Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Every redneck I know and being one I know a whole bunch of them, rely on the same government services, the same infrastructure, the same Walmart as I do. I'm a better shot than 90% of em and I am better fisherman than every single one I know. They all quote ol Bocephus when their drunk around the fire, braggin on how they'd survive like a country boy but most of 'em would fold like a card table if things ever got hard.
That said, this guy isn't the voice of anything but himself.
Why is the assumption that people who live in rural areas are uneducated, rednecks, living in trailers, addicted to drugs and on welfare and destitute?
I'm sure some are one or all of the above just like in urban and metro area some are uneducated, living in dilapidated housing (slums) or tents and under bridges, on welfare, addicted, etc. Most people are employed or retired, educated (perhaps no college degree) and living fairly comfortably.
I dont know that living a simpler life in a less congested area, less traffic, less noise, lower crime, fewer restrictions, better air quality, stronger community, etc. is making a bad decision.
Numbers on a pay check aren't the end all be all.
Wow, Craig.....lotta generalizations there buddy....
Funny how everyone I know would be considered rural, and you failed to describe even one of them. You must be a city boy......
Don't worry, he is someone who supports Communist China and their concentration camps. Bigger fish to fry with this guy, but his opinion here unfortunately doesn't surprise me in the least.
The guy is just impatient. Rural communities are dying off. The young people generally don't stay around. The old people keep getting older. Every year opportunities dwindle in rural America.
You are right. Many people realize this. Some do a poor job of expressing it. He is one of those people.
Yea a large portion of my family lives in WV as well. If they like that way of life good for them. However, the economy progresses, it is in constant flux. Viable occupations that people can make a living from constantly change. If people wish to remain gainfully employed than they have to adapt and learn new skills. If they want to live their life like that then fine, I’m not shaming them. I’m saying that refusing to adapt to the new economy and marketplace will mean that being gainfully employed in those areas will become more rare in the future.
But isn't this the case everywhere? Look at the people who work at McDonald's, their jobs are slowly being replaced by automated kiosks, ice cream shop at the mall next to my house closed down, they now have an automated ice cream machine, you stick your card in pick your flavor and toppings and the machine makes it for you but we aren't trying to convince the guy working at Baskin Robins to "Learn to Code", automated coffee machines you pick the flavor and even toppings and the machine makes it for you but again we aren't trying to convince the starbucks baristas to "Learn to Code". So why only focus on certain areas when this same thing can be said for most, if not, all jobs. Seems like people are targeting these specific areas and jobs because of personal animus towards people they see as inferior and stupid but maybe I'm wrong.
The guy is just impatient. Rural communities are dying off. The young people generally don't stay around. The old people keep getting older. Every year opportunities dwindle in rural America.
You are right. Many people realize this. Some do a poor job of expressing it. He is one of those people.
Yep, and how much should the US taxpayer be burdened to provide hospitals and other infrastructure for these dying communities.
City people as a group couldn't survive on their own if they tried. They wouldn't know the first thing to do.
And meth users who work at the meat-packing plant are now somehow self-sufficient?
This "liberal" lived in an army tent in the woods for 3 years with no running water, no toilet and on $1 a day total expenses. I would say that I know "how to live" on my own better than 99% of so-called "rural dwellers" - which are largely undefined anyway.
Who are these people you are referring to? I know many people from rural PA - they are engineers, teachers and the like. Some make money from the fracking at the end of their property.
Do you guys make up the existence of some 10's of millions of white folks who are living off the land? They don't exist, my friend. They work in a factory or are out of a job.
Your assignment is to read Methland and then read the opiate books (Dreamland?)...then come back and tell us about how the laid off rust belt folks know about survival.
Could care less what the rest of the country thinks of rural people. All I know when we go and spend time at our cabin in rural northern Michigan, we hang out with some of the hardest working happiest people ever. They could care less about politics, social media...etc. They live in the moment, and enjoy the beautiful country scenery and lifestyle.
As soon as we retire that is where we are headed.
He's not actually wrong in his assessment that if the market drove things, rural healthcare would be considerably more expensive - as would rural electricity, rural roads, and rural telephony. The cities pay for the farmers' infrastructure and services, and that's not even debatable.
Just some PhD candidate who unintentionally became the voice of what's really going on.
What's really going on, then?
You quote some obscure philosophy doctoral candidate, who has retracted his comments, and then claim he's a voice....for whom???
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
