Hicks in the sticks...a surreal experience yesterday

[FirstLight]

So I took the kids and headed out yesterday for a 'discovery tour'...up Hwy 88 in the high country of the sierras (near Markleeville)for thhose who know the region, Blue Lakes road was our destination.

This is the high point of family camping season, but there were still not as many people as one would expect to see. so we headed off the beaten path and found a cool dirt road to explore, i knew there was a high lake and some campsites up there so I thought we'd have a nice little adventure... well at one point the road was covered in water so i had to back up and figure out how to turn around...

there was this big silver truck that showed up behind me, typical weekend warrior city slicker type, with the motorcross bikes in the back..

so he backs up and waits for me to get turned around, i smiled and said "thanks!"

his response "Obama SUCKS!" (guess he saw my stickers, huh?)

:wtf:

so we go back up to the main road and head to the next lake area to poke around, this one is paved and more 'populated'
again, no real place to go, so i end up in a parking lot turning around again
...and theres a clutch of older folks on their motorcycles watching us... they begin to laugh loudly and talk MORE OBAMA SMACK... I have my window down, i can hear them chuckling to themselves and saying 'ya, those Obama lovers ain't so smart'

I kid you not.

we managed to find ourselves a nice stream to play in, but the two human interactions out there really disturbed me... what the fuck is going on?

[lonestarnot]

1. dirtdumb and old farts on motorcycles, consider the fucking source.

[FirstLight]

2. i know...

I am just shocked that people would choose to say negative things than just be PEOPLE out there, what happened to common courtesy? it amazes me that folks are that pissed off at him, (esp. after the mess bush made)

[eShirl]

34. maybe their normal social inhibitions were loosened by beer?

just guessing...

[proud2BlibKansan]

21. Went to Sturgis in 2004

And met lots of good liberals who hated Bush. Many conversations started because of my bumper stickers.

So I no longer assume motorcycle means right winger.

[lonestarnot]

32. Yeah and I ran into a Taliban at the Walgreens yesterday.

Not done with that fuck yet.

[TheCowsCameHome]

3. Nothing between their ears, only bikes between their legs.

Consider the source, and just enjoy your trip.

[TNDemo]

4. I'm just so glad that did not happen in the south

or the multitudes would be on here saying that guy is like everyone else there, etc. Jerks are definitely everywhere.

[FirstLight]

5. I know, but i have not experienced the vitriol like this before

it's like, here we are in this beautiful place, and instead of being neighborly you choose to be political & hateful...really?

as a single mom, i am thinking of taking the stickers off my car just because i don't want to be a target. it's getting scary out there, folks

[Curmudgeoness]

11. The political atmosphere these days is so charged up by the

talking heads that these people listen to, making hatred more acceptable. I understand you want to advertise your views with your bumper stickers, but it may be a good idea for a woman (or a man) to avoid the bumper stickers that will incite more hatred from them. I have made a decision to find causes that are not so inciting for my bumper (inoculating pets, spay and neuter, etc.)

It is a very sad commentary on our society that we have to decide to change the way we do things just to be safe.

[FirstLight]

13. ya

well i have even gotten shit from my BIL and elderly father because they are plugged in to that stuff...

ya, sorry state of affairs when we have to worry about safety. I used to thinkk as a liberal, i was indangered during the bush years by them BEING in power, but they seem to be more dangerous when NOT in power...

[malaise]

35. You take off the stickers

and they win

[customerserviceguy]

6. You might be surprised to have heard that

but it happens a lot out in the areas of the country that are more than an hour's drive from a big city.

How much smack do you think a family from the rural areas (that you evidentally look down on) would get in a major city over a McCain-Palin sticker still on their car?

We're a very divided nation, and have been so ever since the Vietnam War started to go sour. I just see it getting more and more divided every decade. If you only hang around with one side or the other, you're surprised to see the signs of this division, fortunately, I've lived life in the suburbs of large urban areas, and way out in the country, so I expect this.

[FirstLight]

9. i do NOT look down on rural living people...duh!

I am one of them, for crissakes...lived here in the mountains for 18 years!

my issue was that instead of being neighborly in a beautiful NATIONAL park, (that I happen to SHARE with visitors year round with lots of tolerance, mind you)...these folks chose to get weird and snarky about my CAR, not even ME or anything they heard me say...

i do look down upon ignorance, but it lives in city and country alike

[customerserviceguy]

18. Ok, maybe I misunderstood that "hicks in the sticks"

in the title of your post. If a freeper entitled a post with the phrase, "Bro's and Ho's in the Hood", maybe I shouldn't take that as racist, either.

[Gordan Shumway]

31. Maybe you should refrain from analogies

[customerserviceguy]

39. OK, so you're saying

"hicks in the sticks" is not pejorative in any way?

