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Honestly curious, humor me.
Feb. 20th, 2009 05:26 pmHaving driven past strip clubs to get anywhere, all my life, I remember being shocked to learn that that is not the case everywhere you go in these United States. Yesterday I think I drove past 3 strip clubs, 2 adult stores, at least 3 tattoo parlors and at least one bong shop (tobacco accessory store? I don't know what you're "supposed" to call them), just going to a homeschool group at an upper class sort of park, and a Whole Foods. Here and in Jacksonville there are 24 hour daycares for strippers to use and that is fairly widely known. There are bilboards and park benches that advertise for strip clubs and adult stores, all over the place to the North and South. We do NOT have those "Jesus" or pro-life bilboards you see in rural, central Florida, where people on the radio have southern accents. You start seeing those after about a 3 hour drive. Sometimes you will see one of those homemade scripture signs nailed to a telephone poll or something.
I'm not passing judgement, ok? I mean, I have judgements, but that's not what this post is about. I'm just wondering if you see these things in your everyday life, where you live. Can you buy illegally downloaded and burned porn at any flea market in your area on a Saturday afternoon (by the case)? Do you have 24 hour combination drive-thru liquor stores and Pentacostal Church of Gods?
Key West, where there are headshops (bong stores) and tattoo parlors and open gay bars with no windows where people are groping heavily, and drag queen performances where they really try to drag you inside by the arm, as you walk by, all over, and shirts in the store windows with curse words, naked butts and sexual positions, seems over the top and really different to me. But it occurs to me, as I was saying, that HERE might seem over the top to some other people, "deviance"-wise. In Key West, it's not uncommon to see a guy in a shirt that says "Fuck milk. Got pot?" with his arm around a woman in a bikini...in the grocery store. On South Beach people don't blink about topless women and there are lots of tiny speedos and I don't know. I've never thought much about how this is regional. How regional is it all, really? My Dad felt really uncomfortably confined and regulated when he moved here from Key West, it felt formal and overdressed and conservative to him. In Homestead!
When I first moved to Jacksonville, I remember being kind of aware of how much more clothes people had on. But there was also a lot more punked out hairstyling, body piercing and noticeably MORE strip clubs (I used to pass 4 in a 30 minute drive to work...and they go on and call them things like "Cheaters" and "Temptation"). So it was a different sort of balance. It was slightly less ghetto with tons more affluent churches around and a bigger redneck population (it is not safe to be openly redneck down here unless you're holed up in your ranch house out in the redlands...)
Tell me where you live and how it is. The word on the street from people who've went away to Florida State in Tallahassee is that you have to cross county lines to get an adult film or toy, and that police will fine you for jaywalking. It's hard for me to believe that is still in this same state.
ETA:
*I should note that I am so incredibly sleepy today that in between things like opening gifts, taking pictures, getting things out of packaging, setting up party stuff...I am a zombie struggling to keep my eyes open, who can barely think straight. And this post is born out of that stupor, to keep my F5 key from wearing out until it's time to make and eat dinner.
I'm not passing judgement, ok? I mean, I have judgements, but that's not what this post is about. I'm just wondering if you see these things in your everyday life, where you live. Can you buy illegally downloaded and burned porn at any flea market in your area on a Saturday afternoon (by the case)? Do you have 24 hour combination drive-thru liquor stores and Pentacostal Church of Gods?
Key West, where there are headshops (bong stores) and tattoo parlors and open gay bars with no windows where people are groping heavily, and drag queen performances where they really try to drag you inside by the arm, as you walk by, all over, and shirts in the store windows with curse words, naked butts and sexual positions, seems over the top and really different to me. But it occurs to me, as I was saying, that HERE might seem over the top to some other people, "deviance"-wise. In Key West, it's not uncommon to see a guy in a shirt that says "Fuck milk. Got pot?" with his arm around a woman in a bikini...in the grocery store. On South Beach people don't blink about topless women and there are lots of tiny speedos and I don't know. I've never thought much about how this is regional. How regional is it all, really? My Dad felt really uncomfortably confined and regulated when he moved here from Key West, it felt formal and overdressed and conservative to him. In Homestead!
When I first moved to Jacksonville, I remember being kind of aware of how much more clothes people had on. But there was also a lot more punked out hairstyling, body piercing and noticeably MORE strip clubs (I used to pass 4 in a 30 minute drive to work...and they go on and call them things like "Cheaters" and "Temptation"). So it was a different sort of balance. It was slightly less ghetto with tons more affluent churches around and a bigger redneck population (it is not safe to be openly redneck down here unless you're holed up in your ranch house out in the redlands...)
Tell me where you live and how it is. The word on the street from people who've went away to Florida State in Tallahassee is that you have to cross county lines to get an adult film or toy, and that police will fine you for jaywalking. It's hard for me to believe that is still in this same state.
ETA:
*I should note that I am so incredibly sleepy today that in between things like opening gifts, taking pictures, getting things out of packaging, setting up party stuff...I am a zombie struggling to keep my eyes open, who can barely think straight. And this post is born out of that stupor, to keep my F5 key from wearing out until it's time to make and eat dinner.
