• Osirus@sh.itjust.works
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    1 year ago

    I live in a small town outside pittsburgh about 45 mins. I lived in a city my entire life from 18 to 36. I bought a house here and it’s quiet, but holy shit the people here are ignorant AF. When I say ignorant, I don’t use that term like rude, I mean literally dumb and uneducated. NO ONE around here can even spell. Fb is hilarious with the spelling they come up with or they will use a word that sounds similar to the big word they are trying to use but not quite right. Some day, I’m going to compile a list. They hate any race that isn’t white, they are misinformed, religious in thought but drinking every night, TERRIBLE parents… I yelled at my neighbor because her 3 year old son was half a mile down the road playing by himself on a 30 foot tall dirt pile and she was nowhere to be seen. When I yelled at her she said and I quote “iz he not allowed down thur or somethin?” I called the police and they came and told her she had to be outside when he was outside and she has been ever since. I’m sure she hates parenting. Trump support everywhere especially after he’s now a convicted rapist. It’s insane. I’m pretty outcast, i speak out when I see dumb shit, especially people selling these stickers. I call them white trash. People who know me personally respect me and I’ve won 1 or 2 over but man it’s exhausting. Had to buy a few guns when shit was getting real scary with the rednecks wanting to overthrow the govt. I’m surrounded by rednecks with guns. I miss the city. Sure there are all types of shitty people but atleast you get culture, good food, beautiful views, activities. We drive up every so often but it’s not the same. If our house wasn’t so big and beautiful and old compared to what I would get in the city for 3x the cost, I would move. Fuck these hillbillies.

    • areyouevenreal@lemmy.antemeridiem.xyz
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      1 year ago

      Rednecks were originally left wing pro-union workers originally. So these people don’t deserve to be called rednecks.

      Edit: had to double check. There were multiple meanings including the coal miners I am referring to. Apparently is could also mean white sun burned farmers in the 19th century

      • Osirus@sh.itjust.works
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        1 year ago

        Rednecks are farmers given that name from having their heads down while plowing their fields. They were Klan back in the day and are right wing extremists now. These people deserve much worse than being called a derogatory name.

        • areyouevenreal@lemmy.antemeridiem.xyz
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          1 year ago

          From the Wikipedia article on rednecks:

          Coal miners

          The term “redneck” in the early 20th century was occasionally used in reference to American coal miner union members who wore red bandanas for solidarity. The sense of “a union man” dates at least to the 1910s and was especially popular during the 1920s and 1930s in the coal-producing regions of West Virginia, Kentucky, and Pennsylvania.[18] It was also used by union strikers to describe poor white strikebreakers.[19]

    • sanpedropeddler@sh.itjust.works
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      1 year ago

      I’m starting to think there might be a reason some people assumed I was a racist redneck when I argued why I like small towns more than cities. Is that seriously what its like in some places? Here you will see the occasional truck covered in trump stickers but that’s pretty much it. There’s plenty of different cultures and views here. Not as much as a city of course, but that’s as expected.

      • Osirus@sh.itjust.works
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        1 year ago

        It’s OK to like small towns, but most of the people who live in small towns, never left and have no aspirations to. It’s particularly evident with some of the more uh… shallow gene pool folk. They are so backwards, they know they would get ridiculed around people outside of their comfort zone, which I’m sure they would. They hate “pretty people”. City people are usually pretty people and there is like a weird level of jealousy based around that. I live in what used to be a steel town and when I tell you that everyone who lives at the bottom of the hill have mental issues and all have kids that have learning disabilities, I’m not joking. Heavy metals HAVE to be the cause of so many issues in small towns. There are kids here with growth deformities, 10 miles away there is a nuclear dump that is just chilling in the middle of a residential area. Tons of people got and get cancer there, people continue to live around it and die. I have no idea why lol. It’s insane. The govt put up signs but they aren’t even noticeable. If you drive past, my wife had to point it out. It’s fucking NUCLEAR WASTE. Seriously… I’ve been in fights with a lot of my neighbors over the way they treat their children. My neighbor across the street has 2 kids and 1 black step daughter from his wife’s other marriage, I feel so bad for her. One day I was outside and a group of young boys came up the street with a football, they were about 14. The dad was outside and from across the street I could hear them saying N*gger very loudly. The redneck dad just ignored it. He probably thinks the same thing and is embarrassed by her. I was shocked he just turned away and ignored it. If I ever heard that again, I’d say something l, I should have to make him look bad bit I really didn’t expect him to NOT say something. I pack heat everywhere I go out here, there was a crazy redneck yelling about Biden with a gun last summer at the ice cream stand. He got arrested but if I was there with my kids and someone pulled a gun, I’d have to pop them. Never had that happen in the city. Shits real in the battlefield.

      • PersnickityPenguin@lemm.ee
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        1 year ago

        Yeah, but then you have small towns like Boulder Colorado which are much more liberal than you would find even in some larger cities.

        And I grew up in the country near a couple of small towns, and we used to relentlessly make fun of rednecks and the illiterate farmers who live near the towns. One of the local high schools however had a dragon as a mascot. Apparently back in the 1980s and '90s, that was not okay because we accuse them of being KKK all the time. That high school could never live that one down.

        • zaphod@feddit.de
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          1 year ago

          small towns like Boulder Colorado

          Boulder has a population of around 100k, I wouldn’t call it small or a town.

  • MiddleWeigh@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    People where I live now are genuinely afraid of the city for sure. There is some merit, but only if you go looking to step in shit.

