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How Familiar Are You With The World Of Flyoverstani Peasantry?

How well do you know that cultural ecosystem where people regularly shop at Dollar Value Stores and Walmart and buy their "fancy" things at JC Penney?

Where potato salad is something that's served at festive occasions and every frau and gay man has their own special recipe?

Where people work in cube farms for soul-crushing corporations with layer upon layer of bureaucracy?

Where "fine dining" is an upscale chain restaurant like The Bonefish Grill?

Where cars are Hondas, Fords, Chevys and Toyotas?

Where a size 12 for a woman or a 36 waist for a man is considered "svelte"?

Where the majority of people in town think the election was stolen from Donald Trump and the Joe Biden is a communist who will soon institute bread lines and turn over the country to "the CCP"?

Where "scrapbooking" is a common female hobby and where men commonly mow their own lawns?

Where children typically given names like Brayden and Nevaeh and Kayleigh?

Well?

by Anonymousreply 40March 1, 2021 1:09 PM

You seem to be very familiar, OP. Who are your people, dear?

by Anonymousreply 1February 28, 2021 3:28 PM

OP is a Gypsy. Bitch, you ain’t better than my people!

by Anonymousreply 2February 28, 2021 3:37 PM

R2 = Stevie Nicks

by Anonymousreply 3February 28, 2021 3:38 PM

OP is in South Philly

by Anonymousreply 4February 28, 2021 3:38 PM

Where the nearest (blank) Grindr profile is 18 miles away

by Anonymousreply 5February 28, 2021 3:41 PM

"Inimately"

Oh, dear.

by Anonymousreply 6February 28, 2021 3:43 PM

I have relatives in Oklahoma and you can’t get anymore flyoverstan than that. They buy lite chipotle flavored miracle whip and fall asleep with the tely-vision blaring at top volume.

by Anonymousreply 7February 28, 2021 3:47 PM

I have learned everything I know about Flyoverstani peasantry from Datalounge

Both in its current form and in its less stratified form in the 1960s and 70s

Pre-DL, I had no idea how different life was between the coasts.

by Anonymousreply 8February 28, 2021 3:48 PM

There are a lot of blue oases in flyover red states, and plenty of Republican voters who didn't like Trump so they voted for the Libertarian or didn't vote for president at all.

I glance at the births in the papers a few times a week and I haven't seen names like "Brayden and Nevaeh and Kayleigh" for years. DL never updates its stereotypes.

by Anonymousreply 9February 28, 2021 3:48 PM

[quote]lite chipotle flavored miracle whip

The internet says this does not exist. Is the internet lying to me?

by Anonymousreply 10February 28, 2021 3:50 PM

[quote] I glance at the births in the papers a few times a week

Well that right there would be one-- births are not announced in coastal newspapers. (Or the more popular online versions thereof)

by Anonymousreply 11February 28, 2021 3:50 PM

Very true, R11. I've made it a habit to look at the births ever since one of my former students was the father of the first kid born in the state one year, at just after midnight on a January 1st.

I like how old it makes me feel.

by Anonymousreply 12February 28, 2021 3:53 PM

[quote] lot of blue oases in flyover red states,

And if you live in one, your answer would be "There are some people like that where I live"

by Anonymousreply 13February 28, 2021 3:53 PM

Some of ma fancy shirts came from Walmart, you dont have to go to JC Penney to get fancy. Kmart is good too

Nothing wrong with tater salad, I like it myself, dont have a recipe but my partner has several

Cube farms.... this is why I love work from home!

I cant fart in a fine dining restaurant!

Nothing wrong with Hondas, Ford, Chevs, Toyatas etc, my partners Toyota is reliable as an anvil. His Mercedes was a piece of shit

I have a 28 in waist, but yeah, I know what you mean. Shopping for clothes is a fuckin bitch, gotta wade through a sea of 36, 40, 50, 60 70 and 80 in plus sizes to try and find a 28, and count myself lucky if I do

And yes, I mow the lawn

by Anonymousreply 14February 28, 2021 3:54 PM

This probably deserves a "Let's be Flyoverstani Peasantry" thread.

I'd say pretty well - I grew up near Fargo, North Dakota/Moorhead, MN. Had family in other small towns in Minnesota, but also a lot in metro Minneapolis-St. Paul.

I did "escape" to bigger, bluer cities - and it's without a doubt better. No debate where I'd want to live. But, as an adult I know that there's actually some progressive, cool people in places like where I grew up - and they're all the more valuable since they're not the majority. Flip side - there's a lot of awful folks in the big cities - don't even get me started on the major metro burbs - which can be just as awful and conservative as Flyoverstan, only richer - even in coastal metro areas. But the cities themselves and some suburbs of big cities are almost always better just because people are used to diversity of everything - some welcome and embrace it; others simply ignore and live and let live. It's that attitude what makes it so much better to live there. And of course the normal big city amenities.

I know it's not simply a matter of small vs. big. I've also lived in liberal small city college towns which are entirely their own thing.

by Anonymousreply 15February 28, 2021 3:54 PM

My answer to what, R13?

by Anonymousreply 16February 28, 2021 3:55 PM

[R10] I made it up but it’s the sort of thing they eat. Twenty years ago it was honey mustard everything, now it’s chipotle.

by Anonymousreply 17February 28, 2021 3:56 PM

I think most intelligent gay men “escaped” their horrific hometowns. I do know of several homos that live in backwoods east Texas hellholes....and don’t know how they do it. I left mine at 18 and never looked back. I have lived in 5 top-ten US cities. I assume most interesting gays have lived in at least 2-3 top ten cities.

by Anonymousreply 18February 28, 2021 3:56 PM

Well, it lead me to discover that Kraft makes a "chipotle aioli" in a squeeze bottle, r17, so it wasn't that far off.

by Anonymousreply 19February 28, 2021 3:57 PM

[quote] Nothing wrong with tater salad

What's "taters", precious? What's "taters"?

