Regionalism: One of the Last Street-Legal Forms of Prejudice
I come from the convergence of two of the United States' oldest and most distinct regions: the South and Appalachia. I was born and raised at the southernmost tip of the Appalachian Mountains. Indeed, I grew up a stone's throw from the base of the very first mountain in the chain. Contrary to popular belief, there's plenty of money in the region. Don't get me wrong, there's plenty of poverty and deprivation too, but most of us don't fit the stereotype of barefoot, toothless rednecks in torn overalls and straw hats. I know I sure didn't.
I didn't exactly have a charmed childhood, thanks to growing up within the miserable tyranny otherwise known as the Christian Nationalist Movement (and that's a story for another time). However, I did grow up in a household that far surpassed the regional and national average income. I didn't just have one pony. I had four. I had a passport and was using it from the time I was in elementary school, and granted, many of our international trips were "missionary" trips (also a story for another time), but we had enough money to throw around for transcontinental flights and weekslong hotel stays. Education was always a given in our household too. It was taken for granted that I would go to (a conservative Christian) college, if for nothing else, to get an Mrs. degree and make myself more appealing and interesting…
