# What's the deal with the stereotypically "angry racist rural person"? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 2, 2014, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-the-stereotypically-angry-racist-rural-person/687514 "2014-05-02T17:15:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![pullin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c57346/32.png) [@pullin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pullin)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2014, 10:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-the-stereotypically-angry-racist-rural-person/687514/61 "2014-05-03T10:26:55Z")
It’s exactly the same as that of the “stereotypically lazy, black person on welfare”. A very small number get a lot of attention, while the vast majority are good people trying to get by. But this very small number is a godsend for those who need a reason to discriminate against someone “different”. And this has been amply demonstrated by about half the posters in this thread. ---
**Author:** ![diggerwam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/919ad9/32.png) [@diggerwam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/diggerwam)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2014, 10:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-the-stereotypically-angry-racist-rural-person/687514/62 "2014-05-03T10:51:56Z")
I believe it’s isolation and the lack of exposure to people and ideas that are different. I have relatives on an isolated 5 acres (but they aren’t farmers) and another family in tiny town USA. The one who never ran away to the city are horrible racists. 2 other important factors, many of them, even though they never moved out, commute to the big city and work in the court system. So the exposure they do get to brown folks is overwhelmingly negative. Other factor is simple family history. These relatives are from my Mother’s side and racist parents tend to have racist children. My mother lived and worked in the big city and was voluntarily isolationist. Also, she worked overnights at the big city hospital, again putting her into negative contact with the local brown folks. I agree that there are racist people in the city, but that’s not what the OP was asking. ---
**Author:** ![Dave\_Hartwick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7feea3/32.png) [@Dave\_Hartwick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dave_Hartwick)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2014, 12:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-the-stereotypically-angry-racist-rural-person/687514/63 "2014-05-03T12:11:08Z")
> [@pullin](#): > > It’s exactly the same as that of the “stereotypically lazy, black person on welfare”. > > A very small number get a lot of attention, while the vast majority are good people trying to get by. But this very small number is a godsend for those who need a reason to discriminate against someone “different”. > > And this has been amply demonstrated by about half the posters in this thread. Y’know, it’s great that you took the time to reinforce points that were already made a buncha times, it shows commitment to that point. ---
**Author:** ![Dave\_Hartwick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7feea3/32.png) [@Dave\_Hartwick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dave_Hartwick)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2014, 12:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-the-stereotypically-angry-racist-rural-person/687514/64 "2014-05-03T12:12:31Z")
> [@diggerwam](#): > > I believe it’s isolation and the lack of exposure to people and ideas that are different. I have relatives on an isolated 5 acres (but they aren’t farmers) and another family in tiny town USA. The one who never ran away to the city are horrible racists. > > 2 other important factors, many of them, even though they never moved out, commute to the big city and work in the court system. So the exposure they do get to brown folks is overwhelmingly negative. > > Other factor is simple family history. These relatives are from my Mother’s side and racist parents tend to have racist children. My mother lived and worked in the big city and was voluntarily isolationist. Also, she worked overnights at the big city hospital, again putting her into negative contact with the local brown folks. > > I agree that there are racist people in the city, but that’s not what the OP was asking. Wow, jeez, it’s like you started the whole thing all over again. I must thank you for your freshness. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2014, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-the-stereotypically-angry-racist-rural-person/687514/65 "2014-05-03T12:28:20Z")
I haven’t heard country music that sounds really angry to my ears. But defensive and judgmental, yes. Kind of like, “Don’t come here thinking you’re better than me, because I know I’m better than YOU! Cuz I got my family and my truck and my God! And you ain’t about to take them away from me!” I imagine if you listen to this kind of music long enough, you’ll start believing that someone is taking something from you. I imagine, too, that it’s not ALL nonsensical paranoia, especially now. The horrible economy has made people realize that country sentimentality can be handicapping. Living in the boonies when there aren’t any jobs to be had, when gas is so expensive, doesn’t make sense. So the “good ole days” when all the sisters, brothers, cousins, and high school chums lived in the same small town, clocking in and out of the same workplace, getting up to the same weekend mischief, are no longer. Your brother may now live in the city, married to a woman who (you perceive) doesn’t share ya’lls values or upbringing. Your best friend from high school may go to college and come back all high-minded and managerial, like he’s too good to drink cheap beer like a regular guy. And your little cousin is watching all that MTV trash and is now dressing and talking like she’s a Jewish negro from New York. That’s where she wants to live one day…New York! She could maybe get a good job running the register at Walmart or Piggly Wiggly, but NO. She wants to be like the trash she sees on TV because it’s more glamorous and exciting. So in your mind, the country music you’ve grown up listening to was right along. “They” really are taking everything that’s good and wholesome away. All that said, anyone who thinks anger is a rural thing hasn’t spent much time in the inner city. And I’ve encountered plenty of urban and suburban racists. I didn’t really get exposed to overt racism until I moved to northern NJ as a graduate student. That’s not exactly rural. ---
