[Derringer]

The rednecks have been out priced and pushed out by the pretentious, ex- hippies, turned yuppies, turned invaders coming to Vermont. Put on your ecclectic clothes, whimisical hat, buy a Subaru, vote ultra liberal left, propose sweeping gun control and coddle violent criminals, form discussion groups to discuss world problems (but do nothing), oh... and don't forget to go to town meeting and fight wind towers on the mountains, it might spoil your idea of Vermont! Welcome to Vermont!

No I'm NOT a Republican!

[Pidgett]

No I'm NOT a Republican![/quote]

You sure could've fooled me!

Pidge

[Jason_Els]

Yeah I'm cross-posting but this is an important subject.

My sister was a social worker in the Northeast Kingdom for five years.

Given some of the unbelievable things she encountered working in the Northeast Kingdom, she started carrying a gun and frequently needed police escorts to get her job done. As I've mentioned, there are parts of Vermont where people live in another time entirely. Family rape and incest, child marriage, locking crazy cousin Larry in the basement, pederasty, treating those with CP as idiots, refusing any and all healthcare from those outside the community, and a host of other things were what she dealt with on a daily basis. She essentially lived in Deliverance Land. She gained the trust of some people but not most. These people want nothing more than to be let alone and the state largely obliges. Some live without electricity, hot water, central heat, telephones, and other conveniences and it's not uncommon to find a house without one or any of those things. Vermont is not an idyllic Shangri-La nestled away waiting to be discovered. It is largely rural and middle class with large areas of poverty and very small islands of prosperity here and there. What tourists usually see are those islands located along Route 7 and in the ski areas and it gives them the misbegotten idea that Larry, Darryl, and Darryl were just a Hollywood joke; that Vermont doesn't have some serious problems. It all looks so quiet and pastoral and beautiful from the windows of your BMW's comfy heated leather seats.

BTW, the crime statistics thing is a bit of a joke up that way. Many crimes aren't reported. They're dealt with extra-legally by the families of those who were wronged. As my sister explained, the police don't have much support, particularly not the state police. Sheriffs and local LEOs have more support as they're likely to be from within the community but since so few crimes are actually reported, it's hard to get a handle on when a crime happens. Spousal abuse is a classic example. My sister would find instances of intra-family abuse of all kinds but could not get support from other family members, friends, or the women and children who were the victims of the abuse. The lock on not saying anything is SO intense that just finding the cases was nearly impossible. It was easier with children to some degree because schools, teachers and nurses/doctors, have to report suspected abuse. A ten year old with anal or vaginal trauma doesn't just fall down the stairs or off his or her bike every few days. Even then, prosecution is difficult as no one beyond the state witnesses will testify to the abuse.

Now add meth.

I'm so glad she got out of that area but now, as a public guardian, she's the focus of a few very angry people who blame her for keeping their child/wife/disabled relation away from the home and family. It's dicey and I'm very glad she now carries a gun.

[Pidgett]

Jason_Els:

An insightful and inciteful observation on rural America. It is sad, however, that the social dysfunction you related is to be found in such a great state as Vermont.

Alas, even paradise has its warts .

Pidgett

[arel]

Jason, that sounds like real Appalachia-style rural poverty up there in the Northeast Kingdom. Scary.

I'm used to working with urban poverty, in Brooklyn. I am a psychotherapist, so people talk to me. I hear stories of unbelieveable, repeated trauma in some people's lives. The trauma comes from family and also from poverty, racism and the criminal justice system.

Your sister is gutsy. There are social workers all over the country who have been murdered by angry clients or clients' family members.

[carolinajack]

all the rednecks are welcomed in my home state, South CArolina. I am not sure what a so called Progressive state like VT would be so anti-poor people as to attack them and call the rednecks. I thought the left was pro poor folks, guess that was in the 1940s

[Jason_Els]

Originally Posted by arel

Jason, that sounds like real Appalachia-style rural poverty up there in the Northeast Kingdom. Scary.

I'm used to working with urban poverty, in Brooklyn. I am a psychotherapist, so people talk to me. I hear stories of unbelieveable, repeated trauma in some people's lives. The trauma comes from family and also from poverty, racism and the criminal justice system.

Yeah, I don't mean to say it's ONLY Vermont that has places like this. There are plenty of others. Within 30 miles of New York City, up in the mountains, are a group of similarly isolated people who have little contact with the outside world. They can see the skyline from their aerie but nobody goes up there. Not the tax assessor, not the cops, not anyone. Nor do I mean to say these people are scary hicks. On the contrary, for all their problems, most are genuinely kind and gracious people who just live their lives away from the world.

My sister had an old lady who was in her mid 70s but hadn't received any social security because she had never been enrolled in it. She lived like Blanche DuBois, off the kindness of family and strangers, but it didn't bother her. My sister offered to get her enrolled in services but she refused because she knew people would take care of her. They brought her wood, fixed her pump, took care of her house, and in turn she'd teach cooking and wifely skills to the girls in the community. She taught them how to can, clean and dress game, make sun jams, cook on a wood stove, find mushrooms and medicinal plants, sew, weave, and mend, clean, and whatever else. When people needed babysitting she'd take home a pie or a casserole in return. She wasn't thrown away like so many old people are. She was respected for her knowledge and the contributions, such as they could be at her age, and the community repaid her for services past and present. My sister was blown away by this. Far from being a nursing home throw away, this woman was a vital part of their community. She saw this in many elderly people. Those that weren't healthy enough to live on their own went with family. They usually had a great quality of life and whether my sister bent the rules with some of these people I don't know, but her primary concern with everyone she assisted was the quality of life. There are good things, some very good things, in these isolated communities as there are some very scary things. It's not black and white.

Your sister is gutsy. There are social workers all over the country who have been murdered by angry clients or clients' family members.

Yes, she's tough even though she's blonde, blue-eyed and weighs about 115 lbs. You don't make me feel any better about her safety though. What she tells me she doesn't dare tell our parents for fear of worrying them silly. I worry too, just pretend not to.

[caution]

I saw the title of the post from the main board and clicked it just for laughs. I can't believe the intolerance and arrogance of the OP. He also seems to have his stereotypes mixed up. I hope he can find a neighborhood that outlaws smoking, drinking, pick-up trucks, conservative views and NASCAR since those things are associated directly with a "species" that is best avoided at all costs.

Seriously, there are people in all settings (rural, suburban, urban) who don't care for their property or themselves. That's the real issue here isn't it?

[carolinajack]

thanks caution, it is sad to hear them talk like that and I just wonder what they call poor black people or hispanics

[KoZmiC NinJa]

Originally Posted by caution

I hope he can find a neighborhood that outlaws smoking, drinking, pick-up trucks, conservative views and NASCAR since those things are associated directly with a "species" that is best avoided at all costs.

I hope they post the name of this area when they find it. Im there !!