Quote:
Originally Posted by Hill Country
They are symbols of "evil" corporate America in the case of office towers or homes for those awful Republican rich people.
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I don't think it has to do with Democrats, Republicans, or "evil" corporations. Remember, much of the "down with the towers" crowd are very wealthy. I think what it really boils down to is that many view the towers as a symbol of losing the old Austin. They want to keep things exactly the same in Austin (funny because many of these people consider themselves "progressives"), and every tower is a huge statement that things in Austin have changed from what they used to be comfortable with. Really that is what much of the battle is in Austin politics: "Old Austin" vs. "New Austin." Right or wrong, the lines seem to be drawn, with one crowd fighting to take Austin back to the 60s, and the other group (which I think most of us fall into) realizing that Austin's greatness has led to growth that must be embraced and carefully planned and managed. This is why one group is continually fighting against any development, whether it be light rail, tax subsidies to outside companies (or even local companies that become large like Dell), or soaring towers downtown. To them, every new Austinite is one more nail in "Old Austin's" coffin, and any new development hastens that process. Sad really...