What is it about living in rural America that makes people different from people

[RazzleCat]

29. So many reasons

In the 80's I lived in several very small midwest farming communities. A few I can think of

1. News, you do not have news, you have a local AM/FM radio station that reads the police report, obits and high school sports, and the ever important farm reports (aka commodity prices).

2. Many people have never lived in any sort of urban or even suburban environment, they get their understanding from television, so sitcoms seem real, or worse police dramas seem real. You live in an urban environment so you know it's basically safe, just avoid X place. Just as a rural person will know to avoid X place/activity in their area (say don't go in the woods during hunting season with out your blaze orange on), but because of television the idea is spread that you enter the city you better be 100% on alert because your going to get robbed, killed, or in some way scammed.

3. Fear of the "other". We are all most comfortable with people who are like us. The big difference is that if you live in an urban environment your definition of people like me expands, you get over your fear of the other because you get to know "others", you live in a rural environment you don't get that opportunity.