In April, she moved to Minami-Aso, a village of about 11,000 people in southern Japan, and now balances many jobs she loves: farming, helping distribute local ingredients to nearby restaurants, working at a miso soup shop and a hot-spring spa....
[Y]oung workers are seeking alternatives to Tokyo’s corporate grind, marked by long hours, cramped subway commutes, meetings with bosses over after-work drinks and strict corporate hierarchies. About one-third of the people in their 20s and 30s living in greater Tokyo said they had taken steps in the past six months to move to rural Japan, according to [a] survey. Among 20-somethings alone, 44.9 percent said they were interested in moving to rural Japan....
ADDED: Here's the top-rated comment at WaPo, from ZanHax:
Stories like this are so inspirational to me. In America, however, I don’t think it would be so easy for all people. I would love the opportunity to move to a rural community and work the land. The reality, for many Black and minority people, is that policies and rural communities themselves, may not be supportive, safe and welcoming to people like me. There are communities here that I fear driving through when traveling. I think it is simpler to do something like this when a society is more homogeneous. I do wish these young people success, because this grind? It isn’t all life is about.
Rural Americans "may not be supportive, safe and welcoming." You "fear driving" when you pass through their territory. But do you know any of these people or are you just prejudiced against them? Where did you learn that prejudice? In the city? And here you are wishing for a more homogeneous society. This is a prime example of how much racism is woven into anti-racism.
Posts
148 comments:
Is this news? Doesn't every generation learn that moving to suburbs or exurbs has some advantages?
Good one, Ann. To which I add Amen.
I always laugh my ass off at city people who want to "work the land". This is work few are good at, and fewer still actually enjoy. There is a reason people moved from the farms in the late 19th century to work in dirty factories.
DING, DING, DINNNNNGGGG!! EXACTLY!!! I concur with Jersey Fled.
Like many coastal elite she's afraid to live in flyover country, she doesn't even know it.
To Zan and all of ilk: Good, stay away.
Regarding it being hard for black or minority people to move to the rural areas, it's possible that rural areas may not be open and 'welcoming' to any strangers of any color or shape...until they are no longer strangers. It's got to start somewhere. We cannot just assume people won't take to you or welcome you. That is you projecting the same unknown assumptions on them as you are thinking they'll have on you.
By the way, I've lived in cities where particular communities were not 'welcoming' to strangers either...until I was no longer a stranger. But I suspect one would find rural people much more helpful than city folk. Of course, that might just be my assumption.
All in all, I get the desire to move away from cities. Through most of my life I lived in a city or at least in a metro area. I'm past that now. To me now cities are places to visit occasionally (like New York or Chicago) or to drive through and not stop (like San Francisco) on the way to a nicer area (Sonoma).
Working the land - as in farming - is a high stakes crap shoot. Maybe they could have a back yard garden and call that working the land. Mother Nature is a certain bitch and she will hand your ass to you in heartbeat. Fear her more than the citizens of rural Nebraska.
Happened to be grocery shopping in Banner Elk, NC. Way up in the Blue Ridge. Hadn't seen such a diverse--which is not like saying when the Detroit Pistons were hot they were entirely diverse except for Laimbeer--bunch of shoppers and staff in a long time. Pure white--as a phenotype--were probably a plurality. Lots of Asians of all types from SEA, India, China/Japan, etc. Blacks, hispanics.
Same in the Dallas Arboretum in their Twelve Days of Christmas exhibit some years back.
Why is Alabama always listed as the 50th state in the "best state to live" lists?
If you come out to Huntsville area you will see a 50/50 population mix. You will see white and black people living together happily.
The worst thing for Democrats.
Democrats cannot survive as a party without what they were founded on: Division and Hate.
All of the race riots and race hoaxes and racism cited by democrats?
They are all happening in places democrats control.
Funny that.
There’s a car racetrack and an “ammo dump” nearby, where my sister and I live. I’m not planning to buy a weapon but I am looking forward to going to the racetrack. I hear the sound of the roaring engines, when I drive by Saturdays, and I like it. I like it, yes I do. It’s probably a guy thing.
The "top-rated comment at WaPo, from ZanHax" smells like a hoax. There are communities of various flavored minorities throughout the US, like seeds in a watermelon. Who could not know this?
Were all those who punched in to make the comment "top-rated" actively trolling? Overly woke? Unpossible there be so many ignorant WaPo readers.
We are moving from suburban Bellevue WA to rural Snoqualmie WA and I mean rural. We're not moving into old town Snoqualmie, but into a rural neighbor hood about 10-minutes from old town Snoqualmie. Homes are on at least 1-acre lots, if not 5- to 8-acres. The neighbors have been extremely friendly. There's a rifle range about 1/2-mile away and you can hear the shots at times.
My wife is Black and expressed the same kinds of fear. It's the fear of the unknown and different. The minority population in Snoqualmie is much, much less than that in Bellevue and Seattle. They neighbors have always treated her with respect and friendship. Life is calmer and slower in rural neighborhoods, so people have time to chat.
As someone who lives in the Midwest, the thing about PoC not being welcome to 'work the land' is nuts. Family farms tend to be family-run (and supported by factory jobs too), but the larger farms employ MOSTLY people of color to 'work the land.' Sure, they're Hispanic, but the South has a long history of Black sharecroppers.
The real issue is no one wants someone who doesn't know what they're doing to 'work the land.' And it's hard work, not idyllic. And small rural towns lack much in the way of food, shopping or culture.
The problem isn't that minorities aren't welcome as farm labor-- it's that ulitmately, most city-dwellers find farm labor unappealing.
"This is a prime example of how much racism is woven into anti-racism."
That, plus anti-deplorabilism. Rural America is red and getting redder, you know, therefore by definition not "safe and welcoming." Lefties need their safe space, i.e., bubbles of their own making. For the sake of diversity, of course.
"Rural Americans "may not be supportive, safe and welcoming." You "fear driving" when you drive through their territory. But do you know any of these people or are you just prejudiced against them? Where did you learn that prejudice?"
It's learned from Ta-Nehisi Coates, BLM, Al Sharpton, Democrat politicians, the Media and race hustlers everywhere. It's remarkable how truly ignorant the "Black urban community" is about the rest of America, but how could it be otherwise. They are constantly bombarded with racial demagoguery from all sides to the point Black people actually believe cops kill thousands of unarmed Black youths every year and there is a noose waiting for them on every college campus. Too bad, so sad, but not my circus and not my ringmaster.
"Doesn't every generation learn that moving to suburbs or exurbs has some advantages?"
This isn't about suburbs and exurbs (where you continue to work in densely population center of activity). This is about moving to a rural area and taking up work that goes with that environment, such as farming.
