Dare To Ask Talk And News About Our Differences - This topic has 5 replies, 6 voices, and was last updated 22 years, 9 months ago by
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Why do some American small towns have a disproportionate number of people who are mean, sarcastic, belligerent and even violent? We’ve all heard stereotypes about ‘the next town over,’ but I am referring to places that are just ‘known’ for being especially treacherous. There is one small town, for instance, that is known for taking its high school football VERY seriously, and where it is not uncommon to run afoul of someone and receive the threat ‘I’ll cut ya’ (i.e., with a knife). There is another small town where it seems like everyone is angry at everyone else all the time, and they constantly put one another ‘in their place.’ I could go on. I’d be interested in knowing whether anyone has studied unique demographics that make some places meaner than others.
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Name : Augustine23583, Gender : M, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 41, City : Columbia, State : SC, Country : United States, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class,Maybe you can name this place and a scientist could actually study it. Since you’re probablly talking about a town in the South, maybe you can read Mark Twain, and it could answer your questions. Read Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer. Twain talks about family feuds, money, racism and boredom. All this makes people mean.
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Name : Pat, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Asian, Religion : Bahai Faith, Age : 22, City : New York, State : NY, Country : United States, Occupation : student, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Lower class,I am glad someone else has noticed this. I was born and raised in a small Pa town and the people for the most part were truely aweful! For thirty plus years I have been going back to visit and find change only toward the negative. The small mindedness and fear of anything whatsoever different is something I can not understand. I does not matter if the person is inside or outside anything different seems to be a great cause for alarm. I know that this flies in the face of all those friendly small town TV shows! Quite sincerely I have found more friendly people in big cities. I have worked in and visited NYC often and have never run into this unfriendliness there. By the way I live on a farm in a small community in Western NY.
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Name : Fred21715, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 50, City : Buffalo, State : NY, Country : United States, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class,I grew up near a small town and am not familiar with the town of which you speak. It sounds like a Hollywood stereotype. Of course, if it exists it would have to be in the South, per Hollywood.
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Name : Jack21209, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Christian, Age : 57, City : Suwanee, State : GA, Country : United States, Occupation : Professional, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper middle class,People in small towns act like they are better than everyone else. Since everyone knows each other in small towns the residents get along with each other but not other towns. I live in a small town and we are used to each others sarcastic and unfriendly ways and they do not bother us. However, when we are in other places or other people visit our town we never get along well because we are so used to acting above everyone. I’ve heard some people in my town say ‘if we were to live anywhere else we would get jumped everyday.’ and that’s true because small town living closes us off from the realities of ‘big town’ or city life.
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Name : Ana, Gender : F, Race : Hispanic/Latino (may be any race), Age : 16, City : kingsville, State : TX, Country : United States, Education level : Less than High School Diploma,I grew up in a small city in the outer edges of the Washington D.C. suburbs. While I think the casual observer would find that people in both areas are friendly and polite on the surface, my friends and I have noticed that people who live in the city tend to be a lot less high strung. I enjoy going out on the weekends, I have noted on many occasions that in my old hometown I have seen more barfights than I can count. In three years of running around DC on weekends I have yet to see one. (not saying they don’t happen, but just not to me) You can basically divide the population of my hometown into three parts: 1. The indiginous people: Mostly rural whites, although there is a black community there as well. Most of these people have roots in the area that go back for generations. High school educations (at best) and most work as laborers or on farms. In general they’re friendly but you get a ‘Redneck’ good and drunk and there’s going to be a fight. A lot of the blacks are poor and there is a serious drug problem in the ‘black neighborhoods.’ The drug problem has alleviated somewhat since the crack years of the early 1990’s. 2. Commuters: The largest group, mostly white professionals but more ethnically diverse than the ‘natives.’ Responsible for the population boom from about 1975 until the present. Most of them work for the federal government or are government contractors. These people spend about 3 hours a day commuting to and from their jobs in DC. As a group these people are highly stressed out because of the constant traffic jams and hassles they have to deal with. They are very quick to anger and I have seen more than one middle-aged white man throw a complete temper tantrum in public. When a ‘road rage’ incident is mentioned in the press, it’s typically a commuter from this area. 3. College Students: Usually from outside the area, there is a small college in town with about 3,500 students. Usually stays to the campus area but the combination of youth, testosterone, and alcohol can lead to trouble.
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Name : CP19354, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Presbyterian, Age : 32, City : Washington D.C., State : DC, Country : United States, Occupation : computer - technical, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Middle class,
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