**Author:** ![Sattua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sattua/32/11906_2.png) [@Sattua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sattua)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2014, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-the-stereotypically-angry-racist-rural-person/687514/66 "2014-05-03T12:47:36Z")
> [@Little\_Pig](#): > > Maybe lack of post secondary education too? I doubt it. A lot of rural people do have at least some college. Much of it is in practical application type stuff–nursing, accounting, engineering and agriculture are the most common quals in the people I’ve met–but they have gone to college. The one guy I know who makes a business out of being a hired hand has a bachelor’s of fine arts in photography. Secondarily, I’m not a big believer in college as a magical transformative experience, even when one majors in liberal arts (as I did). I do believe in being 18-25 years old as a magical transformative experience, but it’s one you get whether you’re in college or not. ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2014, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-the-stereotypically-angry-racist-rural-person/687514/67 "2014-05-03T13:17:35Z")
> [@Sigene](#): > > You don’t hear about my farmer neighbors with the organic sheep and cows, complete with ‘guard donkey’ because thats boring. _I’d_ like to hear more about these organic animals. ---
**Author:** ![SirGalahad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/71c47a/32.png) [@SirGalahad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SirGalahad)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2014, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-the-stereotypically-angry-racist-rural-person/687514/68 "2014-05-03T15:41:11Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > Not saying they don’t work hard, **just saying they have more time on their hands based on the seaonal nature of their work**. I was born on a farm … that is one of the funniest things I’ve read here. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2014, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-the-stereotypically-angry-racist-rural-person/687514/69 "2014-05-03T15:56:37Z")
> [@pullin](#): > > It’s exactly the same as that of the “stereotypically lazy, black person on welfare”. It’s not really. If you said “stereotypical black family of a single underemployed working mom, a black father in jail or dead and one or more dropout children involved in gangs and drugs” that is something backed up by statistic facts and represents a real social problem. The mistake is believing that the stereotype applies to every black person you meet or that it cannot be changed due to some inherent inferiority of black people. The “angry rural man” is likewise a real phenomenon, represented by the likes of people like Cliven Bundy or Ted Nugent and echoed by the observations of many posters on this board. Like any stereotype, it does not literally apply to every single member of the group. But it’s obviously a common enough phenomenon to become a stereotype. My personal WAG is that people who grow up on the farm or living the hard wilderness life have a “way” of doing things. You do things that way because if you don’t, the farm falls apart or you don’t have any food for the winter. There’s not a lot of room for debate or compromise when it comes to planting crops or milking cows and so on. So they develop a rigid and inflexible way of thinking. In contrast, when you grow up in an environment that focuses on education and intellectualism, everything is a bit more abstract. There’s a lot more room for debate and discussion and differing opinion because you tend to be removed from the consequences of your decisions. I run business projects for a living. Sure there might be some economic cost if a software release is late (usually pretty insignificant relative to the size of the company). And maybe some VP might hem and haw for a bit or whatever. But it’s not like if I show up late to milk the developers of their code they’ll get sick and die like a cow would. At least I hope not. ---
**Author:** ![Incubus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c68b51/32.png) [@Incubus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Incubus)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2014, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-the-stereotypically-angry-racist-rural-person/687514/70 "2014-05-03T16:08:15Z")
I notice people like this come off as more territorial and possessive. They are much more concerned with people tresspassing or possibly breaking into their home. Whats ironic about it is in the same breath they seem to tout how much safer and trusting people out in the country are. I wonder if it has to do with living with a lot more space. People in urban areas tend to be more accustomed to having smaller amounts of personal space. You’re more likely to be in crowded places, its less likely people will say, “excuse me” when brushing past you. You might live in an apartment, rent a room in someone else’s house (which I did for many years) or simply have a home very close to many others. In rural areas, houses tend to be much further apart, and ‘sharing’ of space is much less implicit. Sure a guy in the country might let his neighbor cut across his yard for [reasons] but its probably going to be explicitly discussed, vs the leigions of kids that are riding their bikes over the lawn in your corner lot. Personally, planting cacti along the perimeter of your yard is much better than threatening and brandishing firearms if so much as a dust mite encoaches on your twenty acres of territory. Its nature’s barbed wire! