Quote:
Originally Posted by edale
Uh, nothing I said disagrees with you or your 'maths'
The area from Buckhead up to Alpharetta is a pretty 'purple' area. There are some heavy blue pockets, presumably aligning closely with the racial demographics of the area, but there are also several red leaning districts. We're clouded by our desire to see things as a binary. It's not overwhelmingly blue, like the south and east sides of the ATL area are, but a mixed bag.
And the wealth of the secessionist crowd certainly matters and gives them outsized political influence. Even if they don't have the numbers to actually pass a secession ballot measure, the fact that they're wealthy gets them the ear of state politicians, the media, etc. If it was a small group of poor people wanting to secede, do you think we'd ever hear about it? Their wealth also matters because, as others have noted, if Buckhead was to secede from ATL, it would be a huge financial blow for Atlanta. I agree that any movement to secession will probably go nowhere, and is reflective of a disgruntled minority. But it's not like it's an entirely foreign concept. Why do you think the City of Beverly Hills exists entirely surrounded by the City of LA (and WeHo)?
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Ok, so first, lets talk about Buckhead and only Buckhead. Alpharetta, Sandy Springs, Cobb County, Marietta, etc, aren't about to cause Buckhead to secede. So let's at least talk about what we're actually talking about otherwise whats the point. Buckhead went 63% blue. Thats a 26 point swing. That's not "purple," that's bright blue. Out of 29 Buckhead precincts, 5 went red, representing 12% of Buckhead.
So yeah, the wealthy population (of which the proportion of the population is diminishing as more and more density builds up in the areas that aren't mansions) might have more clout, but i've been here long enough to remember the last time they tried to secede. And where did it go? Absolutely nowhere. And now, at a time when they have even less influence, it's supposed to be more of a threat? And lets say they do manage to cross all the other hurdles and get it on the ballot, is there a belief that 10,000 of those people that voted blue are now going to vote for secession (all while not a single one of those that voted red will vote to stay?).
I mean, i'm pretty good with statistics and data. And i keep seeing people calling other people liars and saying they aren't being honest, and i'm just flabbergasted. The data is pretty damn clear; Buckhead, as a district, is very blue. Like, even if it did secede, it would still be a very blue city (which, as it turns out, is why it wont secede). It might not be Atlanta blue, but it would still be one of the most blue cities in Georgia.
So i don't even understand what's going on. Like, there's objective data to work off here, and it's pretty clear. And i work the numbers and show the work, and then, what, it's wrong? I mean, i feel like i'm taking crazy pills. Next i'll be told Alabama is a liberal utopia because Birmingham voted mostly blue.