Well, if I moved out to Bruce Hayden country, I would certainly fear for my safety as he has already expounded at great length the best ammunition to kill a leftie.
I would love the opportunity to move to a rural community and work the land.
"Working the land" is both capital (land, machines, buildings and inputs) and labor intensive. Perhaps the commenter is as unknowing about the people who live in rural communities as they are about working the land. Or maybe they're wealthy and have a large family of potential cheap or free labor.
And "working the land" as a self-employed land owner doesn't come with health insurance.
My family tree goes back six generations in Vermont. My grandfather was a general store owner in central VT. I've been appalled at how anti business the state has become but some bright spots are the young farmers, chefs and craft beer makers that have managed to set up camp despite the hostile environment. While there's fewer traditional Vermonters around there doesn't seem to be too much animosity from anyone...
Good for them...
Link fixed. Thanks for the heads up
People are tribal. When it's all your tribe, there is greater trust, more sense of community. That's probably what rural Japan is like, where gaijin like us are scarce. So Tokyo-folk are happy to become country-folk.
The diversi-crats will tell you that diversity is an unalloyed good, and you're supposed to accept that on faith. Haven't seen much "science" to support that proposition, and a lot about human nature suggests it just isn't so. Like the anxious top-rated WaPo commenter ZanHax, who sounds like he may need more Xanax if he ever decides to head out into banjo-land.
When racism is no longer an active threat, it leaves people free to dream about how bad it could be, without any of the discomforts of actual fear.
"Goodbye, city life. Green acres in Japan ..."
I wonder what fraction of readers got this reference.
A related story, which exemplifies the 'non-welcoming' attitude:
A friend/collegue, a muslim, temporarily was relocated [work] from the Detroit area (the Middle East of the West) to Kentucky. Indeed, she brought her mother, a devout Muslim, to visit. Her experience was that all people were some of the nicest people and accommodating. I asked if she'd like to move down permanently. She replied absolutely not, as it's a backwards racist and bigoted place. Even direct experiences to the contrary cannot overcome the brainwashing and anecdotal, unrelated, stories.
Perhaps they should run a few episodes of the BBC's 'The Good Life' (1975-78). Working the land requires, well, work, physical work, dangerous work. Appealing until it is the controlling factor in your life.
As for America, the commenter quoted is apparently unaware of the broad swath of rural America, much of the old Confederacy, that has rural communities at or above 50% black.
That guy knows that black Americans live in rural America now, and have for hundreds of years???? Plus, the real racists live in Democrat cities.
Farming or working the land has no place for grievances or prejudices.
The reality, for many Black and minority people, is that policies and rural communities themselves, may not be supportive, safe and welcoming to people like me.
Just move to a place where the population is mostly white.
"I would love the opportunity to move to a rural community and work the land."
Yeah. Sure.
What is this dopey commenter imagining when they say "working the land"? Backbreaking stoop labor to pick strawberries? A little light gardening ... with a picturesque hoe and sunhat? Driving a $500,000 combine all day?
Who actually considers moving to a rural community to "work the land"? Especially when they don't seem to know anything about rural communities or working the land?
So, is this dishonest or clueless? I vote dishonest. The writer wanted to be racist about rural America and so made up the "working the land" BS.
@Althouse, at the risk of sounding like a brown-nosing toady, that last paragraph was one of the most intelligent and insightful things you’ve written since I started coming here, which was circa 2007.
Everybody goes for the racial angle nowadays. Cities are places with plenty of distractions. You can be relatively isolated socially and not interact with people and still feel you have a full life.
Move to the country and there are fewer distractions. You feel lonely. You realize how alone you are and how few connections you have with the people around you. Feeling lonely, you want those connections more than you did in the city, but they are even harder to make in the countryside than they were in the city, because you are a newcomer and don't have the background of shared experiences that those around you have.
I would think that moving from a big city to a truly rural area would be such a change that the BIPOC and LGBTQ concerns might not be the biggest problem one would have. You're going to feel yourself to be an outsider even without that stuff. But identity gives us "a platform on which to stand." Without it, we are just ordinarily unhappy and blame ourselves for that.
Thank you for your last sentence...exactly where I was going.
What 'policies' could be keeping a minority from feeling comfortable?
Policies are governmental...and the biggest anti-black policy was slavery, the second being Jim Crow.
Both Democrat policies.
I would bet a million dollars the commenter votes D.
Maybe this is what Britney needs. Buy a farm in Wyoming and grow Christian chickens for Chick-fil-A.
'Working the land - as in farming - is a high stakes crap shoot.'
I have huge respect for farmers.
My family has a small agricultural concern that I help manage.
Between drought, rain, wildfires, disease, market fluctuations, etc., it is stressful beyond belief.
Not for wimps. God bless farmers...
"There is a reason people moved from the farms in the late 19th century to work in dirty factories."
Famine? Drought? Boredom? Hail? Locust? Land already owned by others? The Homestead Act showed how massively popular a rural life can be for those wanting a new start. And westward expansion continues this. And like the article says is in Japan, many if not most didn't rely just on farming but a variety of trades. Speaking here as a 6th generation Southern Californian whose forebears came here to farm up to the 60s or so.
I wonder if this trend in Japan will change the birthrate, citylife has a lot of psychological impact on sense of self and f
My father always dreamed of retiring and buying a small (hobby) farm. But he was raised on a farm, knew how hard the work was and planned a manageable size. He also knew it would be a cash sink hole.
These urbanites remind me of those who speak of the noble savage (indigenous people). As if they hugged trees all day in peace and harmony.
So you want to live off the land? Sure, pal, sure.
Minami-Aso
77 people/sqkm; it's in Aso District, which has 58 people/sqkm.
Those are pretty high population densities; my county has 5 people/sqkm and that seems crowded enough. (Dane County has 152/sqkm).
I hate to bring this up because everyone knows this -- murder rates when broken down by race and normalized are five to seven higher among blacks than whites, nor is that just an outlier statistic. It has been true for decades, virtually as long as national crime data has been collected and analyzed. Furthermore, the victims of black murderers are overwhelmingly black themselves.
There's no one more culturally provincial than insulated urban dwellers in the modern era. Having access to ethnic restaurants doesn't make anyone more truly culturally cosmopolitan. It simply gives the illusion of being so. All of the trendy modern bigotries grow out of insular urban culture. So insular they are unable to examine their biases at all.
"There is a reason people moved from the farms in the late 19th century to work in dirty factories."
Because they worked less for more money and got regular days off. Much like farm kids that leave to join the military, because it's an easier life.
