Mesa AZ

[chiak47]

I have ran into some very interesting people since moving here. I had last night off of work and I stopped at a gas station off of Main and Dobson and the crowd outside looked like a pack of zombies. I was asked for smokes, money and food by half a dozen folks within 15' from jeep to door of store.

My wife was at the local tech hosting a job fair for her job when the shooter started his rampage this week and she was on lockdown. I called her as soon as I heard what was happening and even though she wasn't in danger I heard the fear in her voice, she had no idea if the shooter was in the school or what and I will never forget that conversation she wanted me to go get the kids from school cause she couldn't leave. Our kids go to a private Christian elementary school and sheriff deputies were already parked outaide of it when I got there.

My point of this thread is that Mesa was named the most conservative city in America last year and IMO if that is true than we are screwed as a nation.

[ltorlo64]

I don't know if we are screwed, but we are in trouble.

I am in DC and was on lockdown after the Navy Yard shooting because they didn't know what kind of an attack it was. I remember being in my office thinking how funny it is that I am in the military and my defense against an attack is to lock the door of the office and beg for mercy. One of the people in my office commented that it was too bad that I didn't have one of my guns so I could go look for any shooters in our building (there were none, we were on a totally different installation). I told him that I wouldn't go looking for trouble but if trouble came it would be better to be armed with one of my guns than to throw staplers at the attacker. Everyone in the office agreed with that, even the more liberal (which the speaker was) members of the office agreed. I don't think they had thought of it that way.

[imanaknut]

Glad your wife wasn't in any danger. Along a similar line, my brother was a teacher in Connecticut, and lived not far from the Sandy Hook school. When the shooting went down he got a red alert text message that started with "this is NOT a drill". Needless to say he told me he was never so cared in all his nearly 30 years of teaching. It took a while for it to get out what school was involved, but for him and I am sure for your wife it felt like a lifetime.

If Mesa is a conservative city, they obviously have never been to central Indiana.

[alismith]

I don't know if we are screwed, but we are in trouble.

I am in DC and was on lockdown after the Navy Yard shooting because they didn't know what kind of an attack it was. I remember being in my office thinking how funny it is that I am in the military and my defense against an attack is to lock the door of the office and beg for mercy. One of the people in my office commented that it was too bad that I didn't have one of my guns so I could go look for any shooters in our building (there were none, we were on a totally different installation). I told him that I wouldn't go looking for trouble but if trouble came it would be better to be armed with one of my guns than to through staplers at the attacker. Everyone in the office agreed with that, even the more liberal (which the speaker was) members of the office agreed. I don't think they had thought of it that way.

Isn't it interesting how, in certain situations, people are able to see the fallacies in some of the beliefs they adhered to in "normal" situations?

The possibility of imminent death tends to move the thought processes from shades of gray to clearly defined black and white.

[Schuetzenman]

I too am glad your wife is OK. I also think we are screwed as a nation, Obama being reelected was graphic proof of that.

[davepool]

Mesa (what-a-placea) has always been a conservative city, primarily due to the number of Mormons who live there. Americas most conservative? not sure about that anymore, demographics in this valley are changing rapidly. There used to be no bad areas to live in Mesa 30 years ago, now there are a few no go zones for me, Dobson and Main is one of them.
Glad your wife was safe, that guy went a little berserk shooting anyone he came near, not sure what the real story is, it kind of dropped out of the news after a couple days. That's not such a bad thing, if it had happened anywhere but Arizona it would be national news for a month.

[Integratedj]

I'm over on the Gilbert/mesa border near sportsmans warehouse. Got to love mesa sales tax compared to the rest of the valley.

I've watched mesa change so much over the years. When I first moved here it was Mormons, snow birds and retired folks with a few pockets of ghetto.
Now it's mostly ghetto with a few pockets of nice left. Letting it become a sanctuary city for illegals is probably where they fucked up. I've seen more face tattooed assholes than i care to know breath air. That and after Katrina we also inherited a whole ton of Nola trash to take care of. The whole valley bloomed with shit when that happened. My job at the time(security system installs) went through the roof busy with after break in calls.

Hit me up sometime if you're into fishing or small game hunting. I can show you a few spots as well as show you some of the hidden awesome that makes Arizona 200% better than every other state in the nation.

[Integratedj]

And yeah, Dobson and main is a great area to go if you want a lighter back pocket or a beat down by several of the cities finest misunderstood Yutes.

[davepool]

I live in Sunnyslope, another place that 30 years ago was a nice place to live. But after being designated a "refugee" relocation zone by the city of Phoenix a few years ago things have changed, juusst a bit.

