Small Town USA: the Good the Bad and the Ugly

[injest]

I live in deep East Texas. Near what we call the Dead Woods.

There are a lot of myths about small towns. A lot of misconceptions. I have found that most of the people I have met on the internet have no idea what life is like here.

Garry is the closest. I think he DOES understand what and where I come from. Here I am going to tell you about MY life. and the people in the area.

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What made me decide to start this thread is an encounter I had with a member on another thread. We were discussing religion (always good for an argument!).

I am aware that there are established religions with schools and seminaries and universities, but there is no law that says you have to have any education at all to set yourself up as a preacher. It is in fact a big tradition around here (remember I am ONLY talking about MY little corner of the world) to have some drunk 'see the light' and set himself up as a 'man of God'.

He gathers up a group of like minded people and tada!! he has a church!

all legal and everything!

and he is not regulated...he can preach whatever he wants. Think Phelps...and his ilk. Most of them are virulently anti woman, anti everything really.

My mother went to a church when I was a little girl that taught that the Bible was delivered to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden....in English....The King James version! We were taught that if a man saw the top of your arm and had a lustful thought that WE would go to Hell...not HIM...us! the little girls. and since we were required to wear dresses we couldn't even play on the playground (someone would see our undies). So even our very movement was restricted.

They taught that there were no dinosaurs, nothing EVER evolved, and of course we never went to the moon.

There are people TODAY that still preach that on Sundays and Wednesdays.

there are a lot of upsides to living in the boondocks...but there are some scary people here.

[injest]

I know a lady, about 55, who believes that if you don't circumcize your boys at birth....he will die....

[injest]

The thing about living in a reasonable size town is you have a police force with some oversight

If you live in a tiny town, your police will probably be the son and grandson of the previous sheriff....

and if he is good he is VERY good; he will know everyone and everything going on. You can call him at home if you have to.

if he is bad....it is hell on earth

[jpwagoneer1964]

I know a lady, about 55, who believes that if you don't circumcize your boys at birth....he will die....

Altough  rare for the rest of the world for non Jewish and  muslim men, I am very glad was born here, USA, at a time when most boys were cicumsized at birth.

[injest]

Altough  rare for the rest of the world for non Jewish and  muslim men, I am very glad was born here, USA, at a time when most boys were cicumsized at birth.

yeah, cause otherwise...

you would be dead!!! 

[Lynne]

Jess - I totally hear you and know what you're talking about.  I am from a similarly inclined small-town in TN, as you know.  I was thinking the other day - at the same prompting as you - about how I was spoon fed dogma from back before I could remember and how I'll never understand what prompted me to finally reject it, by and large.

I have an first cousin (~3 years older) who I really looked up to when I was 7-ish years old.  I can remember sitting on the front porch, watching a beautiful sunset, all reds and oranges.  And she tells me that the sky is the color of blood because Jesus is crying tears because it's near the end of the world.  Now she was only 10 or so, but she got that crap from somewhere too and was just passing it along.  I remember having nightmares and being scared for a long time after that.

I'm at work and shouldn't really be doing this    But thank you for starting this thread...I'm sure I have a laundry list of horror stories.

[Lynne]

A good thing about small towns - I had to go to traffic court the other day because I was stopped and didn't have my license with me.  The traffic court judge was a high school classmate and is my personal attorney - she did my health care proxy, etc... 

[injest]

LOL

but YOU do understand what I mean about these fringe churches? and that people that were raised in them have a hard time turning loose of those beliefs?

[jpwagoneer1964]

LOL

but YOU do understand what I mean about these fringe churches? and that people that were raised in them have a hard time turning loose of those beliefs?

Yes this does make sense. We take with us so much from an early age.

[David In Indy]

I am Catholic but I haven't attended Mass for several years now. I think it is pretty obvious why I haven't. It's difficult to sit in a pew and listen to the priest talking about people like me. You know, gay people will go to hell... that sort of thing.

Blah Blah Blah. 

But once a Protestant friend of mine told me his minister told the congregation that all Catholics are witches and we dabble in sorcery. Apparently he was referring to the Transubstantiation (the priest changing the bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ). This minister called the Catholic Mass "Black Magic". The tragic part is my friend believed it. Why? Because his minister said so. I felt very offended by that and still do, actually.

This minister also said men are not allowed to let their hair grow long because Jesus had short hair. If they do, they will go to Hell. 

Edit: Did you know the words Hocus Pocus is derived from the Catholic Mass? Actually people first started using those words as a way to mock the Catholic Mass. During the Consecration, the priest says (in the Latin Mass) Hoc est enim Corpus Meum. (For This Is My Body).

I don't know why I brought that up. I guess I'm in the Halloween spirit tonight!