"The reality, for many Black and minority people, is that policies and rural communities themselves, may not be supportive, safe and welcoming to people like me."
What "policies" could this person possibly be referring too?
Freder Frederson said...
Well, if I moved out to Bruce Hayden country, I would certainly fear for my safety as he has already expounded at great length the best ammunition to kill a leftie.
Poor poor freder.
People have noticed Freder supports brown shirts, racism, and political violence. Freder wants to take people's stuff, regulate their lives, burn down their businesses, and tell them what to do and how to live. Freder wants anyone who disagrees with him to lose their job, banks accounts, freedom.
He has the sadz that people don't welcome him with open arms.
You are a fascist Freder.
Get F'd.
Back in the 90s I spent a weekend in SandPoint Idaho. Beautiful small town. They had a rodeo that saturday and I went.
At one point the announcer went through a routine of "Who here's from Idaho" Lot of cheers. From Oregon, Washington, Montana etc. seemed like everyone cheered no matter what state.
When he asked for California there were MASSIVE boos. I mean the entire arena.
John LGBTQBNY Henry
Blacks might go back down the Mississippi from Illinois and Wisconsin and into southern farm communities there, which is where they came from after World War II. But they will never move out and become Wisconsin or Illinois artisanal farmers beyond Milwaukee, Dane or Cook county. They probably fear being gunned down like the three blacks who, CRT narrators have taught the CRT community to think, were shot in Kenosha by Kyle Rittenhouse. Correct reporting would have told the CRT community that Kenosha police would risk their lives to save helpless black women from knife-wielding domestic abusers and then there would have been no Kenosha riots, no loss of life, less CRT narrative and less division. CRT narrative is the enemy of freedom.
I would love the opportunity to move to a rural community and work the land. The reality, for many Black and minority people, is that policies and rural communities themselves, may not be supportive, safe and welcoming to people like me
Spoken like a person, that's NEVER gotten out of their car
protip:
move to a place Eldorado Iowa, or Tripoli Iowa...
Spend the 1st day figuring out HOW the locals pronounce their town.
Then; ALWAYS pronounce it the way They do....
Tada!! you're Now a local
Hint: locals Don't pronounce their towns the way you'd Think...
THAT'S how they tell you're an outsider... NOT the color of your skin
Or, if you want a true Brainf*ck; move to Postville, and find out if you like Somalis better than Ultra Orthodox Jews (or, if you're traditional; you could stick with the mexicans)
Great opportunity for a reality show. Non-white family is moved to a rural area to take on a farming life. Maybe like that 1800s PBS show. Or a reality version of Green Acres.
The neighborhood in Chicago where I grew up was called "South Shore." It was a near idyllic place for a kid to grew up. Peaceful, lots of recreation opportunities like the beach and parks. It is now all black and one of the two most violent parts of the city. The Chicago Tribune had an article about how the black residents of South Shore were leaving because of the violence. Most were moving to the southern states, often the places their grandparents left in the 30s and 40s. Maybe the commenter should consider it.
While there's fewer traditional Vermonters around there doesn't seem to be too much animosity from anyone...
I went to high school in Bennington. I remember the state as solid rock-ribbed types. Traditional Vermonters recognizable by how they pronounced “yes” as “aayah”. Then the state got swarmed with the Bernie Sanders Ben and Jerry types from the big leftie cities distributing their librul mold spores upon the winds.
Vermont is now unlivable. Unrecognizable.
- Krumhorn
Kind of goes against the grain that diversity is a strength?
Nature always helps us live green.
"Work the land". I have exactly zero desire to work the land. Hard work, long hours, and small reward unless you are talking corporate farming, and if you think that is easy watch YouTube. Erin Holbert has a really good video log of just how long the hours are for a family corporate farm done really well.
Movement to rural communities occurs for different reasons in different countries. I have a Greek son in law who, after marrying my daughter, moved to the USA. Unemployment is high in Greece. There are more college graduates than there are government or private sector jobs. The newspapers in Athens and Korinthos have stories about young people moving back to their grandparents or parent's villages to "live the village life", i.e. bare subsistence farming with a vegetable garden, some chickens a goat or two. They'd like to be in the city-but there are no jobs.
Gerda Sprinchorn said...
I wonder what fraction of readers got this reference
I'd be interested to know if the author realized how many ways the reference could be taken.
I would be remiss not to comment that in a rural (or in my case, a suburban-like development in an otherwise rural setting), a newcomer certainly will be judged, just not on superficial things like the cost of your car and certainly not totally unimportant things like your skin color. But people will be watching you closely to see whether you are neighborly. Do you mow your lawn roughly as often as your neighbors? Or is yours the house with a hayfield where the front yard should be? If a neighbor helps you out, do you look for an opportunity to return the favor? Or maybe bake their kids some cookies? Do you help people who need it if even they might not be able to return the favor? If you have a snowblower (or a plow attachment for your tractor) do you do the neighbors’ drive in the winter, too? If the volunteer fire department has a fund raiser, do you come and spend a bit of money? Do you discourage your kids from cutting across the neighbors’ lawns? Are you a good neighbor?
Re: Ambrose:
Is this news? Doesn't every generation learn that moving to suburbs or exurbs has some advantages?
It's news for Japan, where typically the stories about rural life are, e.g. that heartwarming story about a rural train line that remained in operation for the single high school student who used it to get to school every day. When she graduated, they shut down the station. The depopulation/aging of the countryside has been a policy concern for a long time.
That said, while beautiful and in many ways more accessible than the American countryside (there's regular train service from Kumamoto to Minami-Aso, for example), it's not for me. I'm seriously thinking of selling my Tokyo condo and upgrading to something a bit larger, once they let foreigners back in the country.
Fernandinande said...
Minami-Aso 77 people/sqkm; .
I like, that they call it; " a village of about 11,000 people"
So, it's more than Twice the population of Oelwine which is the biggest city in Fayette county;
Heck!
Their "village" is the size of the two largest cities in Fayette and Buchanan counties put together
Their "village" would be the Eight Largest City, in the Entire State Of Wyoming
"This city desert makes you feel so cold
It's got so many people, but it's got no soul
And it's taken you so long
To find out you were wrong
When you thought it held everything"
rehajm said...My family tree goes back six generations in Vermont...While there's fewer traditional Vermonters around there doesn't seem to be too much animosity from anyone.
I was in VT a few weeks ago, and I was amused by the very high density of BLM yard signs in a state with a population that is only 1.5% African-American. I would not be surprised if there are more BLM signs in Vermont than there are African-Americans.
Robert Marshall said...The diversi-crats will tell you that diversity is an unalloyed good, and you're supposed to accept that on faith. Haven't seen much "science" to support that proposition, and a lot about human nature suggests it just isn't so.
