Dark Rigidity of Fundamentalist Rural America

[marc]

Thought it was an interesting article. Argues that the problem isn't coastal liberals not reaching out to understand rural fundamental christians. The problem is rural, fundamental christians refusal to consider anything that does not already agree with their world view.

The dark rigidity of fundamentalist rural America: a view from the inside

One of the comments tries to argue against the ignorant-rural christian stereotype, by arguing that evolution is ignorant nonsense...

 

[Trausti]

Thought it was an interesting article. Argues that the problem isn't coastal liberals not reaching out to understand rural fundamental christians. The problem is rural, fundamental christians refusal to consider anything that does not already agree with their world view.

The dark rigidity of fundamentalist rural America: a view from the inside

One of the comments tries to argue against the ignorant-rural christian stereotype, by arguing that evolution is ignorant nonsense...

As I understand, it is racist to criticize someone for their religious beliefs. So stop the racism, marc.

 

[Tom Sawyer]

Thought it was an interesting article. Argues that the problem isn't coastal liberals not reaching out to understand rural fundamental christians. The problem is rural, fundamental christians refusal to consider anything that does not already agree with their world view.

The dark rigidity of fundamentalist rural America: a view from the inside

One of the comments tries to argue against the ignorant-rural christian stereotype, by arguing that evolution is ignorant nonsense...

As I understand, it is racist to criticize someone for their religious beliefs. So stop the racism, marc.

Holy shit, dude. It's really fucking racist to call someone a racist for criticizing someone else's religious beliefs. You kind of went a mile or two over the line of acceptability there.

 

[bilby]

Thought it was an interesting article. Argues that the problem isn't coastal liberals not reaching out to understand rural fundamental christians. The problem is rural, fundamental christians refusal to consider anything that does not already agree with their world view.

The dark rigidity of fundamentalist rural America: a view from the inside

One of the comments tries to argue against the ignorant-rural christian stereotype, by arguing that evolution is ignorant nonsense...

As I understand, ...

Shit, there goes a rib...

 

[laughing dog]

I don't think the incapacity to consider views outside one's ideology is limited to one particular group.

 

[Don2 (Don1 Revised)]

Thought it was an interesting article. Argues that the problem isn't coastal liberals not reaching out to understand rural fundamental christians. The problem is rural, fundamental christians refusal to consider anything that does not already agree with their world view.

The dark rigidity of fundamentalist rural America: a view from the inside

One of the comments tries to argue against the ignorant-rural christian stereotype, by arguing that evolution is ignorant nonsense...

As I understand, it is racist to criticize someone for their religious beliefs. So stop the racism, marc.

Congrats. You just Godwinned the thread.

 

[credoconsolans]

Thought it was an interesting article. Argues that the problem isn't coastal liberals not reaching out to understand rural fundamental christians. The problem is rural, fundamental christians refusal to consider anything that does not already agree with their world view.

The dark rigidity of fundamentalist rural America: a view from the inside

One of the comments tries to argue against the ignorant-rural christian stereotype, by arguing that evolution is ignorant nonsense...

Well, you know the saying, the family values of small town America are: xenophobia, racism and religious intolerance. This article pretty much spells this out.

This is why I think the whole, “Democrats have to understand and find common ground with rural America,” is misguided and a complete waste of time. When a 3,000-year-old book that was written by uneducated, pre-scientific people, subject to translation innumerable times, edited with political and economic pressures from popes and kings, is given higher intellectual authority than facts arrived at from a rigorous, self-critical, constantly re-evaluating system that can and does correct mistakes, no amount of understanding, no amount of respect, no amount of evidence is going to change their minds, assuage their fears.

We can understand the rural flyover areas, but their values are not desirable at all in a 21st century America.

 

[rousseau]

Rural America has not only always been socially conservative, but it's been in social decline for decades. This means that it's best and brightest leave for cities, while intelligence and progressiveness is slowly weaned out of it's gene pool.

Couple that with people who live in very small communities where everyone is interdependent on one another and social norms need to be maintained for survival, and this is the result.

You can't simply 'ask them to change', you need to completely alter the socio-economic situation across the United States.

 

[Elixir]

One of the comments tries to argue against the ignorant-rural christian stereotype, by arguing that evolution is ignorant nonsense...

People who characterize science as ignorant nonsense are 100% guaranteed to be believers in ignorant nonsense. For the life of me, I don't know how they can fail to notice that science fucking WORKS. Whether the fact that it works is a good thing or a bad thing, is a discussion I am always willing to entertain. But alt-reality denial of the efficacy of science is a total conversation stopper... for me at least.

