4 ms·

It's amazing to me that the top-rated comment in this thread broadly generalizes both "coastal intellectuals" and "Middle America" with insulting stereotypes.

It's amazing to me that the top-rated comment in this thread broadly generalizes both "coastal intellectuals" and "Middle America" with insulting stereotypes. I'm embarrassed that the upvoters of this comment actually agreed with this comment. One trip to Houston or Minneapolis is enough to verify the presence of a thriving arts and culture scene. The anti-intellectual Middle America trope is not factual. One trip to Winchester, VA or Davidsonville, MD (Washington, DC suburbs) will reveal farming communities that exude pragmatism. Hell, there's a popular trap shooting range in Greenbelt, MD. If DC or some other bogeyman city is so hostile to "bible-thumping", how can you explain the large church attendance there? I think this comment is a reaction to a handful of personal experiences that you had. The rest of your comments aren't as hyperbolic as this one. I agree that it is frustrating when dealing with rude people, but to generalize about similar folks is exactly the thing that bugs you!

seansmccullough 11y ago
I agree, I'm from Iowa, there are lot's of smart people in Middle America. There are also a lot of condescending people on the Coasts.
- pgpkkg 11y ago
  > There are also a lot of condescending people on the Coasts. Well that wasn't an unprovoked passive-aggressive attack against people on the coast at all. [sigh]. I don't care where you live, this shit is awful, and you are awful.
- pkgekgp 11y ago
  On the off-chance that you're not the awful person you sound like: "There are lots of (negative adjective) people (in area)" always reads poorly. Especially if you're from another area that is known for being hostile to people in that area. It makes it seem like you're just another closed-minded jerk perpetuating the hate that your area is famous for. Which you almost certainly are.
  - seansmccullough 11y ago
    My comment was just a response to the stereotype that people from the middle of the country are stupid. Now you're bring up the stereotype that people from the Midwest are closed-minded and hateful. I don't hate anyone, I simply brought up another stereotype. I think the personal attack was unnecessary.
  - deleted 11y ago
    [deleted]
FussyZeus 11y ago
> It's amazing to me that the top-rated comment in this thread broadly generalizes both "coastal intellectuals" and "Middle America" with insulting stereotypes. It's amazing to me that you took this (what you've recognized as) hyperbole'd and obviously emotionally filled post and assumed this is how I act in daily life, a point which I didn't feel I needed to make but apparently must do so is that of course I do not dismiss everyone from a coastal area as being a pseudo intellectual. That doesn't stop the majority of them from proving to be exactly that, but you know, I do try. FTR, I never once intended to insult the midwest. I prefer it here, and that may well be simply because I've never lived anywhere else.
- derefr 11y ago
  Using hyperbole in a discussion about politics will almost always get you in trouble. To be safe from this, you basically have to talk about your political views with all the detached clinical nuance of a biologist "sacrificing" lab mice to biopsy them. (That was hyperbole too, and I fully expect to get in trouble for it.) My personal ideal for "well-done political debate" is comes from economists: they can quickly distinguish between facts, speculation about facts, and value judgements, and then engage with the first two while steering clear of the third. (It does make for some silly interviews, though: journalists basically only care about people's value-judgements, and economists will redirect every attempt at getting theirs into a discussion about some fact or another.)
  - engi_nerd 11y ago
    Quite often on the internet, and in life, I see situations that make me think, "That guy got in trouble/got grief because he has a sense of humor and everyone around him is wilfully not getting the joke".
- linkregister 11y ago
  I explicitly acknowledged that this comment was an outlier from your ordinary train of thought. I referenced your otherwise calm comment history. I don't know where you got the impression I thought this represented you as a person. However, I apologize. I do not intend to offend.
deleted 11y ago
[deleted]
someguydave 11y ago
Having lived around Davidsonville, MD for awhile, I'm pretty certain that the 'pragmatic' folk you referenced feel absolutely trampled by the establishment in the nearby megalopolis. I know a farmer there, he barely scratches out a living - much of the local farmland was bought up by rich lawyers to build large homes. My point being that I think you actually unwittingly identified this 'midwest/coastal divide' in your own backyard.
- linkregister 11y ago
  Likewise having lived in the area, I have not identified this feeling of being "trampled". I have identified a local pride and a comfort with a less urban way of life. But I feel I could not possibly give an example that could satisfy you, since practically every habitable region in the world has experienced a "rich lawyer" or two buy up land in the area. Yet the fact remains that the majority of the region maintains its rural character.
  - someguydave 11y ago
    The maintenance of its rural character is purely by fiat - every square inch of Anne Arundel county is zoned for the benefit of the politically connected in Annapolis. Absent the imposed zoning law, the whole area would have been converted to high density suburbia decades ago. Further, farmland would be immediately sold if it weren't sheltered from property taxes through state subsidy law. So anyone trying to scratch a living from that farmland lives in an economic reality that is largely dictated by others.
drumdance 11y ago
> One trip to Houston or Minneapolis Uh, okay. How about rural Georgia where I grew up? Dollars to donuts that Houston and Minneapolis have much higher subscription rates to the New Yorker than zip codes from elsewhere in the state.
- linkregister 11y ago
  Are you implying that Houston and Minneapolis aren't in the midwest? Are subscriptions to the New York Times the benchmark of intellectualism?
  - drumdance 11y ago
    C'mon, you seriously think the population of rural Texas is about the same as Houston? Where I grew up in Georgia is a heck of lot different than Atlanta. http://www.politico.com/2014-election/results/map/senate/georgia/#.VnNRI5MrKEI http://www.politico.com/2014-election/results/map/senate/geo... And people wonder why Trump does so well in the polls.
    - linkregister 11y ago
      You are arguing a viewpoint that is not in contention here. The post I was responding to was talking about "Middle America" versus "coastal intellectuals." In other words, you are attempting to refute a position I haven't advocated.

