Monday, July 15, 2013

Stereotypes

We're all probably guilty of doing this from time to time:

Stereotyping others.

No..I don't mean judging...I mean stereotyping.

Let me explain a little more.....

I'm from West Virginia.  "We" tend to get stereotyped a lot. 
  • hillbilly
  • dumb/under educated
  • poor
  • toothless (yes..I said it! half joking!)
And I'm sure I could list a bunch of others, but I just put the ones that came to mind first.  I was thinking about this the other day and the more I thought about it..the more it angered me.  I know..I shouldn't have let it get to me like it did, but I really dislike the thoughts of someone looking at me (or my fellow West Virginians) and feeling pity on us.

    "Oh those poor, poverty-stricken people..all they know how to do is mine coal and make moonshine"
 
 
Grrrrrr!  I want to set the facts straight to some who may not know any better.
 
  • Coal miners are NOT poor.  They make a very good living in fact.  The reason they do struggle is when they face layoffs, which can happen a lot in this industry.  A lot of things go into that, lack of demand and politics are the two most dominant ones.  Trust me..you DON'T want to get me started on politics and coal mining!
  • West Virginians are not stupid.  Sure, there are always a few in the bunch who makes the headlines and then everyone across the country assumes all people from here are the same way.  That's a dumb conclusion to make.  I don't look at California and think that everyone is like OJ Simpson!
  • And about the whole under educated thing, WV is home to Marshall and WVU.  Nuff said.
  • Hillbilly..well..I don't know what to make of that really!  Its kinda like this..if your from WV and you call another West Virginian a hillbilly..its ok. But if someone from another state calls a West Virginian a hillbilly its usually looked at as an insult!  I guess media has made the word hillbilly a kind of insult.  Go figure.
 
But you all know what I mean..stereotypes are everywhere.  Here are a few that came to mind...
 
  • People from Ohio don't know how to drive on the right side of the road (its a WV joke).
  • Those from New Jersey say swear words more than normal words.
  • People from 'up north' are rude.
  • Those who live in the Midwest must be crazy to live where tornadoes strike.
  • If your from Texas you must wear cowboy boots.  Everyday.  And eat steak.
  • All Alaskans are eskimos.
  • Everyone from California is rich, drives a convertible, and has botox injections on their lunchbreak.
See what I mean?  But of course, none of what I wrote it true.  I've known people from just about every state or region I just mentioned and they aren't that 'way'.
 
Just like West Virginians aren't all dumb, poverty ridden, hillbillies.  ;-)
 


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2 comments:

  1. Loved this post! The fact is in God's eyes we are all the same and that's all that matters. No one has the right to stereotype anyone based on where they live. We all have great qualities if you ask me.

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  2. Oklahoman here and we get stereotyped as hill billies too I loved this post. Stereotypes are just that not true assumptions.

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