So, today I ventured out into downtown Portland with my little bro Fufu (little sis Elsie wasn’t capable of saying “Matthew” when she was younger). I am absolutely entranced by this place. When I first moved to Salt Lake City, I was completely mortified at Utah’s culture (or lack thereof)…but I decided to keep an open mind. And I ended up getting a fantastic job, great grades in school and eventually made some life-long friends, some of whom are (or once were) Mormon. And I really thought things were taking a turn for the better in Utah around the time that I left – bar memberships were finally done away with, Mayor Becker was putting in more bike lanes around town, and Obama had won Salt Lake County in the presidential election.
But the moment I arrived in Portland and got a breath of fresh air and a look around at the weird, interesting-looking people, I realized what a weird, sad little place Salt Lake is. It does have its high points (WINTER) and a few pockets of weird/intriguing places (downtown, Sugarhood) but overall, for me, it took being in a super-rad, progressive, COOL town like Portland to realize what a strange place Utah truly is. And although I was trying to tell myself that Utah was slowly moving in the right direction, I was pretty biased when making that assumption. Utah now may be more progressive compared to old-Utah, but they are still lightyears behind when compared to the rest of the country. Example: Gov. Herbert’s comments concerning anti-discrimination laws, and how sexual orientation should not be a protected class (http://www.ksl.com/index.php?nid=148&sid=7700000). What’s really disturbing is all the comments left by Salt Lake residents in SUPPORT of such a hateful, small-minded man. Also, in Utah, it is legal to fire someone because they are gay or transgendered. And yes, we did do away with those cumbersome bar memberships but guess what? Now, in Salt Lake’s restaurants, drinks must be mixed in a back room out of view, thanks to Sen. John Valentine (R-Orem) and a handful of other consevatives. Why, praytell? Well, because the pretty liquor may tempt children. Really? Reeeeeaaaaally? If your four-year-old instantly becomes an alcoholic from watching a bartender pour a cocktail, I’ll alert the APA, because that goes against decades of research concerning substance abuse/addiction.
Well, I am missing my homies back in Zion, my amazing boyfrand and my wonderful job at the Montessori school but, all in all, I already feel like Oregon is more my speed. I’m sorry, Utah, but it’s good riddance to bad rubbish…although I could totally go for some Big Ed’s right now. Photos to come, I’ve obviously located a cardreader but now my camera’s battery is dead and I was a genius and packed the charger. Sometimes, I think I need a personal caretaker. Brady will be here in a few weeks, maybe this is something he would be interested in…
