Muffled mid-range

Alex Hall4 said:Where did you pull that number from? Is that per day, per week, or per month?

It was per year.
I read it somewhere...
Can't remember exactly
which paper it was in,
pretty sure it was The Miami Herald.

Anyway, some guy used that exact stat
to argue about how backward people are.
If the author was full of it, then I guess I am too.....

Just keep in mind that America isn't just Washington, D.C.
The U.S. is packed with tiny towns, island communities,
rural backwoods, little hamlets,
dead-end roads, and total nothing-burgers
and those dirty little towns...
those places drag down the average on everything, from
soap consumption... to the overall averages for
education, books read, theater trips,
and all that stuff.

Sandra Richardson53 said:Oh, absolutely. Some spend their free time obsessing over football, some are getting manicures, some are reading tabloids and gossiping about celebrities, and some... well, some just live for the drama.....😍

I totally agree that there are plenty of fascinating people out there with diverse interests, and if you take the time to actually talk to them and get past the surface, you can be pretty pleasantly surprised.

But honestly? I still think the level of ignorance in these online spaces is through the roof. Just look at the stats—in the US, the average person uses way more soap than you'd think, yet hygiene levels can be such a tell-tale sign of how backward a society is. That kind of physical sloppiness usually goes hand-in-hand with being intellectually, creatively, and spiritually dull. Of course, it’s different in big cities like New York or LA, much like how it differs among the youth and the educated crowd.

Anyway, that's just my two cents... 🙂

I’m actually lowering that average myself since I mostly use liquid body wash, which I doubt was even factored into those statistics.😁
Besides, if we're going to split hairs, nobody really uses soap in its original, primitive form like they used to because there are so many better alternatives out there now, but I won't get sidetracked by that.

So, you really have to look at how that data was collected before jumping to any conclusions based on the results.

And I find it hard to believe anyone would go around counting bars of soap today just to try and prove some sort of sociological point.🤷
It feels more like something out of the old Depression era when soap and water were the only things people could count on.😉

I also think it's a pretty flawed assumption that people living in big cities—especially intellectuals or younger generations—don't deal with hygiene issues compared to everyone else.

Sandra Richardson53 said:It was per year.
I read it somewhere...
Can't remember exactly
which paper it was in,
pretty sure it was The Miami Herald.

Anyway, some guy used that exact stat
to argue about how backward people are.
If the author was full of it, then I guess I am too.....

Just keep in mind that America isn't just Washington, D.C.
The U.S. is packed with tiny towns, island communities,
rural backwoods, little hamlets,
dead-end roads, and total nothing-burgers
and those dirty little towns...
those places drag down the average on everything, from
soap consumption... to the overall averages for
education, books read, theater trips,
and all that stuff.

Honestly, how much time and breath did you waste trying to explain
how soap consumption could possibly serve as a metric for society?

😍

In America, it's not just Washington, D.C. that gets all the attention
you've got these tiny, pristine towns
almost picture-perfect island communities
and highly developed rural areas
where you don't run into people wandering around being small-minded, uneducated, dim-witted, or just plain filthy

It’s rarely the towns themselves dragging things down; it’s always just certain individuals within them

Olivia Ruiz24 said:Honestly, how much time and breath did you waste trying to explain
how soap consumption could possibly serve as a metric for society?

Look, if you actually used your brain for once, Olivia Ruiz24, you’d realize I was just saying that hygiene levels show the level of culture, and culture shows whether a community is backwards or not. If you want to fight me, use actual arguments instead of just attacking me for standing my ground.

Sandra Parker3 said:😍

In America, it's not just Washington, D.C. that gets all the attention
you've got these tiny, pristine towns
almost picture-perfect island communities
and highly developed rural areas
where you don't run into people wandering around being small-minded, uneducated, dim-witted, or just plain filthy

It’s rarely the towns themselves dragging things down; it’s always just certain individuals within them

The sum of the parts makes the whole
the environment shapes the people
it’s a feedback loop you can't deny

And regarding those "idyllic" coastal spots
or those tiny hamlets and small towns
just walk into a typical dive bar or cafe in the middle of winter
where the locals hang out
and take a good look at the level of culture, education, and the general state of their minds and souls.

I'm saying go into a dive bar or a cafe because those are the only places people actually gather. The only other spot would be a church, but all you'll find there are a few grandmas wrapped up in black.

Sure, people can be nice, kind, or easygoing. They might even be genuinely hospitable, and you might even have a decent conversation with them for a bit. Some of those little towns might look pretty and charming on a postcard, but you can't ignore the overall backwardness unless you're lying to yourself...

