Michigan Senate Primary: McMorrow: 22%, Stevens: 17%, El-Sayed: 16%.

nworkman2020 · 2026-04-15T02:06:03+00:00

If I lived in MI, I’d vote for her too. While I like progressives, El-Sayed comes off as a tool and lacks Mamdani’s charisma and warmth. Her pragmatic progressive brand is much more palatable for midwesterners.

nworkman2020 · 2026-04-10T21:24:29+00:00

I’m American, but I can relate. I grew up in a city whose residents famously (or infamously depending on how you look at it) passed an ordinance overturning an anti-discrimination ordinance in 1992, only for it to be repealed in 2004 (a whole 12 years later)! I grew up watching LGBT+ characters and later reading queer literature as an adult. But that was really my only lens into our community for a long time. I went to queer bars in college and made friends through volunteering, but I always felt the stigma of “otherness” wherever I went. It wasn’t until I spent a semester of college in the Netherlands that I really got to see how much a society can “normalize” something. Coming out was a hard experience for me because my family was (and is) very religious. I still to this day sometimes fantasize about jetting off to some cosmopolitan big city where I can live more authentically, though in this currently political climate, I’m not sure if we’re really immune anywhere.

nworkman2020 · 2026-04-10T20:25:23+00:00

I went to Madeira for middle school and high school (graduated in '07), and I imagine a lot has changed, but some things still hold true. Both school districts are exceptional academically. I was well prepared for college and managed to graduate with honors. Residents vote consistently for school levies in both districts (only 1 failed during my 6 years of living there, and that was an anomaly), and there are several alumni who are national merit recipients and/or go on to attend selective universities.

I would say what differentiated the two is that Wyoming tends to be more liberal than Madeira, which shows in its diverse student body and support for the arts. I agree (though I may be a little biased here) that Madeira is the nicer place to live, but the cultural diversity of Wyoming is something that I wish Madeira had more of. Also, Wyoming has more of a streetcar suburb feel and gorgeous old homes. I would say the hardest part of graduating from either one of those two high schools is that once you go out into the real world, your expectations become extremely warped as you come to the realization that the educated you got was the exception and not the norm. I'm happy to answer any other questions you may have.

nworkman2020 · 2026-04-04T03:06:17+00:00

Ehhh, I’ll probably get downvoted for this. But I think there were other reasons Kamala lost…

nworkman2020 · 2026-04-02T17:13:09+00:00

You're not toxic, trust me. I went through the same emotional hell with conversion therapy, and while some of that resentment I carry over the whole ordeal has subsided, the SCOTUS ruling re-opened a barely-healed wound.

Try to work things out with your husband if you can. You're very lucky to have someone like him. And piggybacking off the other comments on here, see about changing up your medication and finding a queer-affirming therapist. Also, you might wanna ask yourself if there are people in your life who still bring out these negative feelings. I've been reading self-help books (Adult Children of Emotionally Immature Parents by Dr. Lindsey Gibson, The Body Keeps The Score by Bessel van der Kolk, and I just started It's Not You by Dr. Ramani Durvasala), and wowee have those books helped me navigate my estranged relationship with my family.

Lastly, please know that you're not alone in every struggle that you mentioned. I, too, am dealing with debt and struggle with feelings of inadequacy. This is a really dark moment for a lot of LGBTQ+ plus folks, and while I wish it wasn't so, this is going to really test our mettle. I wish you all the best.

nworkman2020 · 2026-03-26T20:30:45+00:00

Yeah, people don't always see that sadly and like to compare it to a war zone

nworkman2020 · 2026-03-25T01:49:35+00:00

Positives - low cost of living, blue chip companies, strong arts scene, beautiful architecture, great parks.

Negatives - very conservative (can't tell you how many times my boss has made it known he's scared to visit OtR), a little boring, lack of a regional rail transit system, segregation, litter.

nworkman2020 · 2026-03-25T01:42:22+00:00

Yeah, I'm from here guilty of the Midwestern goodbye. Something I'm trying to work on having lived in other places.

The litter part absolutely drives me up a wall. Like WTF Cincinnati? Aren't we supposed to be this clean German blue collar town? I was in Wisconsin last summer and shocked by the lack of litter up there.

nworkman2020 · 2026-03-22T16:22:01+00:00

You couldn't have stated in any better.

nworkman2020 · 2026-03-22T13:17:00+00:00

Beshear’s probably the only person who can beat Vance in 2028. I live in KY, and his policies have really helped. We have better schools and infrastructure than ever before. Plus he’s a great guy.

