Rural response

To the editor:

George Gurley’s sarcastic critique of Lawrence (and I assume other college towns) reveals how unenlightened rural folk can be (Journal-World, Nov. 4). His futile attempt at whitewashing and glossing over the shortcomings of a largely uneducated, often bigoted, and for the most part unworldly small town America fell quite short of his mark. He does not mention there are over 10,000 small towns in the U.S. that had/have sundown laws, some unwritten, that require(d) people of “color” to leave town by the end of the day. My hometown of Ellinwood was one. Others where the law is still in effect include Hiawatha and Winchester.

A fact he does not mention is that rurals are often intolerant of race, sexual identity and political beliefs other than their own. White supremacy groups usually have rural roots. When I travel through small towns, not only in Kansas, I see locals eyeing me with xenophobic suspicion. I’m not one of the “colorful” non-homogenous types Gurley apparently disapproves of in Lawrence, but a “normal” looking white man. I also observe televisions tuned to Bill O’Reilly and radios to Rush Limbaugh. Many of these viewers/listeners really believe Fox is fair and balanced, that NPR and The New York Times are bad, that global warming is not real, and that liberals hate America. None of this insinuates rurals are not good people. To the contrary, they are well-meaning. Just, to their detriment, not well-informed. Education is always the great equalizer.

Kelvin Schartz,

Lawrence