Here they go again: Another television show that pictures Kansans as hicks and rubes.

Those without Midwest roots or at least cursory knowledge of the region just don’t get it, and probably never will. Far too many outsiders still consider places such as Kansas outhouse-dotted territories whose residents do little more than sit around waiting for tornadoes or dust storms.

So we have still another example of such elitist mentality in a new television series, an alleged ABC comedy, that focuses on a young couple who relocate from New York City to a suburb of Kansas City where the wife’s parents live. Writes Tom Jicha of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel:

“America is a nation divided, according to the thinking of those who make TV. There are the sharp, hip, sophisticated people who live in the major markets. Then there are the simple-minded hicks and rubes — anyone who doesn’t live in a major urban center. A really major urban center. …

“The latest example of this snobbish thinking, ‘Married to the Kellys,’ is one of the most flagrant.”

Jicha describes the fictional couple’s move from the east to our area and jibes: “You’ve probably never thought of Kansas City as Bug Tussle — unless you work in TV … but the wife’s people are portrayed as a bunch of yokels.”

Jicha notes how TV delights in creating Kansas-type characters as “quirky,” which really is a euphemism for “bumpkins.” More on the series: “The family’s penchant for doing things together is painted as if it is some kind of weird cult ritual. Some of their hobbies are depicted as if they suggest mental instability and their spiritual beliefs are an excuse to amp up the laugh track. Goodness and decency are traits to be regarded warily.”

But there is a bright side to all this. The people who finance, prepare and present material like that in such derogatory shows have never been smart enough to come our way and find out what really happens in our bailiwick.

That’s good. We don’t want too many arrogant, ignorant people fouling our nests, enjoying all the great things we have.