Community

I recently saw a post about people feeling welcomed in this community (Loogootee, IN), and it started me thinking about how I feel, in my community.

I was a Loogootee resident from the moment of my birth.  My father has lived here his entire life, almost 96 years now. My grandfather lived here from 1920 until his death in 2000 at age 102.  I lived here until just before I turned 28, and I’ve again lived here from ages 44 to 57 (and counting). I am, by any measure, an established citizen of this community.

Growing up here, I belonged. I had a few close friends, I was involved in lots of school activities, and I was (and remain) a big fan of high school sports. That was enough.  I had little desire to be anywhere else, and what I knew of the world came from the evening news and the Washington Times Herald.

I grew up. I went to college, moved away, moved around, raised a family, and lived my life.  And then I moved back.

Long before I moved back, I realized that my worldview had changed - I had grown less conservative over the years, and had also grown more comfortable living with people who were “different” than me in some way - race, religion, gender expression, sexual orientation, country of origin, or whatever.  I didn’t always understand people and their differences, but I was fine with them.

What I failed to consider before moving back home was whether people in my hometown would be willing to live with ME, with my changed attitudes, and my clear support of all of those “different” people.  And that was my big mistake.

I found a town that looked much the same as it always had.  Perhaps it WAS the same, but I was different.

Fast forward a few years, and I feel ACTIVELY unwelcome by most of the loudest voices in the community.  There are businesses that refuse to serve me, by passive aggressively ghosting me when I request estimates or quotes.  There are people (some of whom work with the youth of our community) who pass along threats when I show my support for people who are “different”, while trying to maintain their own illusions of innocence. To paraphrase: “It’s not ME; I’m just passing along what I’ve heard people saying they plan to do”.  There are local elected officials who express on social media what they think of “liberals” like me - that we are traitors, with the occasional implied reminder that treason is a capital offense.

So do I feel “welcomed” in my community? No. I don’t even feel SAFE in my community, in 2024.

I certainly hope this place has changed for the worse. If not, I’ve been lying to myself about the nice town I grew up in.  Or maybe all that’s changed is that people feel comfortable sharing opinions that people used to know enough to keep halfway quiet - the racism, xenophobia, sexism, and the like.  I mean I remember hearing casual remarks when I was a kid that would be considered SHOCKINGLY racist today.  But people at least said those things quietly, among friends, because some part of them knew they were shameful thoughts.

It’s definitely not COVID.  The biggest change I saw was that around 2016 people became willing to openly, proudly share their “worst selves”. It gets worse every year.

And the 2023 local “takeover” has this community on the path toward being a Far-Right Paradise, if it isn’t already.

If we start to feel seriously unsafe, we may eventually do the unthinkable - sell our house and move away forever.  Whatever. We all end up dead anyway, in the end.