The Public Opinion Soapbox

anonymous_coward · Joined: 24 Oct 2007 Posts: 486

anyone see the episode of Rezoned last night with the Lahr's house (there was an article about it in the paper the other day which is what alerted me)? It truly was a very, very nice house.

My girlfriend and I watched it and she commented on how she thought it impossible that anyone in Chambersburg could have such exquisite tastes. Many people, including myself, often joke about such things, the cultural inferiority, the lack of culinary discretion, or just a general dumbness associated with the area. We then choose to reject the inconsistencies as anomalies, even when they out number the cases where the stereotypes are witnessed.

Bill Maher was talking about how he felt bad for Progressives in South Carolina a few weeks back. He pointed out that it's not all dumb rednecks there, but that we should feel bad for the Democrats that are there, because they're surrounded by dumb rednecks.

I think sometimes it's easier to dismiss the people here as being intellectually inferior, and that those of us who have moved here are great world travelers who had been to a Starbucks pre-2005, never considering for a second that people who lived here probably had also. Not to mention that being a patron of Starbucks and thinking it makes you impressive is more pretentious and pathetic than anything.

Are there legitimate gripes about the area? Yes. Could it use a little more culture, art, etc? Absolutely. But are we better than everyone else here for saying so? Probably not at all.

Coppy · Joined: 28 Oct 2007 Posts: 2251 Location: Chambersburg

I think you bring up a good point here. Honestly, I'll admit it, when I first moved to the area I had the pretentious attitude of superiority because the only people I saw were the "rednecks" and the, in my narrow minded view, unsophisticated people. I was a recent college grad and felt that I got a pretty good job in an area that stifled my youth. Where would I go at night? What would I do on the weekends? I didn't hunt, fish, camp or chop wood. And when I moved here, there wasn't even a fraction of what we have now.

Work didn't help; I couldn't talk about anything with most the people around me. Even just joking around about pop culture or last night's Daily Show went over everyone's head... because some of them didn't even have cable. I've met some pretty lousy folks. I've met people who don't think anything is funny, unless it's making fun of women, gays, Jews or minorities.

But, probably in the last year, my opinion has started to change. I've been meeting interesting, intelligent, progressive-minded people. And I don't mean "democrats," or anything political. Just interesting folks with interesting things to say; people who feel the way I do, but without the condescension. People who really want to see things change and improve in Chambersburg; not the perception I had that everyone was regressive and elderly.

I'll continue to gripe because, well, that's just me. And I'll keep making fun of rednecks because, to me, it's funnier than "Larry the Cable Guy" jokes. But it's not personal. I like living here now and what I say is because I genuinely want it to get better.

Torgo

cookieclaygirl · Joined: 03 Dec 2007 Posts: 1777 Location: shippensburg

i'll speak on a different pov....since i am a cburg native.

i have never 'fit in' here nor do i care to....i tried the moving away thing and found that i liked being where the wind knew my name...nature or nuture, who knows, but i never have fit in. i am heavily into art, indy music and movies and none of that can be easily found here. so i find alternative sources (net, other towns, etc) and just beat my own drum. but i like the area alot...so i'll 'tolerate' that it has some cultural 'lackings'...

one big thing i've always found is the 'us' and 'them' syndrome (or as it used to be we live on "this" or "that" side of town...the countries vs. the cool urbanites (haha)...and MUCH of this town is 'name' based...if you don't have the right last name then eff you basically (esp in school....my last name is the same as an attorney in town and every teacher would be like: oooooh! are you so-and-so's daughter...and i'd be like 'no' and then they'd pass by you like 'oh-who-cares' then.....but if you have the right last name then you'd get all the attention in the world....

one thing that has always made me stir crazy about this town. end rant....

Bobo · Joined: 22 Oct 2007 Posts: 173 Location: Chambersburg

Nice post, Coward. As one of those "natives" who also considers myself fairly intelligent, educated, progressive and open-minded (except when it comes to too much development), I appreciate your nod. And Coppy, I am glad you're finally realizing that folks from this area aren't all hunters, four-wheeler fans, beer-drinkers and baby makers. Some of us actually do have brains! (Apologies to any of the aforementioned who may be offended now.) Smile

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The sun, the moon and the stars would have disappeared long ago... had they happened to be within the reach of predatory human hands. ~Havelock Ellis, The Dance of Life, 1923