The Disturbing Reality of Po-Dunks
Comments
7331 or no, i still hate stupid country folk, and this is why.
Grasshopper, you definitely don’t live around this on a dailly basis. There is a chillingly analagous attitude in a nearby county where I used to work. I have heard otherwise upright and intelligent people relate other ethnicities or nationalities to things that they hunt or fish, and it’s always derogatory, and done without blinking.
Keep in mind that the comments linked in that document came from people in her own community. This is “Good Ole Boy” behavior that has not died just because the Civil Rights movement made it’s largest hurdles. It exists in pockets of po-dunk white America and shows no sign of waning as these areas continue to isolate themselves from the rest of the world, and some, even from the rest of their region. Anything outside the county is of no concern to the majority in these areas. The few that realize this pattern relocate themselves, leaving no one with an opposing viewpoint in the areas; and therefore, no reform.
There is a chillingly analagous attitude in a nearby county where I used to work.
yeah, i used to work with him, and its seriously rediculous. The minorties in that particular town are treated like you would seem them treated in a 1930’s movie. While 15 miles away, theres a larger town with minoritys living in the richest nieghborhoods.
Anything outside the county is of no concern to the majority in these areas.
He’s completely serious, there are people who have never left thier state before, that live in these towns.
I think being racist has nothing to do with being “podunk” or “ a stupid country folk” or with being “redneck” or with being an “isolationist” or uneducated. Racism is more than just these “pockets” of white America. I think that these particular persons who express thier racist behavior are too often used as scapegoats, for the politically correct/morally uncorrect person who lives with guilt of thier own racism (not to say all people are this way...). Racism is everywhere, all the time. Ignorance is everywhere, all the time. The idea though is that in order to be a racist or elitist or whatever else, that one must be uneducated or"podunkish" is almost as ignorant as the idea they try to describe. and derek, I appreciate your viewpoint but understand, I live with racism and elitism everyday. I see it in alot of people and have experienced upon occasion the drag of being discriminated against. So to me in is not about a “class” of people. It is about “their behavior”. Where they come from is really irrelevant. People from good socialized “upright” (tounge planted) neighborhoods have the same potential for racism. And so do so called “podunks”. Racism is a human being problem, not mostly a community develpoped philosophy. Though it can definetly breed thier as well. How do you seperate anthropoligical from sociological anyway?
Agreed. People everywhere, regardless of race, class, religion, creed, etc. are and can be stupid. This is however one type of population that has the least hope of escaping from it, and the greatest concentration and embracing of these values.
The poorly educated people on the West Bank who cheered upon hearing that as many as 4000 civilian Americans might have been killed in the Twin Towers attack are completely parallel to extreme rural America.
To say that environment does not play a significant role in people’s behavior is down right silly, and these areas breed this type of behavior.
no one said it was ONLY apparent in this small towns and communities.
The whole point was that these undereducated pockets exist in our modern world.
Racism IS all over, and derek and i see/experiance it too. HOWEVER, these are whole towns full of fools, as oppossed to modern citys where the small number of openly racist people cannot exist peacefully as they encour more anger from non racist people/minorties. Not to mention larger cities have the benifit of governments that are elected by many different cultures, and not by 3 families.
Want a good example? go here
http://www.chriscurtis.org/comments/759_0_1_0_C/
this story is about me and my girlfriend.
Because this happend in a small town, THIS MAN NEVER GOT PROSECUTED! his familiy is all over the county. po-dunk.
You guys need to set down tonight with the family unit, pop some popcorn and watch BET all night. Call back in the morning please…
bet? why?
It is a serious mistake to “classify” this behavior as a common “podunk” behavior. That inevitably could be just as ignorant as Lynndie’s treatment of the Iraqi detainees. Why not instead of calling her a “podunk” or a “redneck” or whatever, concentrate on the stupid behavior itself. Why is it so important to create a sub-class description of people. I mean any person anywhere in the world of any ethnicity or class could have done this. What she did was just plain stupid(in the full meaning). How bout that? I mean I am sure she probably thinks (or thought) of those detainees as “podunks” or “brownnecks” or “ragheads”. It is that very type of descriptive pigeon holing that starts people on a path of stupidity.
If those kind of statements are not racist they definetly are “elitist”.
By grasshopper on May 8, 2004 at 03:00pm link