Why are Pennsylvanians bitter? Pie chart

[Scoobs]

Suprised to not see the loss of jobs in the chart. That would be too obvious, obviously.

http://www.236.com/news/2008/04/15/barack_obama_calls_pennsylvani_5847.php

According to Hillary, I would've thought that the only reason they were bitter was because of Obama's statement.

[DaveJ]

1. I know nothing about Pennsylvania

Are they really like this? I mean, I'd think anyone with dreams and ambitions would be bitter in this kind of environment. But are they so simple that even bitterness is just thought of as a 'bad word' with no other implications behind it?

Seriously, I am bitter that the U.S. has to coddle the simpletons of the U.S. in order to win an election.

[Avalux]

2. Simpletons? That stupid graph is satire. I can say this though -

the people of rural PA really have lost a lot over the past 20-30 years and ARE bitter (as everyone in this country should be). They are partially to blame though because they vote against their own best interests by putting morons in office based on wedge issues. It's a reality I hear and see from some family and friends that really infuriates me. Obama is correct in what he said.

Please do not call these people simpletons if you know nothing about them.

[DaveJ]

5. Wierd. I just asked. Got an answer.

Then, told not to say... the answer.

I'm not afraid to call someone living in blissful ignorance what they are. It's not like they even care.

Edit: Sorry, the poll numbers are just pissing me off.

[Avalux]

6. I think it's erroneous to call them simpletons.

It's a lot more complicated than that. They aren't stupid people (which is what simpleton implies); they ARE mostly high school graduates who have never ventured out of their own little corner of the world. It's difficult for them to view the world on a larger scale.

[rug]

7. "It's difficult for them to view the world on a larger scale."

Are you writing speeches for Obama?

[Avalux]

8. Nah. I grew up there and moved away....

so I know what I'm talking about. Once I moved away and was exposed to other cultures and people, I realized they DO have difficulty viewing the world on a larger scale.

My mother for example - she's lived within the same three mile radius her entire life. Has never known anyone but white people just like her. I posted here a month or so ago that she's bigoted and she is. It's not because she's a bad person, it's because she's lived in a very homogenous world and hasn't been exposed to anything else. Fortunately, she is intelligent and we've had really good conversations lately about race.

[rug]

9. That's a slim sample to draw a generalization about 13,000,000 people.

I was born and raised in the middle of Manhattan. The differences are extremely exaggerated.

[Avalux]

11. All I can do is relate my own personal experiences.

I happen to think the differences among all of us are insignificant, but those who live in small town PA don't see it that way. That's why wedge issues can be used to manipulate them so easily. The GOP has known this for a very long time and that's why they continue to win. The local government of the town I grew up in is Republican. Why on earth do they continue to vote these people into office? Guns. It's sad but true.

:hi:

[sudopod]

14. "I was born and raised in the middle of Manhattan."

LOL, you ain't from around here, are ya?

[rug]

15. Pike County, PA for ten years. How far away is Tennessee?

[BumRushDaShow]

10. You were being kind in a response to a smart-ass answer. Kudos to you!

What you describe is not just the purview of the small town and rural dwellers. Few not living in a big city, may realize that the same phenemona exists in big cities where people might be born, go to school, work, get married, and raise a family, all within the same neighborhood and rarely venturing a few miles outside of it. They are just as insular despite being surrounded by the diversity of a city - although more often than not, this is due to the de facto segregation instituted by past egregious red-lining practices.

[Avalux]

12. It is a lot more pervasive than most of us care to acknowledge.

The fact that we're talking about it is progress; we NEED to talk about it. The fact that I've had a constructive conversation with my mother is amazing - she has decided to vote for Obama.

[rug]

13. Pennsylvania is not eleventh century France.

[azmouse]

16. My experience is similiar to yours.

I grew up in very small town PA. It wasn't until I moved away that I realized just how isolated I was from the world.
When I look at the list of people I went to high school with and see how many of them still live in the same small town I can't help but be amazed. Almost no one moves away despite the lack of jobs and other opportunities. Moving away is just not something that even occurs to most of them.
A few years back the results of a survey on housing showed PA as having the greatest number of people living in the same house for more than 30 years. That is my experience of living there. People just stay put. Nothing changes.

[Marie26]

17. It's not the "bitter"

that bothers people, but the stereotyping of PA voters as xenophobic fundie gun nuts. He's identified the problem, but then come up w/a completely wrong explanation. Instead of blaming policy, he blames the people.

[mkultra]

3. that allentown song is meaningless

[AllentownJake]

4. I live in Allentown

Are we bitter. Hell yes. 30% of us are working in NY or Philadelphia areas because there aren't jobs here anymore. We do hours worth of commutes becuase the cost of living is better.