Rural and Urban America is Similarly Affected by the "Normal White American"

When i hear that label, as recently spoken by Newt Gingrich, i think of those individuals that i don't care to interact with. They are typically the types of people that live in suburbs or gated communities, places i've never known. Places completely devoid of any character and visible culture, that i'd never care to visit. When i think of them, i think of the settings of The Brady Bunch. Communities that are within distance of every convenient, inexhaustible resource, allowing them to rarely leave their "enclave". To me, that is what i see as the environment of the "normal white American".

Politically, these people tend to be very anti-individual, pseudo-liberal, and enjoy oversight from immediate government entities and Homeowners Associations. The white liberal. There's an elitism to them. An attitude of despising both urban and rural populations. If they choose to move to either area, rural or urban, they care little about the local economy and local businesses, bring rise in home and rent prices, and dilute, undermine (or even destroy) local culture for their benefit. I can't speak for the urban experience but we all know this as gentrification. And we can easily find a unity over this subject.




There is a rural version/variation of gentrification though. In essence, rural and urban America are more alike than we know. In the rural experience, for example, old farmlands are bought up cheap by developers and high-priced townhouses, or sprawling suburban-like "communities", are built on them. The lands are typically bought cheap after foreclosure or after the land is abandoned, never being handed down, after an elderly individual passes away.



Then in comes your "normal White American" with their attitudes completely unfriendly towards the current rural population. Their 'culture shock' shows itself as a disdain of our individualism and disdain for those making the most of what's at their disposal, resource-wise. It's these suburban-minded "normal whites", they despise the rural, open land, the farms, the sense of community.

They'd rather drive an hour to a mall or larger business districts rather than shop at local businesses. They're selfish, they're greedy, they see everything local as "quaint". As if our lifestyles are there for their amusement and that our area is their playground. They show up at local events to distantly take part in local culture. All without having (nor caring) to acknowledge local cultural roots, history, and any local customs.

Instead, rural communities get exposure to their elitist attitudes and get natural sights obstructed with their ugly, cookie cutter homes. To me, that is my experience with "normal white Americans". The types of people that looked down on me, and most everyone i know, my whole life. These are the attitudes of "normal white American" family members that we've not had contact with in a long time. They're something that i've never been, they're cultureless nobodies.

Best summed up, using a Hunger Games reference: The normal white American is of the Capitol mindset and lifestyle, while we're a mixture of aspects from Districts 9 to 12.