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.  ;-)