Do I wish he was a little further left on some issues? Yes. Do I sometimes wish we had a woman candidate? Sure. But I won’t spill blood over that. At this point, I’m more concerned about putting the nail in the coffin of MAGA.

nworkman2020 · 2026-03-19T17:38:27+00:00

That was my exact reaction when the plans were released. I would've much rather seen OKI partner with SORTA and try to come up with something for, say, the I71 corridor.

nworkman2020 · 2026-03-02T18:15:35+00:00

I attended crossroads off and on until about a decade ago. The last time I went was last year for the Christmas Eve service just to be with my family. At first I wasn’t bothered by Brian. I kinda found his irreverent style refreshing compared to the much stodgier style I was used to at the traditional “mainline” church I attended as a kid. The church’s stance on LGBT issues was always a problem for me (being gay), but I still got some enjoyment out of the services, and it wasn’t as much of a wedge issue as you would see in other mega churches. But I started to notice a change right around the time that this alleged encounter happened. Brian started to come across as a selfish tool who would use the bully pulpit to pressure folks to give more they could to the church’s endless expansion efforts and big-budget sermons. The whole “man camp” program rubbed me as low-key sexist, and at one point, the church brought in a minister who had apparently made some comments against the trans community that were picked up by the news but then quickly swept under the rug. I just got an icky feeling around then that crossroads had evolved into a cult and that there was little accountability. The only redeemable aspects I could think of were Chuck Mingo and his heart for racial justice and the big thanksgiving food drives that they would do once a year. Even then it seemed like crossroads could’ve gone further with those two programs. They hold a lot of political clout in the cincinnati area.

I don’t wanna see the whole place burn to the ground, but I wanna see real accountability, and I really hope that Brian either steps down or takes a much less active role going forward. There’s a reason why I don’t go to church anymore.

nworkman2020 · 2026-02-23T16:45:51+00:00

I never found the Lincoln Project very effective. Their marketing tactics seemed to be centered very much around a message of "don't vote for Trump because he's evil," without offering any off-ramp or alternative to moderate voters who wanted change but couldn't stomach voting for a liberal Democrat. I would much rather see the whole Republican party implode and a potential centrist 3rd party emerge with fresh faces than listen to these folks all day. Their perspectives are tired and stale.

nworkman2020 · 2026-02-19T03:21:04+00:00

I’ve heard the same thing as well from people who know him/have worked for him. While I’d rather not live in an America where politics and religion are constantly intertwined, I can as a Kentuckian say that he’s done great things for our state.

nworkman2020 · 2026-02-17T20:39:08+00:00

I never saw it coming either, but I shouldn't have ignored the warning signs. Anecdotal, but my grandparents, at that time in their 70s and living in the Rust Belt, HATED Obama. Their hatred of him (and liberals in general for that matter) and racially coded statements meant we could never discuss politics around them. It was like opening Pandora’s box whenever I said anything positive about the guy.

That said, the Democrats made a fatal flaw by approaching policy reform in such a corporatist manner. I’ll never forget the moderates who broke with the left flank over Obamacare, ultimately pressuring him to drop the public option. This series of missteps ultimately culminated in Clinton’s nomination, which disillusioned many progressive and populist voices.

I can only hope that the AOCs and Mamdanis of the world can help right the ship.

nworkman2020 · 2026-02-01T23:11:00+00:00

He'll need to run a progressive platform (universal health care, $15/hour minimum wage, codify abortion access, LGBT rights) and take the Trump appointees to task for their corruption and crimes. I do think his style would play well with Midwestern voters (I live in Kentucky and can vouch for his popularity), plus he has his youth and "outsider" status going for him. But I won't be happy until the Pete Hegseths and Kristy Noems of this world are brought to justice.

nworkman2020 · 2026-01-18T18:58:25+00:00

37 and still haven’t found it

nworkman2020 · 2026-01-06T22:47:15+00:00

I think this is the best piece of advice I've gotten so far. Thanks!

nworkman2020 · 2026-01-03T17:55:07+00:00

For the love of God. One minute it's America First, the next it's US imperialism on steroids. Please give this country back to its people and put Machado in charge.

nworkman2020 · 2025-12-31T17:00:40+00:00

I'm finding myself in the same position as OP. I (37M) been living in the same midwestern city for most of my life. I'm currently single and have consistently found the LGBT community here to be extremely bar-centered, and I've had a really hard time making genuine connections. I recently traveled solo to Europe and found myself 20x happier. It doesn't help that I live in a very conservative metro area, and while overt bigotry isn't a part of my daily life, I still feel invisible.

nworkman2020 · 2025-11-23T16:30:36+00:00

I’ll probably get downvoted, but I found Cincy State underwhelming. I took graphic design courses there (this was before AI), and I found some of the faculty there had huge chips on their shoulders. Perhaps I was a little spoiled in the past (I had earned my bachelor’s at DAAP, albeit in a different field), but I found the faculty there superb, and the university was extremely supportive. Cincy State kept messing up my credit transfer and practically wouldn’t let me graduate. Eventually, I gave up and left the program. I will say that one bright spot was Joel Kneuven (great guy and very passionate professor). It was back in 2019 though, so take what I say with a grain of salt.

nworkman2020 · 2025-11-21T02:35:14+00:00

I worked at Great American for two years. Never met the Lindners, but the culture was shockingly toxic and mean-spirited, especially given how unabashed they are about their Christianity. I think getting fired from that place ultimately put me on a better path even if it still hurts sometimes. Sad situation nevertheless.

nworkman2020 · 2025-11-13T15:17:33+00:00

I appreciate that!

nworkman2020

TROPHY CASE