I have to admit that, having lived mostly in Weast and East coast cities, I had little exposure to what "middle America" is. However, recently I spend considerable time in central PA, and what I find there is absolutely beyond my comprehension. Racism is not only wide-spread but causal, people I meet express racist views without even qualifying them in any way. Bigotry is rampant, and adjectives "gay" or "jewish" are casually used to denote something bad. Anti-foreign sentiments are very high, and foreigner bashing is quite common and endorsed by local politicians (http://kdka.com/local/local_story_049105117.html). Support for wars, past and present, is expressed in virtually every town, in the form of bumper stickers, road signs, or MIA flags. I coukd understand if this was Middle East or South Africa ( (alas, I was greatly impressed by the level of civility in South African political discourse), but I find hard to belive that people who suffered so little and live in relative properity harbor so much hatred and bigotry toward everyone else
At the same time, I work at one of the most prestgious universitiers in this country - where nobody makes faces hearing accented English, nobody waves a flag, makes racist remarks or bashes foreigners, where domestic gay partners receive the same benfit packet as married couples, where most people I work with are against this war and Bush in general.
Now, you say that you experienced that reality and apparently do not find it cranky, but you find cranky what I say. I may be cranky, but I am not stupid. I know who my friends and who my foes are. I know that it will be not assoreted snotty well-educated whites, but yes, white trash, who will take their guns and shoot people like me, when a nod from the halls of power comes. I've already been told that in my face by some of these folks. And I know that where I am coming from, it did happen more than once.
Wojtek