No wonder folks in red state America don't trust us too often.

[DeschutesRiver]

37. But your first encounter was with what you called "city slickers"

who were weekend warriors out for a rural jaunt, just like you were doing. And the second group were older people in a motorcycle group, likely doing the same thing, ie city people on their bikes out for a "country" drive. People from other areas who were only visiting a national park, not living there (we have a NF nearby, and so I know how bad it can get, but those aren't locals).

Did you run into any actual rural people, ie "hicks from the sticks" that slammed Obama, or just other city folk? I'm not downplaying that it happens. But I live in a rural ranching community and while I've heard some vile stuff, I too assumed that most people here probably didn't think much of Obama. And yet, I have heard a ton of complimentary things about Obama, even from the Repubs here, to my everlasting shock. The positive views think he inherited "a pile of bad shit" and is stepping up and taking it on like an adult... "he is a pretty practical guy doing the best he can with a big ol' mess" is typical.

So am curious if any local from that area acted confrontational about your stickers (if not, might want to change the subject title)?

[IDemo]

7. By chance, did you hear banjo music cueing up?

[formercia]

27. video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1tqxzWdKKu8

[MorningGlow]

8. "Us vs. them" mentality

Political discourse--or what passes for it these days--has been reduced to the same vapid trash-talking "your side sux" mentality once reserved for mocking an opposing sports team. Facts don't matter; nuances don't matter. If you're the other side, "you suck." Deep, huh? :eyes:

I blame Fox Nooz. It started with the character-assassination takedown of Clinton, and when they found out it worked so well, they kept at it. I also blame the ig'nant in this country for allowing themselves to be brainwashed by said infotainment.

And the divide just gets wider.

[FirstLight]

10. exactly!

it's the choice to be ignorant of a PERSON or their perspective, instead choosing to characterize and pigeon hole or demonize. I try so hard nOT to be one of those types.

When faced with blind rage blended with willful ignorance, it's scary to me. I guess the idealist in me (hehe, the berkeley peacenik) still thinks we could just work all this out if we'd just be 'people' with eachother...but it's not that easy

[eilen]

25. To me it's not necessarily ignorance

It is boorish rude behavior. People can be ignorant and polite.

[Motown_Johnny]

12. In The Bubble... Real Americans! (not fake ones like us)

[sl8]

14. What do your stickers say? n/t

[Liberal_in_LA]

15. sore losers, they still can't believe Obama won

[kentuck]

16. The 24/7 propagandists have turned very threatening...

and hostile. They are inciting violence. And it might be working?

[lunatica]

17. You've met the carefully created 'Angry White Man'

They will come out to vote in droves. I expect a few Teabaggers will get elected this year.

[Evasporque]

19. Dawn of the Dumb.

Night of the Living Dumb.
Day of the Dumb.

[proud2BlibKansan]

20. And they vote

[WinkyDink]

22. You got away from them alive. I'd call that a good day.

[lpbk2713]

23. As usual ... they're afflicted with short term memory.

They forget about the eight year reign of terror perpetrated by the corrupt and evil BushCo Regime.

Combine that with their willful ignorance and one has to believe there is just no hope for them.

Sorry your family outing had to be negatively impacted by these mouth breathers.

[Fumesucker]

24. I learned a long time ago that the "wrong" stickers can cause you problems..

As an atheist living deep in the Bible Belt I made the mistake of putting one of the "Darwin Fish" stickers on my car, in the space of about ninety days I had my car vandalized three times so I eventually just removed the sticker, voila', no more vandalism.

It is just an unfortunate fact that a minority of the population is simply unable to tolerate an opposing viewpoint being publicly displayed without reacting in a very hostile manner. I suspect this is true on both sides of many issues but it appears to be most prevalent on the political right, perhaps it seems this way simply because of where I live and the people who surround me.

[pipi_k]

29. That's exactly why I don't put political stickers on my vehicles

It's bad enough having a small SUV that I sometimes have to drive into the city (city people assuming that I live there and choose to ride around in something other than one of those teeny little "Smart Car" things).

People would be surprised to know how many individuals give someone a hard time based solely on what vehicle he or she is driving!

One sticker I do have on my SUV says, "My place is in the Hilltowns". Just so any potential vandalizers might get a clue that I live in a different environment than they do. Steep hills, dirt roads, ice, mud, etc. But then there's the danger that vandalizers wouldn't see it until after they had keyed my car or slashed the tires or something....

anway, yeah...no political stickers here. People are too friggen crazy.

[Fumesucker]

33. This is the only "political sticker" on my car these days..

I get some very strange looks..

[pipi_k]

36. bwahahahah!!! I love it!!!! n/t

:7

[Ignis]

42. !

:spray:

That is awesome. :thumbsup: I can see that you're a uniter, not a divider.