Sandra Richardson53 said:The sum of the parts makes the whole
the environment shapes the people
it’s a feedback loop you can't deny

And regarding those "idyllic" coastal spots
or those tiny hamlets and small towns
just walk into a typical dive bar or cafe in the middle of winter
where the locals hang out
and take a good look at the level of culture, education, and the general state of their minds and souls.

I'm saying go into a dive bar or a cafe because those are the only places people actually gather. The only other spot would be a church, but all you'll find there are a few grandmas wrapped up in black.

Sure, people can be nice, kind, or easygoing. They might even be genuinely hospitable, and you might even have a decent conversation with them for a bit. Some of those little towns might look pretty and charming on a postcard, but you can't ignore the overall backwardness unless you're lying to yourself...

things aren't like they used to be; people are mobile now. They don't just stay within a tiny radius anymore; they go wherever they want—to the movies, theaters, they read, they get educated, they move away, and they come back...
there’s also this other trend where people leave the overcrowded cities to settle in smaller towns, living there while working elsewhere and finding entertainment everywhere. A car solves almost everything, and it changes the whole profile of these small communities
so they don't even need to leave to find culture, because culture comes to them if they choose to embrace it, just like in any major city.🙂

I’m not claiming differences don't exist or that you can't tell who’s waving goodbye to civilization, but it shouldn't be an "intellectuals versus the uneducated" thing.

Dive bars exist in big cities too, so tell me, where in Washington, D.C. can you find those tacky clubs with bad singing that people claim have zero culture?
and who actually goes there?
do you really think someone coming from a small town into the city is going to hit a bar just to smash glasses, or is that just what happens with the locals in those rural spots?

Look, I have nothing against anyone having their own way of having fun, but it honestly bugs me when small towns are constantly branded as breeding grounds for ignorance.

And get this—on top of someone previously claiming those areas were hubs for all kinds of debauchery, now they're being labeled as unsanitary, too.😲

Is it just me, or have the last few posts turned into straight-up poetry? 😍 😁

Honestly, it feels like there might actually be some hope left for people in America when they start posting in rhyme. 😍 😬

Arthur Anderson45 said:So, here’s my situation: I’m 20 years old and living in a pretty small town. I’ve always been someone with a ton of different interests—I’d call myself a bit of a Renaissance man, honestly—but the people I hang out with my age are just... well, they're kind of dim.
Like, when we go out, the conversation is nothing but mindless nonsense. It’s all just gossip, you know? "Did you hear what he said?" or "Where was she at what time?" It's just empty chatter that a driven young person wouldn't care about for a second.
To give you an idea of how shallow things get: if I asked any of them who Sigmund Freud was, they'd stare at me blankly. Honestly, most of them probably wouldn't even recognize Led Zeppelin unless I spelled it out for them! You might be wondering, "Man, where on earth do you live?" but it’s the truth. I can’t remember a single time I actually learned anything useful from hanging out with them.
The saddest part? They don't seem to have any drive at all. They just drift through life. From the day they were born until now, they haven't really grown or progressed even 5%. Don't get me wrong, they aren't bad kids, but they just have zero curiosity about the world.
So, I wanted to ask you guys: how do you spend time with your friends? Do you actually get into deep, meaningful conversations, or does everything just boil down to constant joking and teasing?
Sorry if this isn't quite the right place for this topic!

Don't worry, a huge chunk of them are right there in Washington, D.C., too.😉
I used to feel exactly the same way before I eventually just had to let go of it all; I actually shed tears over it, which isn't like me at all. It is a sad reality, I suppose, but that's their life. If they are perfectly content living without interest in the world, then that's on them, isn't it? 🤷
Personally, I can't go a single day without scanning the news (or at least checking a few headlines online to see what's happening), whereas most of them only seem concerned with where the party is on Saturday night and how much they can drink. To me, I'd honestly rather sleep through a Saturday than spend it doing that.🤣
Well, what can you do?🙂

Sam Hall59 said:Just enroll in college and move to a major city like Chicago or NYC🙂

I’m right there with them—total agreement here.😉

Sandra Richardson53 said:The sum of the parts makes the whole
the environment shapes the people
it’s a feedback loop you can't deny

And regarding those "idyllic" coastal spots
or those tiny hamlets and small towns
just walk into a typical dive bar or cafe in the middle of winter
where the locals hang out
and take a good look at the level of culture, education, and the general state of their minds and souls.

I'm saying go into a dive bar or a cafe because those are the only places people actually gather. The only other spot would be a church, but all you'll find there are a few grandmas wrapped up in black.

Sure, people can be nice, kind, or easygoing. They might even be genuinely hospitable, and you might even have a decent conversation with them for a bit. Some of those little towns might look pretty and charming on a postcard, but you can't ignore the overall backwardness unless you're lying to yourself...

It all seems quite charming when you're just passing through on a road trip or spending a week on vacation.
But actually trying to build a life there? That's a completely different animal altogether.