In the business press, I see the repeated message that diversity leads to increased value and profitability. To the degree I've been able to trace back to original sources, the results almost always purely correlative, rather than causative. The case seems to be at least as strong that the largest or most profitable companies can afford the costs of formalized diversity initiatives better than smaller or less profitable organizations, so the larger and more profitable firms pursue them for PR purposes, not necessarily for productivity purposes. In a way, it's not much different from how big companies are much more in favor of government regulations than small companies: big companies can absorb the costs of compliance, while smaller companies will struggle with the added costs.
jaydub said...
It's learned from Ta-Nehisi Coates, BLM, Al Sharpton, Democrat politicians, the Media and race hustlers everywhere. It's remarkable how truly ignorant the "Black urban community" is about the rest of America, but how could it be otherwise.
I've said before that the one serious bit of "white privilege" I know I have is that when someone treats me badly, I attribute it to that person being an ass, rather than attributing it to structural racism or hatred. I've lost count of the times I've heard someone ascribing some perceived mistreatment as being solely caused by racism, sexism, or or some other -ism, when an almost identical thing happened to me around the same time. (I am a fair-haired, blue-eyed, male, northern European-type.)
Also, that talk that Ta-Nehisi Coates says he had with his son regarding sealing with the police? Almost 100% the same talk that my dad gave me when I was a teenager, but if I say that, would I be greeted by anything but rolled eyes?
As the professor said, "This is a prime example of how much racism is woven into anti-racism."
When I was a kid growing up in the sixties people were more honest about not wanting to leave the easier life in the city:
"Dahling I love you, but give me Park Avenue..."
I wrote a half-dozen or so articles for The Mother Earth News back in the 70s, early 80s. We bought 15 acres, 6 wooded, and an unfinished hippie house which my wife, I, and our three tykes lived on for 11 years. I did the whole passive solar thing, wood heating, wood lot management, dwarf fruit trees, grapes, gardening, mulching (Ruth Stout was a hero to my wife) and then moved back into town when the city conveniences began seriously outweighing the country charms.
Back to the land is nostalgia at the most archetypal level. I still hold a warm place in my heart for it but I must say, I won’t be going back. Too many flies, crickets, snakes, too much dust (we lived on a gravel road), wind, drifted snow, too few of places to walk (ironically, yes), too far to the closest Menards, closet everything.
Coda: All my good neighbors that we lived by in those days have also moved back into town.
"I would love the opportunity to move to a rural community and work the land."
***********
She must assume that Mike Bloomberg's taunt ---- "I could teach anybody, even people in this room, to be a farmer. It's a process. You dig a hole, you put a seed in, you put dirt on top, add water, up comes the corn."----is true.
Farming? Easy Peasy!!!
SGT Ted said...There's no one more culturally provincial than insulated urban dwellers in the modern era. Having access to ethnic restaurants doesn't make anyone more truly culturally cosmopolitan. It simply gives the illusion of being so. All of the trendy modern bigotries grow out of insular urban culture. So insular they are unable to examine their biases at all.
100%. I think of my Ivy League colleagues who consider themselves to be "cosmopolitan" because they travel to the "great cities" of the world and sample the cuisine with locals who share almost identical world views (and usually speak pretty good English, by the way), but they would be completely lost if they took the B Train from Central Park West to Flatbush or crossed the bridge to visit a blue collar town in NJ.
WK said...Great opportunity for a reality show. Non-white family is moved to a rural area to take on a farming life. Maybe like that 1800s PBS show. Or a reality version of Green Acres.
It would be a nice contrast to the shows about Amish kids visiting the cities.
When the nearest first responder is a half hour away, you'd better have a commensurate view of community.
" This is a prime example of how much racism is woven into anti-racism."
Indeed.
It's also an example of the garbage people learn when they sit in front of a TV all day and night.
Two years ago a mixed race couple moved into our very rural, lily white town and started attending our church. (AA husband, white wife, two children adopted from Africa while they were missionaries there, they also have three grown mixed race children not living at home.) The father was hired as a chaplain for a local ministry. His job ended this summer and his family was looking to move out of state for their next job. However, they expressed an interest in staying but only if they could work for our church. (Not an ultimatum, just a desire to stay connected with all the racist hicks in our congregation.) We did not have the budget for another full-time pastor, though we did have some flexibility. Some more well-to-do members helped raise enough to fund him for at least three years. Because that’s how we racist hicks roll.
I think it's a great example of an imagined racism that's been promoted by people with something to gain. Either money or power or both.
The media portrays rural areas as unwelcoming. But, they are not. We welcome new neighbors and encourage them to be part of the community. Why would someone be fearful of driving through rural communities?. It's not as if there is evidence of widespread violence in rural areas. We certainly did not have a lot of riots, looting, and arson last summer.
"I always laugh my ass off at city people who want to "work the land". This is work few are good at, and fewer still actually enjoy."
This notion instantly came to my mind, as well as several other commenters. Farming, especially on the small scale our friend ZanHax envisions, is dirty, back-aching, all day labor. Excuse me, but what a fucking dumb ass leftist city folks can be.
I loved the hoe and sunhat reference above. My second wife, raised in rural Louisiana, would have been truly tickled by that.
Good reference, Yancey.
Like most modern Americans, I'm descended from people who couldn't wait to get the hell off the farm.
And I'll not turn my back on that noble heritage.
Thar be bars in them hills! Democrats promote fear of the other, it keeps their supporters huddled in the cities for protection.
The commentator has a point. The vast majority of rural America supports Trump. Are they all racist - no. Are a lot of them racist - yes. How do you tell the difference - one easy way is ask whether they think Obama was born in this country. Not a full proof test but it has an accuracy rate of about 95%.
Rural Americans "may not be supportive, safe and welcoming." You "fear driving" when you pass through their territory. But do you know any of these people or are you just prejudiced against them? Where did you learn that prejudice? In the city? And here you are wishing for a more homogeneous society. This is a prime example of how much racism is woven into anti-racism.
Twenty years ago, I "commuted" on weekends between a new job in Northern Indiana to my home and wife in Central Wisconsin as we struggled to find a buyer for our earth shelter. That required two passes through Chicago per week. At the time, work on the Dan Ryan Expressway and the Skyway bridge detoured me through some very scary neighborhoods in South Chicago - scary because of the downtrodden buildings and the great number of folks reported killed and injured there. Is fear racist? Should I have stopped and introduced myself to the minorities standing on street corners?
As a person of mixed Japanese heritage (and I am more Japanese than any other race in my DNA), I would love to explain to this "top commenter" what it's like to not be a purebred Japanese person in Japan.
jim5301 has a fantastical view of racism and racists, similar to our friend ZanHax.
