bad girl said:
But, a note to people in general. If you are going to move to a new place. Check out their public libraries gives you an idea of the willingness of the community to have an educated community. It is not the most important factor to move to a new place. But, understand the local customs of reading does give you an idea what the local population feels is right and just.
This is actually a very acute aspect to take notice of! And I certainly agree with you on this notation.
Honestly it certainly speaks volumes as to the current area where I live....granted it's not without its charm but there is a reason it's referred to as a 'back-water back end of now where, hick infested town'. At least this is what I have come to find as the outsider's general over view of the area without actually taking the time to look past the skin. Sadly I find myself hard pressed to say much in defense...lot of people around here didn't even complete high school and that goes for many generations not just one or two. Not saying the area is a slum but it's hardy farm country for sure. Most individuals seeing little need to step outside their comfort zones and advance into something else. Farms and land, even the small businesses are passed from generation to generation and so forth. I certainly understand having some sense of security in the world, something to fall back on, especially today...but it's still disheartening to see people's lack of enthusiasm for advancing themselves.
On a quick side note just to provide as an example of the area; at a retail job in the area I had a customer make a rather rude remark during check out, albeit I know he was meaning it as a 'funny' or dryly sarcastic statement but it was still on the offensive side in my personal opinion. This customer had given me a larger bill to pay for his purchase instead of exact change. I did the math in my head and told him I could give him back change in full bills and minimal coins if he had a particular amount of smaller change. I don't recall the exact amounts now but he looked straight at me as I continued to spout off how I could give him the change owed in yet another fashion.
His eyes were wide open and I swear if his eyebrows went any higher they were going to migrate into his hairline. He stared at me for a moment after I stopped talking and said "Well, look at that! A local girl who can count of all things!" Of course I had no authority to tell him he was being disrespectful and honestly I shouldn't let these types of things get to me...but it drove a painstaking point home about the area in which I lived...point being most people were rather under-educated. I immediately began counting out his change to him and replied with a simple statement of "I am not originally from the area." He didn't say anything further after that.
Situations such as this are what make me cringe these days, feeling very ashamed to live where I do as now I am readily finding myself stereotyped and thrown in with what is commonly associated with the town more than I ever did in the past. Too many people seem fit to assume everyone who lives here are nothing more than a bunch of idiots. :/
If there was ever a due point for evidence on this...it's certainly the lack of decent libraries within a several mile driving radius...you have to go 15 miles out before you hit the first LARGE library...even further before you encounter several libraries in the same township...
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