[Fumesucker]

46. I live in portion of the country where probably 75% of the population are creationists..

I seriously doubt that even 10% of the people who see my sticker have the slightest clue what Gondwanaland might be.

Which is why I get a kick out of having the sticker, it would take me ten minutes just to explain the joke to practically everyone who sees it.

Did I mention that I'm a bit strange? :)

[Ignis]

48. "Did I mention that I'm a bit strange?"

You're saying this to someone with a "Hail Eris" bumper sticker and a Cthulhu-fish magnetic decal.

:toast:

[Fumesucker]

51. Cthulhu Saves..

Because He might get hungry later.

:toast:

[JoePhilly]

26. "Look kids ... a pack of Teahadists ... keep your hands inside the car ...

they carry an infection that makes one's brain shrivel."

[Jakes Progress]

28. The depth of stupidity and bile

in America is amazing. It's not that so many aren't liberal or even Democrats. It is the level of rude, self-satisfied stupidity that astounds.

Good for the people who keep an open mind and wait to embrace their fellow man. I am losing that ability.

[JNelson6563]

30. Up here in the northern sticks

It's usually those sporting Bush or McCain bumper stickers who are the shitty drivers. I often chuckle at their stupidity.

Julie

[LWolf]

38. "Hicks in the sticks."

What is a hick? Someone who lives in "the sticks," or only those who live in "the sticks" and don't like Obama?

I live rurally. I'm not now, and have never been, a fan of Obama. I'm not bothered by Obama stickers, and I don't feel the need to confront strangers in public. Then again, I don't confront them about their Bush stickers, either.

What, exactly, are you trying to say about people who don't live in cities, and/or people who aren't fans of Obama?

Or are you NOT generalizing your experience to an entire demographic?

[babylonsister]

40. The OP is not 'trying' to say anything...

and fwiw, they sounded like hicks to me. You apparently have the good grace not to comment on someone's politics; they didn't.

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/hick


hick
- 3 dictionary results

Dictionary.com
hick
   /hɪk/ Show Spelled Show IPA
–noun
1.
an unsophisticated, boorish, and provincial person; rube.
–adjective
2.
pertaining to or characteristic of hicks: hick ideas.
3.
located in a rural or culturally unsophisticated area: a hick town.

[LWolf]

41. A dictionary definition.

Just what I needed, since you apparently think my vocabulary is deficient. :eyes:

"Hick" is pejorative. Just like other names that are considered uncivil. As a matter of fact, the definitions you provided, themselves, offer a broad-brush judgment. People who live rurally are "provincial," "rubes," and "culturally unsophisticated." Inferior to those who live in town.

Instead, why not just say that those people were rude and/or ungracious? I'm sure there are rude, ungracious people living in cities and suburbs, too.

[babylonsister]

43. Spare me; you're the one who took issue with a word instead

of commenting on the content of the OP.

Maybe you should use your indignation for something more productive.

[LWolf]

47. If you want to be spared,

don't take the time out to lecture me about my posts.

:shrug:

[AnArmyVeteran]

45. I live in a 'Bubbadom' full of pickups and anti-Obama stickers.

There are mutant conservatives of every stripe, and in every location. The more uneducated or unaware a person is the more apt they are to be a conservative. Hick has a somewhat negative connotation but when you mix a rural or urban guy with unprovoked anti-Obama rants you get DUMB.

[LWolf]

57. I think you are correct in this:

rural or urban doesn't matter. Ignorance happens everywhere.

[AnArmyVeteran]

44. Seven Words: R - A - C - I - S - T - S

Yeah, I know, those are letters, not words. But they are 'words' to right wingers who can barely eek out a complete sentence. How else could a dolt like Bush have gotten to the presidency? Arguably, Bush can't read, write or speak on a third grade level. And conservatives who lapped up his every mangled 'word' were even dumber.

[Obamanaut]

55. 'eke' maybe? It is good to preview a post, especially when making

sport of the writing/speaking skills of someone else.

[w8liftinglady]

49. for a minute there,I thought you were in Ellis County,Tx-my sweet home...

[vanamonde]

53. Hey, I'm from Ellis county, kind of

I haven't lived there since 1980. I doubt if I would ever go back. My parents were raised in Midlothian.

[w8liftinglady]

54. It's not pretty for dems

[Javaman]

50. .

[vanamonde]

52. I live near the area

and recreate in Alpine county whenever I can. I'd bet money that the people you met were from Sacramento, Stockton or Reno. Not hicks at all. The county population probably doubles on summer weekends. In fact Alpine County residents voted for Kerry in 2004 and was one of only 3 CA interior counties to reject Prop 8 (according to Wiki).
Next time, come back on a weekday if you can.

[LoZoccolo]

56. Maybe they were actually "disappointed progressives".

Hard to tell from the few things they said.