They know not of what they speak.
Oh, we aren't the racist they are the racists. Oh, and we are also the anti-racists.
Bullshit leftists.
Freder Frederson said...
Well, if I moved out to Bruce Hayden country, I would certainly fear for my safety as he has already expounded at great length the best ammunition to kill a leftie.
I missed that- could you provide a link to that? I'd say there's not much to expound upon on 'at great length' on the subject. Your daily carry ammo should work just fine, unless the leftie wears body armor. That's a different kettle of fish, but not unsolvable, and certainly not something needed to expound upon 'at great length'.
/sarc off
The only birther I ever talked to personally was a black person working on my house as a painter. He was Jamaican.
I join Big Mike and others with kudos for the clarity of your comments in the last paragraph. We need more clarity and simplicity in our discourse. It’s a tell that anyone who makes things complicated either do not understand things well or is trying to pull the wool over your eyes.
Blogger jim5301 said...
The commentator has a point. The vast majority of rural America supports Trump. Are they all racist - no. Are a lot of them racist - yes. How do you tell the difference - one easy way is ask whether they think Obama was born in this country. Not a full proof test but it has an accuracy rate of about 95%.
Perfect comment. I was hoping one of the leftists was stupid enough to put the cherry on top of this post.
They are just now realizing how insular their lives are and how stupid they look.
Black and Hispanic people are going to turn on you assholes so hard and you won’t see it coming.
What gets taught in schools has an effect later on. Buttigieg wants to reorient our transportation policy because of something somebody who read Robert Caro's book told him. If he were HUD secretary he'd be reorienting everything to do away with the lingering effects of "sundown town" policies. Google it. Some people think we still have them. Others are guilty about living in what was once one of them.
•
Of course, Obama wasn't born in Kenya. You'd have to be dumb to think his parents made the trip to Africa 60 years ago and gave birth to him there -- but not necessarily racist. "Xenophobia" may still be a thing, even though the label gets applied to all kinds of commonsense measures and attitudes, and a sufficiently "foreign" name can still be something some people can't get over. Distrust of "outsiders" comes in many forms, and nobody's really free of it.
People have noticed Freder supports brown shirts, racism, and political violence. Freder wants to take people's stuff, regulate their lives, burn down their businesses, and tell them what to do and how to live. Freder wants anyone who disagrees with him to lose their job, banks accounts, freedom.
Sheesh, I count ten outright lies (out of eleven assertions) unsupported by anything I have ever written. The only assertion that I might be guilty of is I am generally in favor of greater regulation.
If I recall correctly you want to kill people who disagree with you, advocating hanging them from lampposts.
I bought my tomatoes off of a black farmer and his wife, who run a vegetable stand near me. I have a Jamaican friend who sometimes comes to visit for a week to two, and she was sorely disappointed to find out that the black farmer over in another county we visited was married.
Oh, and let's subject black farmworkers to torrents of imported farmworkers who outcompete them for their jobs. Democrats are the party of the owning class.
“Our choice is between importing our food or importing the workforce necessary to produce domestically,” said Craig Regelbrugge, a veteran agricultural industry advocate who is an expert on the program. “That’s never been truer than it is today. Virtually all new workers entering into the agriculture workforce these days are H-2A workers.”
In the Mississippi Delta, a region of high unemployment and entrenched poverty, the labor mobility that is widening the pool of workers for growers is having a devastating effect on [black] local workers who are often ill-equipped to compete with the new hires, often younger and willing to work longer hours.
The new competition is upending what for many has been a way of life in the rich farmlands of Mississippi. “It’s like being robbed of your heritage,” Strong said. - Yahoo.
for one thing :
if you want to work the land -
- first step you need to take is treat weather seriously and treat climate change as ignorant foolishness
They use race to divide us the same way Caesar used tribal rivalries to subject the Gauls. That's the real thrust of this constant yammering about racism, to keep us divided so that they can rule. If you fall for it, and make comments you know will be perceived as racist on the grounds of asserting a right to free speech, you are just playing into the hands of the owning class, the class which also owns the Democratic Party and it's propaganda organs.
"You "fear driving" when you pass through their territory."
Yeah, I was just reading about the 60 or 70 black kids who got shot in "rural communities" last weekend. It's a jungle out here! Stay safe.
Hillary is the one who started the whole Obama birth certificate controversy, if you don't count Obama's own literature promoting his first book, which also claimed he was born in Kenya.
I don't care where Obama was born, and I don't think it matters, because his mother is a US citizen, which is good enough for me. But there was plenty of fodder created by the Democrats for this belief, and it's not proof of racism to hold it. It might be proof of something if a person is gullible enough to believe anything Hillary Clinton, the source of the RussiaGate lies, says, though.
The vast majority of urban America supports Biden. Are they all racist - no. Are a lot of them racist - yes. How do you tell the difference - one easy way is ask whether they think the sky is blue. Not a full proof test but it has an accuracy rate of about 95%.
one easy way is ask whether they think Obama was born in this country
There are fewer Hilary supporters than you think. And that meme started in Philadelphia.
The main problem with very rural areas is limited employment opportunities and things to do. If you can raise a family on a ranch when the nearest neighbor is 12 miles away, or if you are Amish in an Amish community, it might be a good fit. Most people would probably prefer smallish towns with some mixed industry.
"Vermont is now unlivable. Unrecognizable."
Bennington is in the Trustafarian Belt, the counties bordering Quebec are Trump country. I have to drive down to Burlington, well, south of Burlington to wealthy Shelburn, where I hear Robert Redford has a place, to get into Biden-Harris country.
chuck said...
Thar be bars in them hills!
----------
is that black bar or polar bar in blackface
You guys missed the unspoken fear about driving through rural communities. It really is a fear of being abducted by aliens. Think about it: you can be driving along a road with NO ONE in sight. No cars, no people. That's when it happens. The beam of light followed by the anal probe. Aliens have been abducting white folks for centuries - their research on the Caucasian race is done. They are now moving on to the other races (don't ask me how I know). White people just talk about it more and is 'normalized'. Still taboo to talk about for other races.
cfs said...
Why would someone be fearful of driving through rural communities?
Because it's new and strange and they're not introspective enough to realize that.
I watched the documentary Muscle Shoals yesterday:
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2492916/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0
I got a hundred bucks that says WaPo's top commenter has no idea who the studio musicians were who backed up Aretha Franklyn on "Respect", Percy Sledge on "When a Man Love a Woman." or Wilson Picket on "Mustang Sally". Progressive-induced racisms run deep
$5 she'll be back in Tokyo in a month or so.