The old guy that lived next door to me died 15 years ago, and with no living relatives the city took over his house and made it section 8 housing and after Katrina i inherited some wonderful neighbors for a year. The women and kids were OK, but the scum fuck "men" that turned up for a few days twice a month were another story.
I came home for lunch one day and found an extension cord running from an outside outlet i had through their window, pulled the plug and was confronted by a shit brain wanting to know "wuz up", apparently he thought we were sec.8 and he could do what ever he wanted wit my lectricity. He learned a valuable lesson that day about private property. Had quite a few confrontations with him and his friends that year and even as dumb a fuck as he was he slowly learned not to fuck with the " crazy old white guy" and his roofer buddies next door.

[Integratedj]

I live in Sunnyslope, another place that 30 years ago was a nice place to live. But after being designated a "refugee" relocation zone by the city of Phoenix a few years ago things have changed, juusst a bit.

The old guy that lived next door to me died 15 years ago, and with no living relatives the city took over his house and made it section 8 housing and after Katrina i inherited some wonderful neighbors for a year. The women and kids were OK, but the scum fuck "men" that turned up for a few days twice a month were another story.
I came home for lunch one day and found an extension cord running from an outside outlet i had through their window, pulled the plug and was confronted by a shit brain wanting to know "wuz up", apparently he thought we were sec.8 and he could do what ever he wanted wit my lectricity. He learned a valuable lesson that day about private property. Had quite a few confrontations with him and his friends that year and even as dumb a fuck as he was he slowly learned not to fuck with the " crazy old white guy" and his roofer buddies next door.

I learned a hard lesson when I was young. Don't fuck with roofers or framers unless you really have to. Swinging hammers all day makes them hit a lot harder than it looks like they can.

[chiak47]

Hit me up sometime if you're into fishing or small game hunting. I can show you a few spots as well as show you some of the hidden awesome that makes Arizona 200% better than every other state in the nation.

Cool bro...!!! Sounds like a good time.. Being an upper midwest farmboy/redneck, I talk fishing and hunting to some of the natives here and they look at me like I am from a different planet.
That also brings up a whole new subject. People here are pissed off, I have never met so many angry individuals. Maybe the heat? Who knows. They drive angry, walk angry, mean mug ya at Michaels Crafts and are generally upset. Not everyone, but a high percentage of people in the valley.

My wife and I go offroading up in the four peaks area and we have met some pretty cool people doing so. I went to a prepper expo last fall and there was a group of peppers that have a monthly seminar that features first aid and desert survival that the wife and I might go to next month.

BTW...Kinda shocked at the lack of local owned restaurants. If anyone knows of a good restaurant in east mesa than hit me up.

[chiak47]

I am in DC and was on lockdown after the Navy Yard shooting.

My boss and his boss at the time were at those offices discussing the LCS program. They couldn't wait to get back to small town USA afterwards even though they weren't in direct fire.
My wife said she had never been so scared in her life. She wants her own small pistol now for ccw cause of it. I hope I never have to hear fear in her voice again and I hope that justice kills that sob for making so many people feel helpless.

They turned off the lights and his for what she described as eternity. I rushed as fast as I could and man the police were loaded for bear. APC's, helicopters, command centers and "platoons" of military dressed cops everywhere. Sad situation all over dope. The war on drugs is a loser...legalize it all and let them have as much as they want.

[Altarboy]

It saddens me to see our country descend into a third-world craphole.

[Integratedj]

BTW...Kinda shocked at the lack of local owned restaurants. If anyone knows of a good restaurant in east mesa than hit me up.

I can tell you where not to eat easier than where to eat. I'm super picky about where my food comes from so we usually cook at home, especially now that my wife is having Dairy and Gluten allergy issues. I've also had to work in a lot of the back rooms of restaurants all over the valley and am absolutely disgusted at some of them. due to that I'm not very trusting of them.

as for where I'll eat at,
Fast, good, safe and clean mexican food = Señor Taco. It's the only fast mexican I will eat.
Hot, Properly greasy, New mexico style mexican food = Los Dos Molinos. Pray for ice cream. They are in mesa on Alma School.
More upscale dining with a great patio and amazing chef = House of Tricks in Tempe.
Seafood Boil and good southern belly ache causing fried goodness = The Angry Crab on Alma school and guadeloupe I think.

As far as people being pissed off all the time, I think a lot of it is no one trusts each other really. It's a very suspicious state overall. It used to be a lot more friendly before all the political bs really cranked up in the country, since then Az has been kind of a pressure cooker.