I live in Atlanta now.
It’s surreal. I still feel like I live in Connecticut and am just here for a short trip. But I’m not. All my stuff is here, I’m a homeowner, and I even waited in line 3 hours for a Georgia driver’s license.
But it doesn’t feel like home yet.
I listen to satellite radio on my commute, mostly Howard Stern and Bloomberg Radio, and Lithium and the 90’s channel. Those are all things that make me feel like I’m back in Connecticut. Earlier this week I had a loaner from the dealership and it didn’t have satellite radio. So I had to listen to 100.5, a local rock station with a morning show called The Regular Guys.
You’ve never heard more southern bigotry in your life.
These “regular guys” are outrageous. They did a segment on NBA player Jason Collins coming out as gay, and kept referring to homosexuality as “a lifestyle.” When a caller challenged them, they suggested that the caller must be gay.
“How do you know that gay people aren’t checking you out in the locker room?”
“Because I have gay friends, and they tell me the truth.”
“You have gay friends? Really? But you’re straight?”
“Yes.”
“Have you ever, you know, experimented with them? Because it sounds like you know a lot more than you’re letting on.”
And on and on.
Then later they asked people to call in and tell jokes. If someone was able to make The Regular Guys laugh, they would get free tickets or money or something. All the jokes were racist jokes about Mexicans or blacks or gays. One of the winners: “What word starts with N and ends with R and is something that you never want to call a black person?” The answer: “Neighbor.”
Wow.
Stuff like that makes me feel like I’m not at home. Like I’m living in a foreign country, surrounded by people with a totally different set of ideas and experiences. Totally backwards.
I haven’t met anyone in person who would tell that joke, but still, hearing it on the radio makes me think that those people exist around here.
I live in the South. Better get used to it.