One last comment, I see a lot more #FJB gear here than Biden Harris stuff, by a long shot.
"one easy way is ask whether they think Obama was born in this country. Not a full proof test but it has an accuracy rate of about 95%."
First off, bullshit. Second off, bullshit. Do you need a third off? Because I got one.
“The reality, for many Black and minority people, is that policies and rural communities themselves, may not be supportive, safe and welcoming to people like me.”
Did anyone else read this as- “black, like me”?
What pig piffle for that comment. I farm 5 miles outside a town of 6,000 people in Kansas. My two best friends in town are Punjabi shopkeepers. Also closely connected with the legal community, having been invited to a number of citizenship parties. These folks voted probably 80 percent for Trump, and used to turn in the "maldichos mojados" to ICE, before the change in administrations made that pointless.
There are enough Muslims in town that the local slaughter-house is now certified for Halal. I was there at the end of Ramadan, and the place was packed. There's an informal arrangement here in town ... because 'halal' only applies to the FRONT end of the critter, usually goats and sheep, the Muslims and non-Muslims all show up together and take opposite ends of the critters. Everybody gets what they want, and it is an American delight to here greetings of Eid mubarak in a strong Spanish accent.
The USDA inspector for the slaughterhouse is an Arabic-speaking Christian from northern Nigeria. Our state representative in Topeka is the 3G grandson of slaves. And so it goes.
Our town is far from unique in Kansas, and I, for one, would welcome "refugees" from Tokyo ... because even my basic Japanese is getting rusty. Everyone else would welcome them, too;
Read this before moving to rural america ...
By American Farm Bureau,
The coronavirus pandemic is exposing the digital divide between rural and urban America. The Epoch Times reports 65 percent of rural Americans have access to high speed internet compared to 97 percent of urban Americans.
“It’s ridiculous that a farmer’s child has to go to McDonald’s to be able to get online and keep up with his education,” said American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall.
ONLY 65% RURAL AMERICANS HAVE HIGH-SPEED INTERNET ACCESS
I like, that they call it; " a village of about 11,000 people"
That's what I thought, but...it's Japan. Its population density is 340 people/sqkm (about the same as NY state, and about 10 times as crowded as the US on average; 36/sqkm), so 58 or 77 would seem relatively rural to them.
My village has about 8K people, a Walmart and a hospital.
"Hint: locals Don't pronounce their towns the way you'd Think...
THAT'S how they tell you're an outsider..."
I learned that motorcycling through Kay-Row, IL. (Cairo)
Vermont - U.S. Census statistics. %black/African American = %1.4. Probably should stay out of Vermont, by those same calculations, eh?
The common element in all of those uncomfortable interactions with rural people is the commenter. He or she should think about that.
The vast majority of rural America supports Trump. Are they all racist - no. Are a lot of them racist - yes. How do you tell the difference - one easy way is ask whether they think Obama was born in this country. Not a full proof test but it has an accuracy rate of about 95%.
Simple rubrics for simple minded lefties. We would not want you to strain your brain with more complex thinking.
My stepdaughter is Japanese. She moved back to Japan after being abroad for 10 years.
She used to live in Ichikawa (essentially nothing but city), but moved back with her father/wife to Fuji when COVID-19 hit, as she was working from home anyways. From Fuji, travel 20 miles and she’s out in the boonies. Travel further and she’s in Shizuoka, Gotemba, etc. She takes the express 1 day a week into Otemachi where she works at a very large telecomm company. She had thought about moving to Kanagawa last year, but now is cool to the idea. Not because she wants to work the land (haha!) but more because it’s more cost effective for now. The country is close by, but she is not far away from city life. There is also her wanting to visit her grandmother who is in failing health and who lives in those “boonies”.
Re: heyboom @ 1:10 Pm - you’re right. It can be darn hard for hafus. I have had several Japanese tell me that hafus are looked at differently in a negative way. Even my stepdaughter as a kikokushijo has had to deal with unwelcome comments, but some of that is due to her career field (IT) which is a very male dominated field in Japan. She wants to come back to US to work, but that is easier said than done.
People who don't grow up on farms often enter adulthood with an overly-romanticized view of life as a farmer. It's hard hard work, with long hours, and often, no days off. It requires skills (machine repair, plant and animal disease recognition, risk management) that (most) farmers learn in a childhood apprenticeship growing up on a farm. And having the abilities to score well on standardized tests doesn't give a person much of an advantage in acquiring the farming skills. People who are successful in going from urban/suburban childhoods to college and then to farming almost always are people with non-farming income streams; those non-farming income streams may be working construction, or writing free-lance, or working in a bakery; best of all make a ton of money on Wall Street and retire and use your investment income to support your farming life. Finally, trying to pursue other quasi-political objectives (free range animal agriculture, organic crop farming, communal farm organization, etc) will almost certainly have a negative impact on your farm profits. Lots of people with money retire and play golf for fun. They don't pretend to be professional golfers. I guess it's okay for people with lots of money to retire and farm for fun.
The history of Japanese internment in California is another way of showing the difference between progressive and rural folks. FDR made the camps and the forebears of Pelosi and Newsom made the policies and the wealth from it. The Japanese are great farmers and had prime land. Ship them to camps, they couldn't afford to keep the land. Had to sell, except many had great neighbors. The rural folk, including my maternal grandfather and paternal great grandfather farmed their own land and their interned neighbors and paid their bills to keep them from losing everything to the wealthy elites of California.
cfs
You didn't have ENOUGH riots, looting and arson.
I think this COVID learn-how-to-work from home will have a huge fall-out.
All the Class-A office space in the downtown areas will be abandoned. I'm sure most of those buildings are still mortgaged.
Freder Frederson said...
People have noticed Freder supports brown shirts, racism, and political violence. Freder wants to take people's stuff, regulate their lives, burn down their businesses, and tell them what to do and how to live. Freder wants anyone who disagrees with him to lose their job, banks accounts, freedom.
Sheesh, I count ten outright lies (out of eleven assertions) unsupported by anything I have ever written.
Do you support Antifa? Yes or No.
Do you support people like Rosenbaum and Grosskreutz who were shot while trying to kill Kyle Rittenhouse? Yes or no.
Do you support the Vaccine Mandate? Yes or No.
Do you support BLM? Yes or no.
Do you support Biden's policy of unloading illegals using chartered flights? Yes or No.
Do you support open borders? Yes or no.
Do you want the government to take people's guns? Yes or no.
Should Oil companies be driven out of business? Yes or No.
If you say yes to any of these questions then you are a fascist. We know you are supportive of brown shirts like Rosenbaum and Grosskreutz.
