stop it, hate them equally.

i feel like there are two types of rural in America. there’s the kind that’s a glorified suburb about 50 miles away from a metropolitan area and there’s the kind that’s out in absolutely nowhere revolving around farming. The kind near the metro areas are just as bad if not worse than the suburbs, that’s the kind I grew up in so I can talk about this. Nearly all of the few hundred people in my hometown are deep fried reactionaries and driving an hour long commute is seen as completely normal. The klan runs the police department. The churches have snake handlers. That place is an artificial existence built around letting white people have cheap property so they can be little small business tyrants running bait shops or burger restaurants and yell at their teenage employees. I can’t speak for everywhere, but my tiny hometown is genuinely scary to be in if you’re not from there, especially if you’re not white. People will come up to you visibly armed asking you what church you pray at.

The rural areas revolving around agriculture are normal and purposefully underdeveloped by capital. They don’t deserve hate, because someone’s gotta do it. If they’re backwards or don’t have proper infrastructure, that’s a shame and shouldn’t be held against them. They’re also far less reactionary than you’d think from my experiences with them.

permalink
report
reply

I also grew up in the “basically just suburbia but worse” and your description is 100% right. Trump flags as far as the eye can see, McMansions galore. The only agriculture is a small number of cow pastures.

Mostly it’s exactly like suburbia except the houses are farther apart so that the small business tyrants can buy horses for their shitty kids and enough driveway space for their boat. Oh and it takes over an hour to get to a real city.

permalink
report
parent
reply

There was a small amount of agriculture in my hometown yeah, like a few cow pastures and some pigs. One family though had a grape plantation and and a huge mcmansion. I remember them because they hilariously had an artificial lake dug out to the side of their property near the highway that was maybe 40 feet across at the most. They’d use it for jet ski races. Every Saturday if you were on the highway, you’d see two goofballs doing the tiniest little jet ski race in a tight circle.

permalink
report
parent
reply

You are absolutely right about vineyards being tacky and digging those pointless artificial lakes and building disgusting McMansions. This kind of excess is why I’m anti-rural. With the money spent on that you could do significant renovations to a school or hospital. Collectivize farming man!

permalink
report
parent
reply
22 points
*
Deleted by creator
permalink
report
reply
Deleted by creator
permalink
report
reply
13 points
*

Because there is nothing wrong with living rurally. Some people want to live closer to nature and be more isolated, and that’s fine. Suburbia is a special kind of hell, and somebody has to farm.

permalink
report
reply
1 point

somebody has to farm.

I mean, farming in US would be borderline nonexistent, if it wasn’t subsidized.

permalink
report
parent
reply
10 points

Not sure what you’re getting at

permalink
report
parent
reply

I’ll support anything that makes the usa nonexistent

permalink
report
parent
reply
2 points
*

Somebody has to farm but under present economic conditions farming in US is basically a make work program sustained by lobbying.

permalink
report
parent
reply
Deleted by creator
permalink
report
parent
reply

This I disagree with, comrade. Rural communities have existed since the dawn of time. Plus some people don’t vibe well with cities and it would be nice to have some alternative.

Farmers are cool, and also Mennonite communities aren’t harming anyone either.

permalink
report
reply

Part of why suburbia sucks so bad is that it doesn’t have to exist, but well always need rural farming areas

permalink
report
parent
reply