seansmccullough 11y ago

I agree, I'm from Iowa, there are lot's of smart people in Middle America. There are also a lot of condescending people on the Coasts.

pgpkkg 11y ago
> There are also a lot of condescending people on the Coasts. Well that wasn't an unprovoked passive-aggressive attack against people on the coast at all. [sigh]. I don't care where you live, this shit is awful, and you are awful.
pkgekgp 11y ago
On the off-chance that you're not the awful person you sound like: "There are lots of (negative adjective) people (in area)" always reads poorly. Especially if you're from another area that is known for being hostile to people in that area. It makes it seem like you're just another closed-minded jerk perpetuating the hate that your area is famous for. Which you almost certainly are.
- seansmccullough 11y ago
  My comment was just a response to the stereotype that people from the middle of the country are stupid. Now you're bring up the stereotype that people from the Midwest are closed-minded and hateful. I don't hate anyone, I simply brought up another stereotype. I think the personal attack was unnecessary.
- deleted 11y ago
  [deleted]

FussyZeus 11y ago

> It's amazing to me that the top-rated comment in this thread broadly generalizes both "coastal intellectuals" and "Middle America" with insulting stereotypes. It's amazing to me that you took this (what you've recognized as) hyperbole'd and obviously emotionally filled post and assumed this is how I act in daily life, a point which I didn't feel I needed to make but apparently must do so is that of course I do not dismiss everyone from a coastal area as being a pseudo intellectual. That doesn't stop the majority of them from proving to be exactly that, but you know, I do try. FTR, I never once intended to insult the midwest. I prefer it here, and that may well be simply because I've never lived anywhere else.

derefr 11y ago
Using hyperbole in a discussion about politics will almost always get you in trouble. To be safe from this, you basically have to talk about your political views with all the detached clinical nuance of a biologist "sacrificing" lab mice to biopsy them. (That was hyperbole too, and I fully expect to get in trouble for it.) My personal ideal for "well-done political debate" is comes from economists: they can quickly distinguish between facts, speculation about facts, and value judgements, and then engage with the first two while steering clear of the third. (It does make for some silly interviews, though: journalists basically only care about people's value-judgements, and economists will redirect every attempt at getting theirs into a discussion about some fact or another.)
- engi_nerd 11y ago
  Quite often on the internet, and in life, I see situations that make me think, "That guy got in trouble/got grief because he has a sense of humor and everyone around him is wilfully not getting the joke".
linkregister 11y ago
I explicitly acknowledged that this comment was an outlier from your ordinary train of thought. I referenced your otherwise calm comment history. I don't know where you got the impression I thought this represented you as a person. However, I apologize. I do not intend to offend.

deleted 11y ago

[deleted]

someguydave 11y ago

Having lived around Davidsonville, MD for awhile, I'm pretty certain that the 'pragmatic' folk you referenced feel absolutely trampled by the establishment in the nearby megalopolis. I know a farmer there, he barely scratches out a living - much of the local farmland was bought up by rich lawyers to build large homes. My point being that I think you actually unwittingly identified this 'midwest/coastal divide' in your own backyard.

linkregister 11y ago
Likewise having lived in the area, I have not identified this feeling of being "trampled". I have identified a local pride and a comfort with a less urban way of life. But I feel I could not possibly give an example that could satisfy you, since practically every habitable region in the world has experienced a "rich lawyer" or two buy up land in the area. Yet the fact remains that the majority of the region maintains its rural character.
- someguydave 11y ago
  The maintenance of its rural character is purely by fiat - every square inch of Anne Arundel county is zoned for the benefit of the politically connected in Annapolis. Absent the imposed zoning law, the whole area would have been converted to high density suburbia decades ago. Further, farmland would be immediately sold if it weren't sheltered from property taxes through state subsidy law. So anyone trying to scratch a living from that farmland lives in an economic reality that is largely dictated by others.

drumdance 11y ago

> One trip to Houston or Minneapolis Uh, okay. How about rural Georgia where I grew up? Dollars to donuts that Houston and Minneapolis have much higher subscription rates to the New Yorker than zip codes from elsewhere in the state.

linkregister 11y ago
Are you implying that Houston and Minneapolis aren't in the midwest? Are subscriptions to the New York Times the benchmark of intellectualism?
- drumdance 11y ago
  C'mon, you seriously think the population of rural Texas is about the same as Houston? Where I grew up in Georgia is a heck of lot different than Atlanta. http://www.politico.com/2014-election/results/map/senate/georgia/#.VnNRI5MrKEI http://www.politico.com/2014-election/results/map/senate/geo... And people wonder why Trump does so well in the polls.
  - linkregister 11y ago
    You are arguing a viewpoint that is not in contention here. The post I was responding to was talking about "Middle America" versus "coastal intellectuals." In other words, you are attempting to refute a position I haven't advocated.