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Tethered\_Kite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a5b964/32.png) [@Tethered\_Kite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tethered_Kite)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2014, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-the-stereotypically-angry-racist-rural-person/687514/71 "2014-05-03T18:04:27Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > It’s not really. If you said “stereotypical black family of a single underemployed working mom, a black father in jail or dead and one or more dropout children involved in gangs and drugs” that is something backed up by statistic facts and represents a real social problem. The mistake is believing that the stereotype applies to every black person you meet or that it cannot be changed due to some inherent inferiority of black people. > The “angry rural man” is likewise a real phenomenon, represented by the likes of people like Cliven Bundy or Ted Nugent and echoed by the observations of many posters on this board. Like any stereotype, it does not literally apply to every single member of the group. But it’s obviously a common enough phenomenon to become a stereotype. Maybe that’s not fair. Current thought is that we are all the same under our skin. We have various problems related to our various cultures and we all have similar needs, though not similar wants necessarily. There are rural White families who share many of the problems in your first paragraph and there are militant Black groups who spout threatening ideology as in your second paragraph. I’d suggest that the extremes in any group are subject to unhealthy thinking. Perhaps it’s safe to say that people who blow things up or shoot people out of hostility have mental health problems. We don’t categorize all paranoid or sociopathic people as mentally ill. If we did we’d probably have very few people in prisons and a lot more offenders in mental health facilities. But that flavor of crazy is certainly there. It could be fair to say that racism is a mental health issue. Maybe some day we can just round racists up and send them to the gulags. Uh, mental health institutions. A grim joke, but I have a sense that’s the thought process of many. I do believe that prejudice is a mental health issue. I believe everyone “has” it and that it’s darn hard to see my own when I’m busy looking for it in others. It’s a personal struggle. ETA: Paranoia and sociopathy being only two of the many brain problems I can think of that land people in prison. ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2014, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-the-stereotypically-angry-racist-rural-person/687514/72 "2014-05-03T19:03:37Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > Rural folks think of themselves as being more independent and less reliable on government services. They don’t see what their tax dollars are going towards. Except that the reality is the opposite: it takes a lot more government money to maintain infrastructure when people are spread out compared to when they are clustered together. > [@Sattua](#): > > First, they’re poor. That makes life hard and that makes them grumpy. I’m pretty sure Bundy and other ranchers are richer than I’ll ever be. > [@bleach](#): > > But let’s look at the characterization of “angry racist rural person.” I personally don’t think he is typical (and I think we all agree on that). He’s a loud guy in the middle of a controversy. In my experience, (and perhaps in contrast to **Sattua** ’s experience) rural communities are populated by kind, quiet people who aren’t racist and don’t have anything approximating his views. Those people are just as repulsed about his comments and thinking as we are. Most rural people look at militia types as wingnuts and avoid them socially. So why were all the protesters on his side? Why won’t the local sheriff (the only law enforcement Bundy recognises) do anything? I live in a small city surrounded by many miles of sparsely populated rural area. In my experience, nearly everyone I’ve met who lives outside the city limits, in the county (so not paying city property taxes but still using the city to shop in etc.) has a pretty radical libertarian ethos. And while libertarianism is not in theory necessarily racist, for these people in practice it is. > [@Terr](#): > > So - what’s the deal with the stereotypically “condescending liberals in the cities who think they are better than other people”? They \*are \*better. (And no, I’m not being sarcastic.) ---
**Author:** ![Tethered\_Kite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a5b964/32.png) [@Tethered\_Kite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tethered_Kite)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2014, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-the-stereotypically-angry-racist-rural-person/687514/73 "2014-05-03T19:42:55Z")
If the liberals in the cities are better than others we’re going to have to petition the government to level the playing field pronto. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Sahirrnee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sahirrnee/32/13937_2.png) [@Sahirrnee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sahirrnee)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2014, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-the-stereotypically-angry-racist-rural-person/687514/74 "2014-05-03T21:52:44Z")
