Where they came from:

There have been a number of commentaries about the kind of people who are living in Alaska. Some are there to escape the "corruption" of modern life, and are likely to be conservative.

One writer noted that while some Americans are uneasy about the Deep South (for political/cultural reasons), they currently don't hold much of an opinion about Alaska. But that that may change.

One reason is that Alaska is more religious and conservative - more southern in other words - than you might expect. There's a reason for that.

At one point, "libertarian Alaska" legalized marijuana. That was in 1975 (and it was a state Supreme Court decision, and generally approved by the citizens). But since then, there has been a move to recriminalize it.

Why?

Because Alaska has changed. After the pipeline was completed in 1977, the oil business loomed large in Alaska's economy. And it needed workers. And many of those workers came from Texas. (I know, because I spent nearly a month in Alaska in 1989 and talked to whole bunches of former Texans who moved up to follow the oil.)

Alaska became Texas-ified.


posted by Quiddity at 9/04/2008 08:05:00 AM