something about people in both places. I don't get this.
Fri Jun 08, 2012 at 2:28 PM PT: Ok, based on some of the comments I feel like I have to reiterate that I am not in favor of boycotting WI. I stated it clearly at the beginning of the second paragraph, but maybe that wasn't enough. It's pretty easy to find something objectionable in every state, and I don't think boycotts are an effective way to deal with these things. And for those commenters who suggest that the difference is one of civil rights vs labor rights (or bigotry vs stupidity, as one commenter phrased it), that would be more convincing if many other states (including WI, apparently) hadn't already incorporated similar language into their own state's constitution.