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Are you kidding me??? This is absolutely irrelevant. You need to read up on the decline of the southern textile industry. It had nothing to do with religion.
Didn't say it did. Just worth noting that there is sometimes a link between religion and labor practices.
The question is "why has Gastonia been "looked down" upon?" why would one expect a squeaky clean, pc answer like taxes or the water bill?
I've never been to Gastonia... but everyone who talks about it acts like it's a "enter at your own risk" type of city.
A bartender was telling me about Gastonia and his hilarious U-Turn type experience when he went to pick up a date from Gastonia. Car breaks down, garage tells him it will be a week before his car is fixed and the chick tried to rob him at the hotel... Hilarious story, I'm cracking up... at this time a girl who fits the perfect description of a "stick up chick" turns and says she is from Gastonia and everything he said is a lie.
I know it was a small sample size but it screamed.. stay away from Gastonia.
I also think the news has something to do with it... when we first moved here and turned on the news it was probably 3 days before we came to the conclusion that West Charlotte and Gastonia are bad news. I know there are decent areas in both parts but I'm talking about the "impression" one gets from the news...
A bartender was telling me about Gastonia and his hilarious U-Turn type experience when he went to pick up a date from Gastonia. Car breaks down, garage tells him it will be a week before his car is fixed and the chick tried to rob him at the hotel...
For years I had heard snarky comments made about Gastonia, whose detractors refer to it as "Gassed On Ya."
I never really got to know the area/county till now, and in my dealings with Gaston's residents, I have come to know them as some of the friendliest, most neighborly, folks in the region.
Because the mill village lifestyle was rough and insular and didn't value education, Gastonia folks could come off as uncouth. And Southerners (all Americans really, but particularly Southerners) love looking down on the working poor.
I am not a Christian, but how in the world can you relate any of this to politicians that happen to be Christian?
Quote:
Originally Posted by bs13690
Seems to me like they were using Christian in the pejorative sense. That is why it was in quotes.
Bindi, as a very serious Christian, I thank you for the zeal you use in defending people of faith .
My thing, however, is how quickly *some* people of faith will accept a verbal profession of faith from their favorite politician, whose policies have led the financial destruction of whole cities across America.
These same politicians will claim a concern for the poor, the third world, etc., while they give their own countrymen the shaft.
Take a drive into downtown Gastonia to see what I mean...
Because the mill village lifestyle was rough and insular and didn't value education, Gastonia folks could come off as uncouth. And Southerners (all Americans really, but particularly Southerners) love looking down on the working poor.
I'm not sure why people are up in arms about this post - it certainly has a kernel of truth! I wouldn't say they didn't value education, it was more like hopelessness: the most money I'll earn is at the mill, so why work hard in school?
People who dismiss this view are ignorant of our region's history. I remember a kid moving to Charlotte from Gastonia when I was in elementary school, and the other kids called him 'lint head' because of the mill association. It was assumed anyone from Gastonia would be uneducated.
Ever seen "Breaking Away"? Townies vs Cutters. (stonecutters from the nearby quarries) Same thing, only set in Indiana instead of NC.
Ever seen "Breaking Away"? Townies vs Cutters. (stonecutters from the nearby quarries) Same thing, only set in Indiana instead of NC.
Same thing happens everywhere. People always set themselves apart from others and/or look down on them. I'm from a small town in PA of 3,000 people that was really nothing special. But, people in town still managed to look down at people from the surrounding area who were from even smaller towns.
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