If you support the democrat party you said yes to everything above.
My Q with Obama is different.
If he claimed to be international student and used nonUS passport did he surrender his USA citizenship and disqualified himself?
Just wondering if 2008 election was constitutional.
I watch lots of homesteading and life off of the grid videos on Youtube. I'd love to live on a farm in my retirement. The operative word however is "live" which does not include "work". So unless you know anyone willing to take in a freeloader that's not going to happen. My back up plan is to buy a condo in either Boise or some other midwest rural university town, get a university meal plan and spend my retirement arguing with people in class.
is Jim5301 saying, that it's Racist to consider Hawaii to be part of the USA?
I'm trying to follow his train of thought; but it's hard
Something about Damn Yankees stealing native lands, or something?
I suppose it's Racist to consider North Wisco part of the USA, for the the same reasons?
ps: What about all the land down south? Did the Damn Yankees steal that too?
Is THAT why they think Mr Lincoln was a racist?
When I heard how Detroit was being “abandoned”- people leaving homes empty and property selling for 9,000$- house and all- I wished I was rich so I could redo one house/block and tear down the others so families could have a home and “land” to garden and tend. That would be my utopian dream- that houses w/solid bone structure and beauty deeper than peeling paint could be reborn. If I were rich- heh.
Nothing good seems to be happening regarding the direction of farming/or dairy, which is all I know. The government has us by the balls- the “family farms” are being gobbled up by the larger ones. Vermont Land Trust if a f/king joke- corn is king and the average life span of a Milker is less than 2lactations. I’ll verify that- that would make her 3- 3 +1/2yrs. Our oldest is 11+1/2 :0). Her name is Sunday.
Don’t forget- a lot of implants in VT. Governors like Shumlin and Madeline sure as hell didn’t help the freedom of this state. What can you do.
https://www.vpr.org/podcast/brave-little-state/2021-10-21/six-years-ago-amish-families-started-settling-in-vermont-how-are-they-doing
My friend and I met here to go to the local lookout tower/platform and eat lunch. We got sidetracked in an old cemetery across from the old stone house, making our way slowly toward the “back” to the oldest stones. I bet we spent 45mins to an hour in there- exclaiming over the older dates and getting on our knees to find the most legible angle to read faint, fading messages from past Kingdom generations.
There was a man that is actually buried in Tennessee- died during the Civil War, must be. Idk if he was the same man who starved to death- I can’t remember where. Two stones stood out- because they were Alexander Twilight’s and his wife’s stones. A black man, I think a man of the cloth- honored greatly up here, at least in this age.
We agreed to go back again w/rubbing materials to capture those slowly disappearing words before it’s too late. Maybe it already is.
We’re going to try. For some reason, we feel we owe it to these silent stones.
I wouldn’t live anywhere else in the world. This is God’s country.
Perhaps they should run a few episodes of the BBC's 'The Good Life' (1975-78).
That was a GREAT show. And, between it and "Clarkson's Farm," you can get a pretty clear idea of how "working the land" goes, both in the interests of self-sufficiency in the further and from the perspective of the wealthy hobbyist farmer in the latter.
Jim5301, you have got to be joking (or trolling).
"Are a lot of them racist - yes. How do you tell the difference - one easy way is ask whether they think Obama was born in this country."
Because to question a black man is racist.
It's like WaPo readers don't know black people live in the rural South at all.
@Freder, my take is that if you moved to a small town or farm community then you’d be one of the “un-neighborly” ones. The word would get around, and you’d effectively be ostracized. No one would necessarily be particularly rude to you, but you’d get the message that you don’t fit in. And my evaluation of your character, based on the comments of yours that I can be bothered to read, is that you would never, EVER, consider that there was even the tiniest smidgeon of culpability on your part for the situation. Nope. It would be entirely the fault of those close-minded, not accepting, right wing, downright evil, residents. 100%. For sure.
Bennington is in the Trustafarian Belt, the counties bordering Quebec are Trump country. I have to drive down to Burlington, well, south of Burlington to wealthy Shelburn, where I hear Robert Redford has a place, to get into Biden-Harris country.
These 2020 election results tell a different story. Biden won by massive margins in every county except for Essex County in the far northwest corner of the state.
- Krumhorn
"ONLY 65% RURAL AMERICANS HAVE HIGH-SPEED INTERNET ACCESS"
Democrats looking to spend billions on a problem that Elon Musk is in the process of rolling out the solution for as we speak.
“Back in the 90s I spent a weekend in SandPoint Idaho. Beautiful small town. They had a rodeo that saturday and I went”
Place has boomed in recent years. IMHO, better lake than Coeur d’Alene, with a nice ski area nearby. Late spring, you can ski in the morning and sail in the afternoon, and the view of Sandpoint from the ski area is spectacular. But it’s getting very expensive.
I read an article by a female poc, who visited Austin TX, the most progressive city in TX. She wrote that she felt unsafe because she saw a Trump sticker on a pickup truck on I-35. Apparently she’d never seen one before. In our NW Austin, mostly white, neighborhood, there’s a ‘Little Library’ box that says it’s only for books by and about People of Color.
They say age average span of productivity is 4-6 yrs.
Ha ha ha ha! I wish I had heard about it!
Republicans in the Green Mountain State took advantage of a natural branding opportunity Saturday to host a rally in the tiny town of Brandon, Vt., that tweaked President Joe Biden while fund-raising for a local food bank.
Newly elected state party chairman Paul Dame, a former state representative who counts picturesque Brandon, population 4,129, as his hometown, organized the gathering to riff on the cheeky anti-Biden phrase that has inspired hit songs, political fashion statements, and endless memes.
“If it was just about being upset with the president, it would have faded out pretty quickly,” Dame said in a YouTube video he posted Tuesday to plug the rally. - New York Post
From the post:
"Rural Americans "may not be supportive, safe and welcoming." You "fear driving" when you pass through their territory. But do you know any of these people or are you just prejudiced against them? Where did you learn that prejudice? In the city? And here you are wishing for a more homogeneous society. This is a prime example of how much racism is woven into anti-racism."
I don't think it's just that. The Left wants the Deplorables in the city where they're easier to control and their influence can be diluted
As far as Black people not being welcome in the rural areas, I can attest to the fact that in Central South Dakota where my Dad grew up, there were Black farmers on neighboring lands, sharecropping as was my grandfather, and relations were cordial - they helped each other out as they were able - and I verified their presence when looking through census records in the Thirties for our family. My uncle and grandfather attended a reunion of the little community north of Pierre and some of the families of color were still there.
"Why would someone be fearful of driving through rural communities?"