 

[marc]

One of the comments tries to argue against the ignorant-rural christian stereotype, by arguing that evolution is ignorant nonsense...

People who characterize science as ignorant nonsense are 100% guaranteed to be believers in ignorant nonsense. For the life of me, I don't know how they can fail to notice that science fucking WORKS. Whether the fact that it works is a good thing or a bad thing, is a discussion I am always willing to entertain. But alt-reality denial of the efficacy of science is a total conversation stopper... for me at least.

I think the guy I was referring to believes in science, he just doesn't accept evolution as science. But I agree with you. All these science deniers out there who have no idea how much of their lives depend on it, and use it in the form of the computer they use to complain about it.

[YOUTUBE]https://youtu.be/n6hxo1sC-dU[/YOUTUBE]

 

[Jason Harvestdancer]

As I understand, it is racist to criticize someone for their religious beliefs. So stop the racism, marc.

Holy shit, dude. It's really fucking racist to call someone a racist for criticizing someone else's religious beliefs. You kind of went a mile or two over the line of acceptability there.

How did you enjoy the taste of bait smothered in sarcasm and sprinkled with irony?

 

[Elixir]

People who characterize science as ignorant nonsense are 100% guaranteed to be believers in ignorant nonsense. For the life of me, I don't know how they can fail to notice that science fucking WORKS. Whether the fact that it works is a good thing or a bad thing, is a discussion I am always willing to entertain. But alt-reality denial of the efficacy of science is a total conversation stopper... for me at least.

I think the guy I was referring to believes in science, he just doesn't accept evolution as science. But I agree with you. All these science deniers out there who have no idea how much of their lives depend on it, and use it in the form of the computer they use to complain about it.

It's only by maintaining near-total ignorance of science and the scientific method, that anyone can remain convinced that evolution is not science. Many of the fundroids I have encountered online are of the Young Earth Creationist variety. Maintaining THAT fantasy requires rejection of not only evolution, but biology as a whole, as well as physics, cosmology, geology, chemistry... pretty much the whole ball of wax. Almost as if the OP nailed it - this is a population that has slowly become anencephalic as anyone with more than half a brain has gotten themselves away from that nonsense.

[YOUTUBE]https://youtu.be/n6hxo1sC-dU[/YOUTUBE]

I find Dawkins a bit strident for my taste (and that's saying something!), but nonetheless - he's right.

 

[ronburgundy]

Rural America has not only always been socially conservative, but it's been in social decline for decades. .

Well, this same rural/urban clash in the US has been going strong for over a century. A great read is Hofsteader's "Anti-Intellectualism in America". He traces the history of anti-intellectualism and its strong ties to racism, anti-immigrant sentiment, nationalism, white-supremacy, and rural economic struggles and flight to urban centers due to the Industrial revolution. All of these were woven together by protestant "awakenings" that fed off the anti-rational emotionalism at the core of the Protestant reformation to form the anti-intellectual, anti-modern conserservatism we see today.

When you read statements by the KKK around the end of WW I, they are very much anti-intellectual, anti-science, anti-urban tirades as much as they are about white supremacy. Similarly, the arguments put forth by preachers and by William Jennings Bryan about the Scopes Trial in 1925 come right out of the same playbook of the modern GOP and Trump's speeches, weaving anti-science with anti-urbanism, anti-immigration, racism, and general religious fears of moral decay.

Hofsteader wrote his book in 1963, right before the GOP implemented its "Southern Strategy" to unite these things under a single political party. It helps to clarify that the GOP didn't create this urban/rural culture clash, it just has helped entrench it further and make it the basis of current party divisions.

 

[fromderinside]

Thought it was an interesting article. Argues that the problem isn't coastal liberals not reaching out to understand rural fundamental christians. The problem is rural, fundamental christians refusal to consider anything that does not already agree with their world view.

The dark rigidity of fundamentalist rural America: a view from the inside

One of the comments tries to argue against the ignorant-rural christian stereotype, by arguing that evolution is ignorant nonsense...

Problems is, boys and girls, fundamentalist Christianity went to the burbs generations ago and those who live in the burbs left cities to escape developing globalism. IOW the story of moot.

 

[Matt986]

I did get a chuckle from this comment:

God, you people are so ignorant. Let me explain it all to you.

See, a zombie named Jesus wants us to prove we love him by practicing ritual cannibalism and vampirism so that he will make us live forever whether we want to or not because a talking snake told a rib lady to eat magic fruit so she'd be smarter.

GOT IT? Can I have a big AMEN here?