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Post by Mugsy on Oct 24, 2014 14:24:43 GMT -4
I agree with highondegrassi about the "willful ignorance" thing. It's one thing to be in poverty by circumstance and try to do your best within that situation. It's another to denigrate healthy food and reading books and being active because it's too high falutin' or whatever.
Yes, organic vegetables are expensive, but a bag of frozen ones from Walmart is not and is just as healthy as something that was picked three days ago and is sitting on a farmstand wilting in the hot sun. And it's way better than cooked pasta with ketchup and melted margarine (one of June's "special" dinners).
You don't have to read War and Peace, but just reading a magazine, comic book or Harlequin romance is better than lolling on the couch watching crap all day.
The Boo Boo clan - but especially June - not only disparaged things that were healthy and good for them intellectually, they willfully wallowed in the grossest, low-based food and activities they could find. Producer driven to some degree, but June had some say too. No wonder the oldest daughter (the thin one that didn't even live with June when the show began) wanted to move away.
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jmc
Blueblood
Posts: 1,091
Feb 10, 2007 13:52:28 GMT -4
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Post by jmc on Oct 24, 2014 14:45:17 GMT -4
There aren't enough wealthy people in the country to vote for the clusterfuck that is our house of representatives. It couldn't have been done without the help from these dumbasses. I really don't associate values voters with the Boo Boos. I think those types of voters are looking down on June, with her four kids by four different fathers, as much as anyone else.
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Deleted
Posts: 0
May 5, 2024 4:44:50 GMT -4
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Post by Deleted on Oct 24, 2014 15:12:04 GMT -4
Values voters are the other side of the same stupid coin. They vote with tunnel vision -- Which candidate is pro-life? Okay, I'll vote for that one no.matter.what.
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Post by chonies on Oct 24, 2014 15:38:55 GMT -4
Since I haven't seen much of the show, I'm not sure what the BooBoos have said/been prompted to say on the show about books, vegetables, education, voting records, etc.
The ketchup and margarine pasta sauce sounds revolting, but I hate ketchup and have never been in a situation where I've had to quickly fix something on the cheap for five people. We've discussed the processed boxed pasta v. fruit and veg before, and I think a lot of it comes down to normalization. It's likely June grew up in the way she's raising her daughters (excepting the tv crews); I'd guess that anyone being told they're raising their children wrong will likely double down and do [whatever it is] harder, and more. I have no special love for Southern culture, but the Shannon/Thompsons are already poor, don't seem to value education, they have criminal records, and they speak Southern, so they're already doing a lot of things wrong, according to a lot of the world. I am not equating criminal choices with speaking a less prestigious dialect, but this is what I mean by low- hanging fruit.
I'm feeling a tad argumentative, so I wonder about the idea that reading is always better than watching tv. TV can be watched and enjoyed together whereas reading is a solitary activity. Watching TV can also be an achievable luxury when faced with severe limits on options. Reading is also sometimes seen as more of a consumer product; according to Google, the nearest library to the family is 4 miles away. I don't know if I would send kids there by themselves, although four miles isn't too much of a drive if everything else worked out. They also don't seem to have a website, so I suspect the library is understaffed and with limited hours. Of course, I know a lot of college professors who aren't big library people either, so I think that particular hobby might need more cultivation than just the idea of "reading=good."
I'm really not trying to go all Sociology of the Rural South, but I've lived in the deep south and/or Texas for ten years, and I've spent a lot of time watching. I'm still not sure what of the "willfully ignorant hillbilly" concept can be attributed to poverty, to rural concerns, or to the particular cultural roots of "poor white trash," but I've spent a lot of time thinking about it. Some other things to keep in mind is that there is low migration in the South so people tend to not live far from where they grew up, for several generations. I have learned that this often leads to strong tendencies in conformity--going to college at all might be a challenge (and is not especially a guarantee for success), so going away to college and staying away in a town where there might be a job might be unbearably abnormal for family-inclined people. Or, it could be a magical escape hatch, but not everyone has the wherewithal or capital to claw their way from subliteracy to a state university.
But, of course, none of this matters much if the family has other, more serious dysfunctions. And by way of explanation, I don't think my tepid, conditional defense of the Thompson/Shannon family is especially altruistic: since I've been living where I've been living, one of my biggest irritations has been people from outside the region who lump everything they don't understand or see as backwards or different as dumb and Southern, when really it's more complicated than "grits=ew."
tl;dr--I made HCHBB about me, somehow. Uh oh.
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Deleted
Posts: 0
May 5, 2024 4:44:50 GMT -4
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Post by Deleted on Oct 24, 2014 16:50:38 GMT -4
When I think about the white trash/hillbilly mentality, I'm not thinking about the South. I've lived in the Northeast and New England the majority of my life, and my personal experiences in that part of the country are what influence my opinion. This mentality isn't limited to any specific region.
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Post by chonies on Oct 24, 2014 17:16:51 GMT -4
HOD, I will acknowledge that I am a tad over sensitive on some topics, but at the same time, it's the southern or ozark variety of "hillbilly" that currently and historically dominate on tv, which I suppose is a topic for another time.
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jmc
Blueblood
Posts: 1,091
Feb 10, 2007 13:52:28 GMT -4
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Post by jmc on Oct 24, 2014 18:31:48 GMT -4
In news that everyone suspected, June's oldest daughter Anna is the victim. She's the one who didn't live with June until the show started filming, and now we know why. Now I'm wondering if the molester is Pumpkin's father. June always claimed she had no clue who Pumpkin's dad was, but if the dad was convicted of molesting the oldest daughter, I would probably keep the identity secret too.
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Post by chonies on Oct 24, 2014 18:37:10 GMT -4
I have no words. That's appalling.
ETA: Good for Anna for going public with this. I hope all the children are safe.
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Post by angelaudie on Oct 24, 2014 20:13:29 GMT -4
I can't even begin to imagine how disgusted and betrayed Anna must feel right now. Good for her for calling out June!
From what I've read June dumped Anna on her grandmother when Anna was 8. I guess now we know why. June probably didn't believe Anna or blamed Anna for what happened. It sounds like the only reason why Anna moved back in with June is because TLC wanted to show Anna's pregnancy. What a mess!
TMZ is reporting June can be expecting a visit from CPS soon. Good!
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newmanium
Lady in Waiting
Posts: 394
Dec 18, 2008 17:28:55 GMT -4
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Post by newmanium on Oct 24, 2014 20:38:56 GMT -4
I get the impression June was so eager for a mayunn that she allowed these guys into her life, and they were 'buying the cow to get to the calf'.
AMEN!
I'm sick and tired of the glorification of white trash on channels that used to be about education and sophisticated entertainment.
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