Probably because they know how the diversity in their own communities treats strangers.
If he claimed to be international student and used nonUS passport did he surrender his USA citizenship and disqualified himself?
I seriously doubt he renounced his US citizenship. I am perfectly willing to believe however that he lied in order to get more money for school.
'$5 she'll be back in Tokyo in a month or so.'
Make that 570 yen and you're on : )
When I was a young man I bought 50 acres of mostly wooded land on the wrong side of the creek. I had to build a cabin, make roads, put up fencing, build outbuildings and a car bridge. Worked my ass off but it was a wonderful experience. Learned a lot about myself.
I raised chickens, goats, cows and horses. Killed poisonous snakes and got ate up by chiggers. My only potentially cash crop was pot but I smoked it all up rather than sell it.
Living out like that you rely on your neighbors. Helping with hay, sharing equipment and tools, cutting firewood, building stuff and etc. You may not really like all your neighbors but you were stuck with them and you helped each other. And the pot luck dinners were always wonderful regardless.
You prove yourself in an environment like that and it don't matter what color you are. You are accepted as an equal.
@rehajm & krumhorn: Vermont's hostility to small business began in the 90s, if I recall correctly, when the state started making it really difficult for small family owned dairy farms to stay in business. A local family in my hometown, who had been a successful dairy farm, called quits, sold their head, and went into the sod business. Some were clever to align themselves with people looking for local sources for cheese making or beer brewing. I'm thinking of companies like Jasper Hill Farms.
@tim_in_vermont: my hometown is probably solidly Trump leaning. However, it is home to an outpost of the state college system, and thus is invaded by know-nothing students who protest every small thing at the drop of a hat. In doing so they have generally alienated the town. These are not savvy social media people and they have no idea how to push back.
"Biden won by massive margins in every county except for Essex County in the far northwest corner of the state."
Yeah, I was thinking of 2016. It feels like Trump country here though.
BTW, as to the 2020 election, at the time of the election, I was a Forlida resident and voter, and only had a lake house in Vermont, and there was a live ballot in my rural mailbox even though I was registered in Florida, and had told them about my old Vermont registration I hadn't used in years. Personal evidence tells me that there was a lot of room for shenanigans in Vermont.
https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2021/11/are_animal_rights_extremists_transforming_agriculture_in_americas_heartland.html
F/king A right…
KellyM-
You’re not far away from in in VT miles- lol.
The cows used to stick their heads out of the gated doors- awesome to see when driving by. I really missed seeing them when they sold.
It’s amazing what people believe if they see it on tv. They also question anything reviewed on the internet- they site trust of sources and yet gobble viewed media as whole truth. Geezum.
Gadfly writes, "Twenty years ago, I 'commuted' on weekends between a new job in Northern Indiana to my home and wife in Central Wisconsin as we struggled to find a buyer for our earth shelter."
Some questions:
1) Why put commuted with quotation marks? Are you pretending your commutation from Wisconsin to Indiana wasn't an actual commutation because such tedious travel is too bourgeoise for an enlightened global sophisticate such as yourself? Or are you trying to evade the flagellation you believe you deserve for your gargantuan carbon footprint?
2) Did you actually invest time and money digging a hole and then living in it? Were you surprised by the illiquid nature of a hole versus a conventional house? I hope not. I rather learn you excavated that cavity domacile as a consequence of a marathon acid bender.
Gadfly has my thanks for this candid glimpse of his biography. It explains much.
How do you tell the difference - one easy way is ask whether they think Obama was born in this country. Not a full proof test but it has an accuracy rate of about 95%.
I think if you asked that in a rural locale, at least half would say no with a twinkle in their eye because rural people have great senses of humor -- and they'd further know exactly why you were asking.
If you're Ben and Jerry - you can sell out to the mega-corporate conglomerate, ruin the taste of your once good ice cream - and still tout the democrat-left.
...all while small businesses are smothered and suffocated by the corrupt left's crappy policies and bureaucratic authoritarianism.
Quaestor 7:59
oh ho. Excellent questions.
We wait for the enlightened answers.
Some of my best friends are non-white
I was caught in the riots last year in Charleston SC, and we were directly attacked. A table was thrown through our window and shots were fired next door to us. Initially it seemed like bullets were coming through the picture window in front, but it was rocks hitting the glass. People were screaming and hiding under tables.
We evacuated out of the alley, and when were the last ones out. A jeep blocked our exit and five guys got out with bottles and were running in our direction. My heart is racing now thinking about it. I had to drive through them and go at the Jeep Kevin Bacon style to get us out. It moved out of my way when it appeared I was going to T-Bone them.
The guys that attacked us were not black. They were tall thin gamer looking types. I asked around later to whites and blacks from the community and everyone knew it was not locals that did most of the damage.
The police had been ordered out, and I saw them flee with blue lights on but no sirens maybe 2 minyutes before we were hit.
After that, I went back to my place in Colorado for a year. I sold the land there and rebought in ... South Carolina. I am in a small town that's about 50/50 black/white. Great town. Friendliest place I have ever lived. People seem to get along great.
All my neighbors are black, and they all know my name.
Not only can a black person go farm in the south if they want, they could even choose farm communities that are all black or 50/50 or any other mix they want and be just fine. Rural people are glad to see people. In the south, at least, that is true for sure. I am rereading this now and adding...you see how I put that? Rural people. That's who my neighbors are. They are not a race or ethnicity...they are my rural American neighbors.
Oh, I went to a terrible junior high that had probably 1200 industrial working class white kids. The kids were awful to me. However, we had maybe 10 black kids in the school and they never had trouble that I could see. One of them looked like Michael Jackson and dressed like Michael Jackson and could dance like Michael Jackson and the Thriller album was popular at that time. He was a hero.
Great post, Ann, and wonderful comment at the end from you.
Having grown up in the rural Midwest, that WaPo comment is just appalling. There's probably no freer or friendly place than a rural area. Be nice to your neighbors and you're good to go.
Having also worked an outdoor, manual labor job almost ten years, I can also say that most people can barely muster the energy to pull a few weeds from a tiny flower garden, let alone "work the land." Lol.
@farmgirl,
Growing up in VT in the 70s and 80s when we were still very isolated was a good thing, in retrospect. Having only a handful of TV channels (not counting the French language ones) kept the rot at a distance. (Funny how I ran off to the "big city" once I turned 18. But now at mid-life, a more rural spot is again appealing.)
DAve - 10:18
Thanks for your story.
I submit that Antifa were allowed to rage and cause as much mayhem as possible - and that was the plan.
KellyM-
We welcome the thought of u coming home- rural rte and French, to boot. Grateful people are the best people- no matter where:0)
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