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Dec. 20th, 2003 07:45 am"The frontier, not the city, has always been the land of heresy. . .Appalachia's hillfolk, often portrayed as the lowest-common-denominator buffoons of mainstream Christianity, have historically boasted the nation's lowest rates of organized church affiliation."
(Jim Goad, The Redneck Manifesto, hb p. 151)
I can't say this surprises me, and access to organised religion hasn't exactly been a problem for probably 200 years here.[1] In my experience, a private approach to spirituality is considered far preferable to riding in the rigging of the church.
I am rather tired of listening to some Neopagans[2]--from elsewhere, with one very strange exception--going on and on about being so oppressed by living in the armpit of the Bible Belt (not my mixed metaphor). This is a prime case of people making themselves feel oppressed, presumably for lack of something better to complain about. In the reality I see, nobody else particularly cares about their beliefs. Most have more important things to think about than other people's religious beliefs, or lack thereof, were they even considered a legitimate concern of others--and this is one of the things considered very much one's own business, within the culture.
It's pretty hypocritical to tar the people around one with the "nasty intolerant one-step-from-fundie" brush, before one has even bothered talking to those people at any length. The fact that a good percentage find any sort of organised religion distasteful, in this case, is only the beginning of the problems with that one. It also verges on the asinine to react rudely to new neighbors and coworkers over friendly, pro forma invitations to church dinners and the like, and then claim this as evidence of oppression. You're unpleasant to other people for no reason they can discern, so you're being oppressed? These are not Inquisitors, they're generally nice enough Methodist ladies trying to make one feel welcome. Self-righteousness doesn't encourage friendship.
What irritates me perhaps the most, however, is that people so concerned about other people's attitudes--much less outright discrimination--seem to have absolutely no qualms about buying into stereotypes based on where people live, of all things. I could dress it up in (basically skewed) different terms, and go on about largely ignored ethnic groups in America, and/or about classism (a bit less skewed), but that's more than enough complication for now; it boils down to bias based on location, which is flimsy indeed if people care to give it one whit of examination. The smear pattern is classic enough to be easily spotted as such, given a little thought--I believe the only frequent element we lack is drinking the blood of unbaptised babies. It's rather frightening how long the effects of dehumanising those who are sitting (often quite literally, in the case of these natural resources) on something suddenly considered valuable can last.
Yes, I've been a little harsh again. I suppose I should be used to seeing the symptoms of discouraging critical thinking by now, but it's frustrating.
[1] It was a problem earlier--at least somewhat locally--largely because a lot of our early British and Irish settlers had good reason to want out from under C. of E. control in eastern Virginia. There may have only been sporadic visits from travelling ministers for a while, and not a priest to be had, but at least there was no prosecution of (non-C. of E.) married couples for fornication, and similar nonsense. (But one of the many motivations in most cases, naturally.)
[2] ObDisclaimer: I'm in no way implying that anywhere near all Neopagans do this, nor that only Neopagans behave in this general manner. Poorly thought-out behavior is universal, after all. Anybody else who might have been considering trying to nickel-and-dime me to death, just don't. Please. *g*
(Jim Goad, The Redneck Manifesto, hb p. 151)
I can't say this surprises me, and access to organised religion hasn't exactly been a problem for probably 200 years here.[1] In my experience, a private approach to spirituality is considered far preferable to riding in the rigging of the church.
I am rather tired of listening to some Neopagans[2]--from elsewhere, with one very strange exception--going on and on about being so oppressed by living in the armpit of the Bible Belt (not my mixed metaphor). This is a prime case of people making themselves feel oppressed, presumably for lack of something better to complain about. In the reality I see, nobody else particularly cares about their beliefs. Most have more important things to think about than other people's religious beliefs, or lack thereof, were they even considered a legitimate concern of others--and this is one of the things considered very much one's own business, within the culture.
It's pretty hypocritical to tar the people around one with the "nasty intolerant one-step-from-fundie" brush, before one has even bothered talking to those people at any length. The fact that a good percentage find any sort of organised religion distasteful, in this case, is only the beginning of the problems with that one. It also verges on the asinine to react rudely to new neighbors and coworkers over friendly, pro forma invitations to church dinners and the like, and then claim this as evidence of oppression. You're unpleasant to other people for no reason they can discern, so you're being oppressed? These are not Inquisitors, they're generally nice enough Methodist ladies trying to make one feel welcome. Self-righteousness doesn't encourage friendship.
What irritates me perhaps the most, however, is that people so concerned about other people's attitudes--much less outright discrimination--seem to have absolutely no qualms about buying into stereotypes based on where people live, of all things. I could dress it up in (basically skewed) different terms, and go on about largely ignored ethnic groups in America, and/or about classism (a bit less skewed), but that's more than enough complication for now; it boils down to bias based on location, which is flimsy indeed if people care to give it one whit of examination. The smear pattern is classic enough to be easily spotted as such, given a little thought--I believe the only frequent element we lack is drinking the blood of unbaptised babies. It's rather frightening how long the effects of dehumanising those who are sitting (often quite literally, in the case of these natural resources) on something suddenly considered valuable can last.
Yes, I've been a little harsh again. I suppose I should be used to seeing the symptoms of discouraging critical thinking by now, but it's frustrating.
[1] It was a problem earlier--at least somewhat locally--largely because a lot of our early British and Irish settlers had good reason to want out from under C. of E. control in eastern Virginia. There may have only been sporadic visits from travelling ministers for a while, and not a priest to be had, but at least there was no prosecution of (non-C. of E.) married couples for fornication, and similar nonsense. (But one of the many motivations in most cases, naturally.)
[2] ObDisclaimer: I'm in no way implying that anywhere near all Neopagans do this, nor that only Neopagans behave in this general manner. Poorly thought-out behavior is universal, after all. Anybody else who might have been considering trying to nickel-and-dime me to death, just don't. Please. *g*