Offsite Link
by Anonymousreply 20February 28, 2021 4:08 PM

OP, you need to update your stereotypes. “Scrapbooking” has been replaced by Pinterest and vision boards and digital albums.

The kid names mentioned were popular over a decade ago.

I don’t know of a single brick and mortar JC Penney that still exists.

Soul crushing corporations outsourced the cube farms decades ago.

by Anonymousreply 21February 28, 2021 4:11 PM

To me it was always the attitudes, the fearfulness, the doubling down on being ignorant and not expanding horizons. The entire consumer aspect - the Dollar Stores, the cars, the clothes, the interior design, the chain restaurants and processed food, and on and on - never bothered me, even if it was often trashy.

I know those things are often symbolic of the attitudes, thus they're naturally maligned, but you move away and realize there's good people who don't have impeccable consumer habits (I know, that's subjective), and truly awful people who have great taste in a lot of areas.

by Anonymousreply 22February 28, 2021 4:22 PM

OP, wow you must feel very lowly of yourself to go to such effort, to dedicate such time to recycle such condescending, stereotypical, outdated tropes.

I'd have to agree with R9.

by Anonymousreply 23February 28, 2021 4:24 PM

There are good and bad folks everywhere, choose your friends and associates carefully

by Anonymousreply 24February 28, 2021 4:28 PM

R22 - wow one of the most respectful and insightful posts I’ve seen in a while here.

by Anonymousreply 25February 28, 2021 4:37 PM

[quote]I have learned everything I know about Flyoverstani peasantry from Datalounge

This was pretty obvious.

by Anonymousreply 26February 28, 2021 4:40 PM

So what are the current popular children's names in Flyoverstan?

Have they started to name their offspring Donald, Eric, Barron, Melania and Ivanka or just updated variations on Brayden, Cayden and Jayden?

by Anonymousreply 27February 28, 2021 4:57 PM

We still have a JC Penny and it probably has the best selection of men's clothing in town. The potato salad thing is still going on. If someone tells me about their receipt or what they put in it I just say "That's interesting."

by Anonymousreply 28February 28, 2021 7:19 PM

[quote] If someone tells me about their receipt

?

by Anonymousreply 29February 28, 2021 7:30 PM

Dollar General and Family Dollar have the cheapest prices for my generic cigarettes.

by Anonymousreply 30February 28, 2021 7:32 PM

OP is from NYC and is just trying to deflect from the shithole NYC has become. Or some similar city on the west coast.

by Anonymousreply 31February 28, 2021 7:37 PM

Done better, years ago

Offsite Link
by Anonymousreply 32February 28, 2021 9:48 PM

People in very rural areas don't have many options for socializing. School-centered activities and Church functions are about all that is available. If the small town is lucky, there may be a community center and a park. Having a supermarket and a couple of convenience stores for gas, drinks, beer, etc. are important. Chain fast food joints may not exist or there may be only one or two in an extended area Those with money, if they choose, can travel for a variety of restaurants, movie theaters, concerts, higher-level sporting events, etc. There are also valued features for rural living: quieter, less traffic and congestion, less crime, perhaps supportive neighbors, and being closer to nature.

by Anonymousreply 33February 28, 2021 10:14 PM

^Of course shopping options are a huge drawback. Driving to bigger towns may be essential. 15 to 50 mile trips to shop are common. Also, finding repairmen and other home services may be difficult. Near everyone needs access to a hospital, doctor's office, dentist, pharmacy, etc.

by Anonymousreply 34February 28, 2021 10:23 PM

R32 very interesting, couldnt really score myself properly as I'm not American

by Anonymousreply 35March 1, 2021 7:07 AM

How did I get to age 39 and not learn any of these words?

by Anonymousreply 36March 1, 2021 7:14 AM

Well, I grew up in Los Angeles and all you have to do is leave Woodland Hills and drive past Calabasas and EVERYONE is just like that by the time you hit Agoura Hills. Same with Encino...leave the enclave of a few liberals and celebrities and Jewish professionals and drive down Reseda and you are in Northridge. Besides the professors at the university, you are dealing with NASCAR fans and hicks. Just that, being LA, you have a lot of ethnic communities and city colleges which sprinkle the landscape with a bit of variety and cultural life but for the rest....same shit. Even the Westside is like that outside of a few pockets. No need to go to North Dakota.

by Anonymousreply 37March 1, 2021 8:15 AM

R37 - you must not have been back in a while.

All the Jewish professionals that used to live in Woodland Hills are now in Agoura and Westlake Village, mostly because the schools there are outside of LAUSD and kids go to their local schools.

You have to go past Thousand Oaks to get to the kinds of places you speak of.

by Anonymousreply 38March 1, 2021 12:48 PM

OP lives in a studio he can’t afford but needs to convince himself he’s made it.

by Anonymousreply 39March 1, 2021 12:56 PM

OPs criteria actually sounds very Midwestern.

by Anonymousreply 40March 1, 2021 1:09 PM
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