    For me, I’m largely desensitized to city stuff from a lifetime, and I’m tired. I don’t like it anymore.

  • arthurpizza@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    I’ve lived in the city most of my life. Had a friend that lived in the country that told me to come out and visit. He was convinced that I needed to buy a gun because how dangerous it supposedly is.

    I shit you not, the next morning he was threatening his neighbor with a gun. Turns out there is a ton of crime in the country. Nobody has a job so they constantly steal from each other.

  • Stinkywinks@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    They are all so tough until they actually have to be around people. Then they gotta strap up to get a slurpy.

  • 👁️🫦👁️@lemm.ee
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    1 year ago

    I’ve lived in a range of population centers, from mid sized towns of about 30k, to cities in the millions, and now in a small town of 5k spread through the entire valley. Its different strokes for different folks. The city was nice with lots of things to keep me occupied, but I could barley afford to do anything because my tiny apt cost 2.5k a month. Cities would be great if the CoL was addressed. Smaller towns on the other hand offer me plent of unspoiled nature to explore and a tighter knit sense of community while allowing me to live comfortably.

    Each has its benefits and generalizing one side or the other doesn’t do it justice.

  • Lyricism6055@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    I’m not scared of cities, but there is something to be said about being able to get away from people…

    Riding my bike in the city is way more annoying than when I ride on a gravel/dirt road in the countryside with animals and scenery

    Also those f150 dudes crack me up. I can count on one hand the number of those I’ve ever seen hauling anything

  • topRamen@lemmy.ml
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    1 year ago

    I’m no conservative, but I wouldn’t want to live in the city. If some shit goes down, people in the city would be fucked. With all the craziness in the world these days its not far fetched. Depending on what part of the “country” you’re in, people leave you alone for the most part. The poorer areas out here can definitely be dangerous though.

  • sanpedropeddler@sh.itjust.works
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    1 year ago

    I don’t blame anyone for being scared of specifically american cities. They are genuinely a nightmare. That’s why I live in a town of about 15k people.

    • threadloose@midwest.social
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      1 year ago

      Meh. I live out in the country, and the only scary thing about cities to me is the traffic. Even NYC was fine outside of Times Square, and I took public transit. The only place I really hated was Orlando, but that was because of the exhausted Disney kids. It was overwhelming for everyone.

      • sanpedropeddler@sh.itjust.works
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        1 year ago

        The traffic is the main problem to me. It is just so, so much worse than where I live. I was exagerrating which people didn’t seem to understand, but it makes it an unpleasant experience to visit most cities here.

        • threadloose@midwest.social
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          1 year ago

          Yeah, you should be aware of the way people talk about cities in frankly bigoted ways if you don’t want to be perceived as a bigot. Talking about cities being dangerous or scary is a coded way to denigrate Black people. Like, when people talk about Chicago being dangerous, they’re specifically referring to neighborhoods with Black majority populations and generalizing it to the entire city. That’s what this meme is about, not traffic.

          • sanpedropeddler@sh.itjust.works
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            1 year ago

            Oh sorry, I didn’t realize that was much of a thing. Most people I know just complain about traffic but I don’t talk to racists very much so I guess that makes sense.

        • protist@mander.xyz
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          1 year ago

          Like anywhere else, you get used to it. I’m from a smaller town, and there was a lot less traffic, but there was also a lot less to do. I live in a city now, and yes there’s some traffic, but there are also a ton of bars, restaurants, parks, theaters, museums, and interesting, diverse people. Where I came from was 90% white and conservative with a church on every corner, and our restaurant options were Taco Bell and Applebee’s. I can’t emphasize enough how happy I am to live in a city despite the traffic, which only takes up a small part of your day

          • sanpedropeddler@sh.itjust.works
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            1 year ago

            I know it seems like less of a problem to people in cities, I used to live in one when I was younger and I never noticed it. But now whenever I visit, its extremely jarring to go back to that. I do miss having more stuff to do, but to me its a good trade off. It really just depends on what your priorities are, but my point was that I wouldn’t blame someone for hating cities, not that they are objectively horrible places to live.

            • protist@mander.xyz
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              1 year ago

              My point was that I wouldn’t blame someone for hating cities, not that they are objectively horrible places to live.

              They are genuinely a nightmare.

              I think there’s a communication issue here

    • PersnickityPenguin@lemm.ee
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      1 year ago

      Yeah my city went from being the third safest in the US to over 1,400 shooting incidents last year and they don’t even know how many murders, they’re still finding bodies.

      Also Trump got a hard-on for our town and decided to make it centerpoint of his campaign for like 2 years and he called us terrorists. Fun stuff.

    • ChillPenguin@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      Lived in downtown Minneapolis the last few years. Still never felt unsafe walking around. Even with the uptick of crime. Safety is dependent on where you go within the city.
      As long as you don’t do anything stupid, you’re pretty good.

      But I constantly hear from the burbs and rural areas how it’s sO dAnGeRoUs.

    • Gamey@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      As a european I would be scared of America in general, I mean is a heavily armed Redneck neighbor really that much saver than a heavily armed street gang?

      • PersnickityPenguin@lemm.ee
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        1 year ago

        The murder rate in the countryside is often higher than in the city.

        However, this does not mean either is safe. But cities have the density of violence. Here’s Chicago from January through June 1st of this year:

        The 641 shootings recorded in 2023 so far is also the lowest total for this time period since 2020, according to CPD data.