elvigy

I actually would agree with the above. At my workplace, most people are OK with it. I'm not open and out at work myself, mostly because I'm an introvert and don't like talking about anything personal, but that's just me. However, the woman that I share an office with is a lesbian and she and her partner have had a wedding ceremony and are now expecting a child (due in December, if I recall correctly). Most of the people here are excited and seem genuinely happy for them. There are a couple of people that are religious fundamentalists and have made their views known, but most just ignore them. I imagine you'd find people like that anywhere though, but perhaps it's more common in the South. I'm sure there are a lot of workplaces that are less accepting, but I guess I've been pretty lucky. In all my adult years in Charlotte, I've never run into any blatant in-your-face homophobia. I'd say it's mostly a laid back "you don't bother me and I won't bother you" kind of thing. Not exactly embracing diversity, but tolerant, for the most part, nonetheless. And I don't know about gay things to do in Charlotte. I'm not really even sure what that means, to be honest. There's a bar you can drop in and have a drink or two, called Liaisons. You can get food there as well, though I've never eaten there so can't say if it's any good. There's a community center, and a gay men's chorus as well, but again, I know nothing about them. There is a gay paper, call Q Notes as well. I've read it maybe once or twice years ago. Now that I think about it, I'm not very gay at all, lol. When I really want to get my "gay" on, my partner and I go for a trip to Chicago, DC or NY. Or even a weekend drive down to Atlanta, which is only a 4 hour drive. Here in town, it's just work, gym, home, clean, mow and laundry, hehe.

Ouch. With friends like these... Seriously, though, there is nothing at all unique about my lifestyle. And you seem to think that blacks no longer suffer from oppression either. But more to the point, the mayor is supposed to represent all of Charlotte's citizens, not just the ones he likes. Granted, he will not agree with all the various viewpoints, etc, but it is his job to speak to and for all Charlotteans. By ignoring gays and hoping we'll just go away, or at least quit bugging him, he's not living up to his responsibilities, IMHO.

Hmm. I like the new rendering of the office tower, but preferred the older version of the residential tower. It just had a more gothic-y feel to it. Still, I like this version too. But just not as much.

On the other hand, this severely dilutes any political influence gays have. With no heavy concentration of gays in one voting district, we have a really difficult time directly influencing elections. An active and concentrated gay community could very possibly sway enough votes in at least one district to get and keep a gay friendly member on the city council or county board. The gay conclaves in NY, Chicago, Philadelphia have made great strides in positively influencing city policies. Being integrated ("assimilated"?) doesn't seem to be helping gays in Charlotte at all. I'm not saying that a gay area would be a godsend and solve all our problems, but I do think they have helped people in the cities that have them see that Teh Gays are not as scary as people make us out to be. And any extra political influence we can gain by being a larger fish (voting bloc) in a smaller pond (one district as opposed to being spread throughout the city) is a good thing. All IMHO.

My S.O. gets his hair cut there (and he's black). I think the place is black-owned (could be wrong) and I think it's like the "N" word-sort of OK if you're black, but definitely a no-no if you're white. I'll have to ask and see what he thinks.

I love, LOVE that In-spired photo, C-N.

FWIW, Doug Smith has posted a list of the projects uptown and says this about the possible Trump tower- "15. Trump site The Trump Organization is evaluating the 600 block of South Tryon Street with Infinity Partners for redevelopment. Trump plans to make a decision on whether to proceed with a project by early September. Real estate experts anticipate condos, hotel, offices and shops. " So prob nothing official until at least September, if then.

I'm with Voyager12 on this. She was waaaay ahead of her time in her treatment of AIDS patients. In a time when most people with HIV were shunned or ignored by almost everyone including the President (Reagan), she was the only Christian on TV to reach out to them. She was flawed, and she'd have been the first to admit it. And yes, I cheerfully mocked her on many occasions as well. But that doesn't diminish my opinion of her character. I think of her as a woman who genuinely cared about others but was easily blinded by the money that came pouring in to the PTL in it's heyday. Even at the end, though, she expressed love and caring for all people. I think she exemplified Christian love and understanding (and I say this as an atheist). There are many who could learn from her example as well as from her mistakes.

Doesn't the Rich Bachelors category (#7) sort of contradict the Young Singles category (failed to rank)? I mean, apparently we have plenty of single young rich guys living here, yet on the other hand we aren't worthy of interest from single young people looking for a place to live. Also, much as I like Charlotte, I just have a really hard time believing we are the 4th best walking city.

I wanted to ask the same thing but was afraid of coming across as jealous or insecure.

I pretty much had assumed this from the get-go. After all, this is Trump we're talking about. If he can't make a big splash, he will take his ball and go home. He's not the type to hide in the background and do things subtly.

Wow. The lighting thing is really cool. I might actually go visit this place, despite having no interest whatsoever in NASCAR.

Wow is right. Cause right now it's not a place I'd ever head for a run or walk. I'm sure it will all look nice once done. Hopefully they'll plant more than just grass and a few trees. Some native wildflowers would be nice.

Hahaha, ditto. These guys are killing me with the hints and innuendo.

Er, no. It really is LoverboY. See the album covers for verification- http://www.google.com/musica?aid=B58QjhdxE...c&ct=result And to sort of stay on topic, I kind of like the logo as well. I don't think it matters hugely much anyway. It's not like people will come to visit based on their like or dislike of the logo. I don't think most people even remember a logo for more than a few seconds anyway. Without looking them up, I can honestly say I only have a vague impression of the BOA logo being some red stripes, almost flag like, no memory at all of the Wachovia logo or for that matter any other Charlotte affiliated logo.

Will do. Suffice to say for anyone wondering, I was agreeing with PlazaMidwoodGuy that Bill James' motivation for bringing this penguin book to light was suspect to say the least. I won't even bother posting the links, but trust me, the man has said some vile, vile things not only about gays but African-Americans as well.

Sorry. My apologies. Like I said, I did debate quoting him word for word, but since his name had come up, I felt it important that people know what exactly he was all about.

Deleted. Please use some common sense before posting something like that here again

Amazing what can happen in 30 years. I remember going to Eastland mall with my parents, shortly after it opened. At the time, I was very impressed and it quickly became my mall of choice. I remember thinking that it would put Southpark out of business. I have memories of Southpark being a rinky dink little place that smelled bad near that tall fountain. Lesson being, don't ask me for advice on city planning.