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Another stereotype.
There are liberals of every age, income level, and spread out in cities, and rural areas all over the US.
Well it's true in the Midwest, for the most part. The liberal small towns are college towns while the areas outside of them are quite conservative. Here in Ohio you have Athens and Yellow Springs represented by Republican congressmen because of the areas surrounding them. Just because we're spread out across the country doesn't mean we're in the majority.
Most liberals in rural areas where I live, don't "work" off the land. They don't farm, don't raise live stock, or manage the timber, they don't hunt, shoot, they avoid the mud and dirt at all costs and bugs make 'em crazy. They do own a piece of land to "get away" and probably own a horse or many horses and hire people to take care of things.
They like the "views", the quiet isolation and we welcome them, most of the time.
Last edited by Dave_n_Tenn; 05-25-2020 at 07:00 AM..
Location: northern Vermont - previously NM, WA, & MA
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Quote:
Originally Posted by EckyX
I'll say though, that it has been nice living in Vermont not to have to explain to all of my neighbors that no, I don't attend a church, and be judged negatively for it. That was a big deal when I lived in the southeast, but perhaps things have changed in the decade since I left. I know that "conservative" and "highly religious" are not one in the same, but one tends to find the former in the latter.
It's easy to paint Vermont as all rural and all liberal and when viewing in terms of statewide level it's probably the most palpable example or leaning left and very rural. It is true in many ways especially when looking voting patterns, and at how state government is run here. But like others have posted here that liberals exist very visibly in rural parts of some red states, Vermont is also very nuanced. It has some of the loosest gun laws in the Northeast, the northern New England libertarian mindset is still palpably felt around the state, and I've noticed here in Franklin County there are small towns where Trump flags and Rainbow flags on front porches co-exist. But they co-exist quite peacefully, no drama or hard divisions. I like it that way.
Last edited by Champ le monstre du lac; 05-25-2020 at 07:35 AM..
It's easy to paint Vermont as all rural and all liberal and when viewing in terms of statewide level it's the most palpable example or leaning left and very rural. It is true in many ways especially when looking at how state government is run here. But like others have posted here that liberals exist very visibly rural parts of some red states, Vermont is also very nuanced. It has some of the loosest gun laws in the Northeast, the northern New England libertarian mindset is still palpably felt around the state, and I've noticed here in Franklin county there are small towns where Trump flags and Rainbow flags on front porches co-exist. But they co-exist quite peacefully, no drama or hard divisions. I like it that way.
That's awesome! I wish the rural South were more like that.
Actually, while people from outside the region (especially the Urban Northeast, and West Coast) often misjudge the amount of racism here as much higher than it is, that's much less of a factor in how rural people here judge others than someone's politics or where they go to church. Although most people here aren't going to try and create loud drama with rural liberals and will be met with friendliness to an extent, but they probably notice that they just don't fit in quite as well into the local culture than they would if they were a conservative fundamentalist. They may not be met with hostility as much as they're met with blank stares if they share their opinions on things.
Some of the responses on this thread are peculiar. There seems to be a sense of entitlement regarding to whom rural areas belong from a few posters. This "whom" seems to be some imagined cohesive and conservative political faction in the US. I identify as progressive and was raised in a household with a Democratic mother and Republican father. I grew up in a rural area (I'm talking no traffic light in my hometown rural), and both of my parents were raised in rural areas as well. Both sides of my family owned and worked family farms for generations.
On my mom's side, these farmers support(ed) immigrant rights (there are family stories that persist today of the struggle my family went through as Irish immigrants), The New Deal, the environmental movement, the civil rights movement, etc. They supported presidential candidates like FDR, JFK, and Michael Dukakis. Such progressive inclinations were by no means rare amongst rural Americans through much of the 20th century.
And yes, on my dad's side, they are equally conservative. Yet, interestingly, many of these conservative farmers and once-farmers do not support what the Republican party has become in the last decade or so, and find themselves in a political limbo. Despite their overall conservative orientation, they do not support many Republicans. This rural, conservative political sect is not so cohesive.
Rural America belongs to both sides of my family. It belongs to conservatives, liberals, and other ideological sects. The moment we find ourselves in now, with a conservative majority in most rural areas, is just that: a moment.
So I move to a small town in eastern Washington. My electricity comes from the county government. So does my water and sewer service. Oh wait, a couple of decades ago the county decided to provide internet, phone service, and cable TV to its residents.
The county last voted for a left-wing Democrat is 1964. I think in the last election they might have just cleared 40% for Democrats, but the last Democrat official died in 2001 and had a large funeral to commentate the event in the community.
I learned that a “right-wing†community could be more liberal than Berkeley. AND a much better at providing those services.
All those years.....I was convinced that socialism just DOESNâ€T work. After 35 years, I have changed my opinion, it might work IF IT IS RUN BY A BUNCH OF CONSERVATIVE’s.
So be careful when looking for a “liberal†rural community. You might just find one run by conservatives.
Oh, and the county it's in voted 71-25 Trump. The boro is represented by 2 Rs in the state House and state Senate. The House Congressional district? Conservative. The closest "rural" county you'll find noticeable liberals--who are usually rich or middle class at worst--would be Dauphin County north of Harrisburg.
Just cuz you are a liberal doesn't mean you support socialism. And conservative doesn't mean you support (American) capitalism.
I've noticed here in Franklin county there are small towns where Trump flags and Rainbow flags on front porches co-exist. But they co-exist quite peacefully, no drama or hard divisions. I like it that way.
I've noticed the same. I live right on the Georgia border in Chittenden. Generally speaking, conservatives and liberals seem to get along very well here.
I wouldn't categorize most college towns as "rural". Would you consider Athens, Ga or Columbia, Mo or Iowa City or Madison, Ws or Bloomington, In to be rural?
None of those places are rural. I saw Story County, Iowa on someone else's list and it's home to the largest college in the state. Definitely not rural.
None of those places are rural. I saw Story County, Iowa on someone else's list and it's home to the largest college in the state. Definitely not rural.
Bullhonkey...unless one has a weird definition for the term "rural". Other than around Ames where Iowa State University is located along the I-35 corridor pretty much everything east of there outside the several small towns is pretty damned rural.
None of those places are rural. I saw Story County, Iowa on someone else's list and it's home to the largest college in the state. Definitely not rural.
I'll defer to you on the specifics since you're from Iowa, but your comment brings up two points in my mind.
"Rural" depends on context so what is rural to someone who is used to coastal New York or Los Angeles isn't rural to someone who lives in a much less densely populated area.; and
There is "rural" from a strictly population density standpoint and then there is "rural" from a sociological standpoint. Sometimes the two meet, but not always.
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