A mild rant

[pasithea]

So. Lots of people have been passing around a link to a youtube clip from the latest episode of Top Gear. (A cool british car show) http://youtube.com/watch?v=G6MJVzXbqRU

Recently they did a trip through the US. Part of their quest was to 'get through Alabama without getting shot' and to make it more fun, they were allowed to decorate one anothers' cars in ways that might make them more likely to get shot.

They took the challenge in good fun, thinking they might get flipped off a few times or something. As someone who grew up in one of the shithole states, I could have warned them against this challenge.

Even with a camera crew, they got threatened, shouted at, rocks thrown at them, and assaulted.

Now imagine there was only one of them, there was no camera crew, and they were broke down.

A lot of people don't understand why I get so upset at right-wingers. They've never been a minority in a place like this. This is the world I grew up in, and when I express contempt for 'good christians', these people are the ones I'm speaking of. This is my reality. This is the america _I_ know. The people you see in this video aren't 'a few asshats', they're THE VAST MAJORITY in Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, Arkansas in my experience. Probably several other states too.

So, for you, maybe you don't give a rat's ass about what group is in power, or you think a racist or sexist joke is funny, even if it is in bad taste, and then don't get why I get so upset.

Watch this video. This is the world I come from. Imagine being there, being small and weak and different. Imagine these people not just as everyone around you but your family, your friends, your support network, the only people you know.

These are the people I know who call themselves 'good christians' and 'republicans'. This is the sick sad world I see the rest of America sliding into.

It doesn't excuse generalizing or going off on people. That really makes me only marginally better than they are, but if I'm over-reacting to something, maybe try a gentle reminder first. My reactions are often those of one dealing with memories of a very traumatic and stressful world.

Comments

[prickvixen.livejournal.com]

I've got a brilliant idea. You're gonna like this idea. Let's take all the white people in the Deep South, and deport them to Montana and Idaho and shit, where all the white supremacists are moving to anyway, and leave the South to the black people whose ancestors' blood and labor gave it a viable economy, and to the Mexicans who are filling that role now, and we'll find the descendants of the Cherokee and the other tribes from around there and give the land back to them and have them actually administer it, with the provision that they accept the other minorities the white man has fucked, which I'm sure they'd be more than happy to do. And then none of us limousine liberals will ever darken the doorstep of whatever Idaho shithole those proud Southern folk wind up in. Awesome.

[paka.livejournal.com]

Did I ever tell you about driving through Idaho? I really had no preconceptions about the place, back when I moved to Seattle.

I love small towns and usually tend to daydream about moving to some small town in northern rural nowhere, despite that I know damn well my neighbors would probably be several shades more conservative than me. Heck, as long as we're talking about states you mention specifically, I basically thought Montana was okay. Idaho, though? I drove through small towns there and my subconscious was constantly screaming "THIS PLACE IS FULL OF KLANSMEN!" at me.