Posted by:
ificouldhietokolob
(
)
Date: July 20, 2018 09:31AM
Bamboozled Wrote:
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> It brought back nice
> memories of a world that no longer exists.
It's interesting how our experiences shape our perceptions.
For you, it's the above.
For me, it brings back memories of a world that *never* existed, but that the ignorant, racist, misogynistic white dudes running TSCC WISHED existed. And it's a world I didn't want any part of then, or now.
I was born in SLC, and lived there until I was 6. Even that young, seeing on TV what was going on in the rest of the country (this was early civil rights struggle time), I could tell that SLC/Utah was an enclave of racist white people who denigrated "dark" people at every opportunity. People like Mark E. Peterson and E.T. Benson were on TV regularly, reminding us how perfectly white Utah was, and how those "darkies" in the rest of the country needed to learn their place, shut up, and stop pretending they were "equal." Even 6 year-old me felt the environment was oppressive, stunted, and stupid.
Moving to California was like a breath of fresh air. Not that there wasn't racial tension there as well -- there was. But in places like elementary school, the winds of change had already blown through. I went to school with all kinds of people, I learned to like all kinds of people, and I immediately loved the differences, the diversity, and openness. It was SO much better than white-and-delightsome Utah.
That fake, fantasy world in "Man's Search For Happiness" disgusted me. I wanted no part of it. I think, had we stayed in Utah, I might have gotten out of the church sooner than I did, because I so despised the Utah racism/misogyny. In California, mormons more easily co-existed with all sorts of people, and were less extreme. That easing of orthodoxy in California let me coexist with mormonism, too -- longer than if I'd stayed in Utah. :(