Dirty Driving - HBO Documentary - Anderson Indiana (Bloomington, Muncie: low income, section 8)

[Future Trooper]

Originally Posted by domergurl

Anderson is a dying town. I haven't watched the documentary and HBO is probably making it look worse than it truly is, but Anderson has been going down the tubes for a few years now.

Anderson and even Muncie have been going down the tube for while. Terre Haute and Bloomington I think are holding steady. Kokomo looks like it is going to slide down the tubes pretty sharply in the coming months.

[caturnine]

I havent seen the documentary, but I moved to Anderson a few months ago.

Oh, god.

There is *nothing* here.

I need OUT.

[WILWRadio]

Originally Posted by caturnine

I havent seen the documentary, but I moved to Anderson a few months ago.

Oh, god.

There is *nothing* here.

I need OUT.

When you say that there is nothing in Anderson, I take it you mean recreation.

Have you tried developing some hobbies to occupy your time if you don't want to drive to Indy for recreation? I and most of my friends have hobbies and interests that we enjoy when we don't have suitable social recreation in the area. Hell, I plan to create a rec center of sorts in my next house to keep myself busy to the point that I can invite people over to hang out and we'll never have to worry about getting bored.

[caturnine]

Originally Posted by WILWRadio

When you say that there is nothing in Anderson, I take it you mean recreation.

Have you tried developing some hobbies to occupy your time if you don't want to drive to Indy for recreation? I and most of my friends have hobbies and interests that we enjoy when we don't have suitable social recreation in the area. Hell, I plan to create a rec center of sorts in my next house to keep myself busy to the point that I can invite people over to hang out and we'll never have to worry about getting bored.

We have hobbies, but many of them involve having other people around who engage in those same hobbies. Not as easy to find here, so far.

As for some of the other hobbies that dont require friends? It does get boring doing mostly the same things over and over, just we two. And even those things require supplies from time to time.

I'm used to being fairly social. I guess I just feel rather out of place. (I'm one of those alternative culture oddballs. The city I came from, people like me were FAR more common).

[Manuel Cruz]

My first impression upon seeing the documentary on HBO, was that the fate and the fate of all who live there, would go away ..... I find it interesting to discover the style of a segment of the population lives, suffers and enjoys, even amid the difficulties of a sport as popular as the thundercars The near demise of GM's support of the economy in that country, is somehow a reflection of what American society now lives in the context of the financial complications of the real estate market. Excuse my English, but I'm Mexican, I live in Campeche in southeast Mexico. By tye way, Someone could explain the true meaning of "Rednecks "..... which is only used in a derogatory, demeaning racial or ..?Manuel Cruz Bernes

[asassyvic]

Manuel, your English sounds pretty darn good to me. No one has answered your question yet and it would be nice if someone would. I've lived in the Louisville, KY area since '91 and still don't know what they mean by rednecks.
But as you say, it does seem to be something demeaning. I suppose people who are different from one's self are tagged with some moniker. Some people have to demean others, so they can feel superior to them.
Do you post about life in Campeche? I would love to know what it's like living there. I'm trying to learn to speak more Spanish so I can visit Mexico very soon. Maybe Campeche will be a good place to visit.

[donald armstrong]

ANDERSON speedway is like our local track here in conneaut ohio.raceway7 wam bam thank you mam.a real demo derby

[kmtilt]

I lived in anderson, yes the town is going to ****, but i wouldnt say everyone is rednecks, yes that area right by the speedway is full of rednecks, but go 5 min south of the speedway is better neighborhoods, then go 5 min south and its the ghetto, and min north of that its good neighborhoods, so i mean anderson does have its bad parts, which is downtown, but on the outsides of anderson is where the better neighborhoods are,

[heynowheynow]

I live in Anderson and that documentary was very overexaggerated. Yes, there are some serious rednecks and meth heads here.. All it takes is one trip to Walmart on a Saturday night and you'll see them. But it's like alot of places in Indiana. But there are also nice, middle class white collar families. I live in a very nice new home and see no crime. And if I'm bored, I hop on I-69 and go shop in Castleton.. only 26 miles away.Now the school system totally sucks but the city itself is okay and pretty safe.

[Huffleberry Finn]

I grew up in Indianapolis, went to college at Anderson University, and now reside in Anderson since I graduated. The HBO special was fairly accurate, although it's not all rednecks. There are a lot of inner city kids, as well as blue collar and white collar families. There are mostly working class families and poverty stricken families, like most towns in Indiana. GM plants left, the city never recovered, and now there are no jobs to be found. It's even worse for people like me with degrees because now we are overqualified for just about any position in Anderson. The town is just run down and unkempt. The only thing keeping it afloat is the University, the race track/casino, and the Nestle plant that moved in in 2007 or so. It seems small strides are being taken to bring the city back up to respectable.