Thread by @cmclymer

My mother's side is from rural Kentucky. My father's side is from rural Oklahoma and Texas. I grew up in Central Texas trailer parks way out in the sticks.

And let me tell you: this comes across as incredibly condescending toward rural folks. Please don't parrot this nonsense.

Do rural families of all income levels have to get creative with sickness? Sure, maybe a cold medicine like Robitussin is used outside of its direct intent. But reasonable adults out in the country aren't taking animal drugs as a preventative measure. Please stop this.

You know what I'm really tired of? Journalists who didn't grow up in conservative areas holding people in those areas to an insulting level of adult awareness and then having the gall to pontificate about coastal elitism. Please shut the fuck up. I beg you.

This is so common that there needs to be a term for it.

Like "Heartlanditis" or something. It's this mental blockage and low-key guilt of a certain kind of reporter who doesn't expect very much of someone living in a conservative area and so coddles them with low expectations.

Reporter: So, are you vaccinated?

Anti-Vaxxer in Heartland: No, the government inserts a microchip and plays Nickelback in your head all day.

Reporter: Interesting! That is so salt-of-the-earth. It's an honor to chat with someone from Real America™.

Guess what? Anyone who grew up in the South and Midwest or any other rural area will tell you that dipshits live there, too. And they're dipshits because of their refusal to embrace common sense, not because they're from a rural area. Please embrace this distinction.