4 ms·

Here in the South, there is this air of hospitality. But there is an irony because everyone always rejects each others volunteer assistance out of pride for the

Here in the South, there is this air of hospitality. But there is an irony because everyone always rejects each others volunteer assistance out of pride for their ability to take care of themselves. I see charity directed towards me almost as an insult, or subtle attempted ownership, and there is this competitive air about needing less than others. But I suppose in more densely populated areas, there is more victimhood at play. This is an education problem, because these people were never raised to take care of themselves. Instead, they want to be owed something. This "something" usually comes in the form of tax handouts, and when it is distributed, I'm certain it is quite mismanaged. Think of all the impulse-buy items near checkouts that are purchased with food stamps, when these people could be combining this resource to buy in bulk and get much more out of it. My mantra is to be a provider, not a consumer. It's not about how much you make, it's about what you choose to spend it on. It seems like these types of problems can only exist when there are too many people living in close-proximity.

justAnotherNET 9y ago
I suggest anyone interested in this google the “rat utopia” experiment.
throwawaymnm9 9y ago
> This "something" usually comes in the form of tax handouts, and when it is distributed, I'm certain it is quite mismanaged. Oh yes, corporations typically just hang onto it and use it to enrich executives, or they funnel it out of the country. But it should be well-known by this point that corporations get way too many tax breaks. > It seems like these types of problems can only exist when there are too many people living in close-proximity. Let me guess: you avoid cities because the black people scare you?
matt4077 9y ago
"The South" is neither morally superior, nor more independent/self-reliant, etc.. Guess which states get more than twice the taxes they pay to the federal government back? Alabama, Mississippi, New Mexico, and other rural southern states are taken the handouts from California and New York: https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-vby1dJlsXmM/VtkJnusdGXI/AAAAAAAAJqk/EQXnfNLOqT0/s1600/fed_spending_dollar.JPG https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-vby1dJlsXmM/VtkJnusdGXI/AAAAAAAAJ... Guess which teenagers are incapable of not getting pregnant at 14? The southern, rural christians. Guess which states' citizen are dropping from Opiod addiction like flies? Again, the south (plus similarly rural Appalachia). Guess where food stamps are most used, where people are unable to control their eating and are morbidly obese, which people smoke more, where drunk driving is socially accepted, etc etc: the US South, and some rural northern states, are worse than the large cities in almost any measure you can think of.
- nugi 9y ago
  So someone said something about the south, that does not make it okay to go on a bigoted diatribe. Wtf.
  - deleted 9y ago
    [deleted]
  - moneytide1 9y ago
    Notice it's been 4 days and he/she has yet to reply to us. There is no debate or conversation if there is no back&forth. We are not seeking interaction or exchanges - only to be heard. The Internet enables quantity, not quality. Belittle some strangers, sit at the keyboard with a smug look, and possibly tell someone about it (with tongue, not fingers). Routines like this for decades on end are what cause opioid, food, alcohol addiction, "etc etc". It's more engaging to list problems instead of performing solutions?
- moneytide1 9y ago
  I should not have said "everyone" or "always", and I agree with your first sentence - I do not wish for my statement to be seen as a declaration of superiority. What I do wish to convey is my personal ideals, as a native of the region. I work for a rural ISP, and while there are some homes I enter that seem to validate these values, there are plenty that embody the statistics that you have linked. Whenever I see these broken places, with all the evidence of obesity, addiction, smoking, drinking, etc that you have mentioned, I am bothered at how this came to be. Some of these people clearly do not care about anything more than having their working internet and Netflix (as well as the aforementioned vices) - trash all over the yards, cockroaches all around their networking gear, an abundance of unfinished projects, abandoned community gardens. Scatterbrained. I want there to be order and community where it seems to be dissolving. This article caught my attention because I want to dissolve the crusade of victimhood that is growing like a tumor.

justAnotherNET 9y ago

I suggest anyone interested in this google the “rat utopia” experiment.

throwawaymnm9 9y ago

> This "something" usually comes in the form of tax handouts, and when it is distributed, I'm certain it is quite mismanaged. Oh yes, corporations typically just hang onto it and use it to enrich executives, or they funnel it out of the country. But it should be well-known by this point that corporations get way too many tax breaks. > It seems like these types of problems can only exist when there are too many people living in close-proximity. Let me guess: you avoid cities because the black people scare you?

matt4077 9y ago

"The South" is neither morally superior, nor more independent/self-reliant, etc.. Guess which states get more than twice the taxes they pay to the federal government back? Alabama, Mississippi, New Mexico, and other rural southern states are taken the handouts from California and New York: https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-vby1dJlsXmM/VtkJnusdGXI/AAAAAAAAJqk/EQXnfNLOqT0/s1600/fed_spending_dollar.JPG https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-vby1dJlsXmM/VtkJnusdGXI/AAAAAAAAJ... Guess which teenagers are incapable of not getting pregnant at 14? The southern, rural christians. Guess which states' citizen are dropping from Opiod addiction like flies? Again, the south (plus similarly rural Appalachia). Guess where food stamps are most used, where people are unable to control their eating and are morbidly obese, which people smoke more, where drunk driving is socially accepted, etc etc: the US South, and some rural northern states, are worse than the large cities in almost any measure you can think of.

nugi 9y ago
So someone said something about the south, that does not make it okay to go on a bigoted diatribe. Wtf.
- deleted 9y ago
  [deleted]
- moneytide1 9y ago
  Notice it's been 4 days and he/she has yet to reply to us. There is no debate or conversation if there is no back&forth. We are not seeking interaction or exchanges - only to be heard. The Internet enables quantity, not quality. Belittle some strangers, sit at the keyboard with a smug look, and possibly tell someone about it (with tongue, not fingers). Routines like this for decades on end are what cause opioid, food, alcohol addiction, "etc etc". It's more engaging to list problems instead of performing solutions?
moneytide1 9y ago
I should not have said "everyone" or "always", and I agree with your first sentence - I do not wish for my statement to be seen as a declaration of superiority. What I do wish to convey is my personal ideals, as a native of the region. I work for a rural ISP, and while there are some homes I enter that seem to validate these values, there are plenty that embody the statistics that you have linked. Whenever I see these broken places, with all the evidence of obesity, addiction, smoking, drinking, etc that you have mentioned, I am bothered at how this came to be. Some of these people clearly do not care about anything more than having their working internet and Netflix (as well as the aforementioned vices) - trash all over the yards, cockroaches all around their networking gear, an abundance of unfinished projects, abandoned community gardens. Scatterbrained. I want there to be order and community where it seems to be dissolving. This article caught my attention because I want to dissolve the crusade of victimhood that is growing like a tumor.