> [@Terr](#): > > So - what’s the deal with the stereotypically “condescending liberals in the cities who think they are better than other people”? Haters gotta hate. It’s not PC to hate blacks or Jews or Muslims or gays so they have to find some other group to hate. It’s okay though, because their hate is a righteous hate. All hates are equal, but some hates are more equal than others. ---
**Author:** ![Sigene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df788c/32.png) [@Sigene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigene)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2014, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-the-stereotypically-angry-racist-rural-person/687514/75 "2014-05-03T21:59:02Z")
> [@SlackerInc](#): > > They \*are \*better. (And no, I’m not being sarcastic.) Uhm, that’s probably a different topic that i don’t want to get into. But I categorically deny this is my thinking, and find it reprehensible. My liberal, city cultured views DO NOT automatically make me a better person than some one with a more rural way of life. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2014, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-the-stereotypically-angry-racist-rural-person/687514/76 "2014-05-03T22:49:21Z")
> [@ZPG\_Zealot](#): > > I think education is serious factor. Country schools tend to be more limited in what they can provide for students compared to affluent subturbs and affluent urban areas. I often found the cultural isolation in the country and in the pooer inner city schools to be roughly analogous. In both cases there are huge masses of cash strapped people that have no comprehension of any way of life other than their own and no means of learning otherwise. There are no more “country schools”, or even small schools. The death of small towns meant the death of small town schools, leading to consolidation, and kids being bussed to other towns. Bond issues are routinely passed, new buildings are going up, kids are being given iPads or Kindle Fires – the schools aren’t broke. I don’t think rural public schools are much different from city public schools, except for inner city schools. But all I know about inner city schools is what I learned from _The Wire_, so there’s that. The local papers publish pictures of graduating seniors, with short bios where the kids share their plans. Most of them plan to go on to college. The only ones who don’t seem to be the girls who have babies and the boys on drugs. Education isn’t the problem wrt racism. The problem is lack of exposure to a wider world, provincialism. ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2014, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-the-stereotypically-angry-racist-rural-person/687514/77 "2014-05-04T04:01:26Z")
> [@Sigene](#): > > Uhm, that’s probably a different topic that i don’t want to get into. But I categorically deny this is my thinking, and find it reprehensible. My liberal, city cultured views DO NOT automatically make me a better person than some one with a more rural way of life. You can find me reprehensible all you like, but I’ll still keep on thinking you’re a better person than a rural conservative. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2014, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-the-stereotypically-angry-racist-rural-person/687514/78 "2014-05-04T05:21:27Z")
> [@Sahirrnee](#): > > Haters gotta hate. > > It’s not PC to hate blacks or Jews or Muslims or gays so they have to find some other group to hate. It’s okay though, because their hate is a righteous hate. > > All hates are equal, but some hates are more equal than others. That’s a false equivocation. Being against mindless racism and bigotry is not the same thing as hating people because they are Black, Jewish or Muslim. But if you want to talk about hate, I can think of one thing I hate. That’s people who toss around the term “Politically Correct” or “PC” in a derogatory fashion. As in “it’s not PC to discriminate against Blacks and Mexicans thanks to dem Liberals.” Guess what dummy! It’s never been correct to hate people because of their race or religion. Having to suffer social consequences for your hate speech is not an infringement of your First Amendment rights and hate speech has never been protected by the First Amendment anyway. So if PC Liberals are restricting your ability to bully people around based on race, religion or sexual preference, I guess that’s too damn bad for you. ---
**Author:** ![Urbanredneck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ea5d25/32.png) [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2014, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-the-stereotypically-angry-racist-rural-person/687514/79 "2014-05-04T05:32:17Z")
I just wanted to add that there are alot more gay people living in rural areas than you might think. It makes sense because if they are say a writer, artist, or just selling organic stuff the cost of living is much cheaper. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2014, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-the-stereotypically-angry-racist-rural-person/687514/80 "2014-05-04T15:02:21Z")
> [@Urbanredneck](#): > > I just wanted to add that there are alot more gay people living in rural areas than you might think. It makes sense because if they are say a writer, artist, or just selling organic stuff the cost of living is much cheaper. Does ass raping strangers and making them “squeal like a pig” count as gay?😃 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-the-stereotypically-angry-racist-rural-person/687514.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-the-stereotypically-angry-racist-rural-person/687514.md?page=5)