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Who's Missing from America's Colleges? Rural High School Graduates

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Re: Who's Missing from America's Colleges? Rural High School Graduates

#301

Post by AlwaysRock »

SlowRobotAhead wrote: post #237
AlwaysRock wrote: post #236

I grew up in Vermont. Throwing very rough numbers out here but 30% of my graduating high school class went to college, 40% joined some branch of the military, and 30% are still living in the same town. I don't love the military and the way we use it as a country but it does provide a lot of people an alternative to college and a way to get out.

If you really work the system, the military can be an EXCELLENT opportunity. Likewise, if you need structure, they’ll certainly give it to you. Some people go in without a plan, do 4-6 years and get out just as aimless as we went in, but by now they are grown and the responsibility for their lives is entirely their own. It’s like trade school, or coding boot camp, or college, you get out what you put in.

Absolutely. Of my friends who did join I can only think of one or two who have really done very well for themselves. However all the rest are still better off than my friends who stayed in their small town.

Re: Who's Missing from America's Colleges? Rural High School Graduates

#302

Post by tropo »

jonathankoren wrote: post #296
tropo wrote: post #287

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It shouldn't surprise you that you "find them still working as a cashier at Walmart". This isn't even a rural/urban issue. Urban environments are full of people who work retail and never move out of the city. It's the same thing! You'll find plenty of self-destructive culture in our urban environments. If anything, the retail workers are doing better than typical. They at least legally earn a living, which is respect…

It’s a difference in kind. Its not that some stayed, it’s that so very few left, especially when it was obvious 25 years ago that there was no economic base. Even moving 1 hour away to a major city was too much for them. With the exception of one, even the ones I thought for sure would move didn’t. That’s what makes me shake my head. I just took it for granted their parents gave them a similar talk about having to mo…

They could move to the city and work retail. Even if that gets them a higher minimum wage, they would still be worse off due to the cost of living. They would also be in an unfamiliar environment without their friends, adding stress and reducing safety.

It was obvious 25 years ago that Detroit had no economic base, at least relative to the population. Lots of people are still there.

Re: Who's Missing from America's Colleges? Rural High School Graduates

#303

Post by jjeaff »

fhood wrote: post #228
moduspol wrote: post #220

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Assault rifles are automatic. We haven't been seeing automatic weapons in mass shootings. You might mean "assault weapon," but that's a poorly-defined political term that can include cosmetic attachments and colors. And plenty of people get AR-15s for home defense.

You are missing OP's point. A shotgun is a far better home defense weapon than an AR-15. So is a handgun. The AR-15 was very carefully designed for intermediate range combat.

An AR-15 is a good all purpose weapon. Great for intruders but also excellent for shooting racoons or opossums that are killing your chickens. Or coyotes that are chasing your cows. They are also good for use in a well regulated militia, being necessary to maintain a free state and all.

You know what the difference is between an AR15 and your typical .30-06 hunting rifle? Beside the fact that the 30-06 will do more damage, it is usually brown wood instead of black. That is why people are scared of the AR15, it's black. You can throw a big clip on any semi-automatic hunting rifle and it will be just as deadly.

Re: Who's Missing from America's Colleges? Rural High School Graduates

#304

Post by maxerickson »

jjeaff wrote: post #303
fhood wrote: post #228

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You are missing OP's point. A shotgun is a far better home defense weapon than an AR-15. So is a handgun. The AR-15 was very carefully designed for intermediate range combat.

An AR-15 is a good all purpose weapon. Great for intruders but also excellent for shooting racoons or opossums that are killing your chickens. Or coyotes that are chasing your cows. They are also good for use in a well regulated militia, being necessary to maintain a free state and all. You know what the difference is between an AR15 and your typical .30-06 hunting rifle? Beside the fact that the 30-06 will do more d…

Plenty of semi-automatic hunting rifles have a small magazine with a plate that closes over it and won't accept a larger magazine without modifications.

You're right that "semi-automatic" deserves more focus than "black".

I do wonder how likely it is that the "typical" hunting rifle is actually bolt action though.

Re: Who's Missing from America's Colleges? Rural High School Graduates

#305

Post by erikb »

eric_b wrote: post #120
bllguo wrote: post #86

Earlier quoted context omitted.

because it's more efficient? The services will help more people because of population density. I mean, the math is obvious. I'm not sure what the argument is. Nobody is saying city folk are more important. There are simply more of them.

I've lived in cities - they typically failed to provide better services than lower density suburbs, despite having a bigger tax base and "efficiencies". There are many reasons for this, but cities do not become magically more efficient or well run with more people. Sadly, the opposite is usually true. I think you've bought a bill of goods that a certain group of people are selling, without actually having lived it.

I'd also say that wealthier people want to live in suburbs, because there they can have a whole house for themselves while also maintaining some closeness to the city center. Only poor people or not-yet-settled foreigners really live inside the city even though their costs might even be higher than paying off a house in the suburbs. And now if you're a service provider where would you focus your services? On the monoculture with money in the suburbs or on the poor and very differentiated city dwellers? The other way around the city centers are also better for startups because you haven't got the infrastructure to provide for a large, high-demand customer base yet, and prefer a niche. Multicultural hot pots are better sources of small niches with low requirements.

Re: Who's Missing from America's Colleges? Rural High School Graduates

#306

Post by QuarterReptile »

fhood wrote: post #229
hermitdev wrote: post #108

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Let me preface by: I don't mean to offend, but I think your perception is fundamentally wrong. Rural folk don't want help from your "our" because their situation is different than yours. What works for major metropolitan areas doesn't work for small or rural schools. In an area where likely career paths involve working on or inheriting the family farm or ranch, more urban-centric curricula don't make sense. It's not…

As a former rural resident, I want to add that laws designed for cities often don't make any damn sense for rural areas. I basically always carry a small pocket knife, and a while back I got hit with a hundred dollar fine (and they took the knife) for having it on the NY subway, and I was furious for days afterwords. In a small town that sort of thing just doesn't happen.

Yeah, that'd be quite a shock. The thing that strikes me first is how much less appealing it'd be to bring lunch to work if I couldn't cut anything for it at lunch time. And then there's the inconvenience of not having my knife at work, which would come up at least several times on even the slowest days.

Re: Who's Missing from America's Colleges? Rural High School Graduates

#307

Post by vanilla_nut »

tonyedgecombe wrote: post #238
vanilla_nut wrote: post #123

Earlier quoted context omitted.

On the other hand, I come from a rural area and I feel that college was absolutely worth it for me, even with the huge bill that I had to pay myself. (I graduated fairly recently) College was the first time in my life when I feel like I truly took responsibility for myself, and people generally thought I was a responsible kid growing up. I finally found myself in a place where I could make friends who shared interest…

College was the first time in my life when I feel like I truly took responsibility for myself I often here this but I'm somewhat sceptical. I'm not saying you didn't turn into and adult, rather that you would have done that whether you went to college or not.

Very true. Unfortunately, my options were "mature and learn at college" or "work a minimum wage job in rural America" after high school graduation, and given my years of experience at that point with minimum wage jobs and rural America (since I couldn't afford to move away from my parents), the choice was very clear. I spent that time at college maturing and learning, and now I work a very rewarding, intellectually stimulating job in software. In a climate where nobody knows how to code and education is not highly valued, I would never have picked up programming or computer science and ended up where I am now if I hadn't gone to college. I'm very glad to be earning decent money and living in an big city (personal preference, admittedly) instead of working minimum wage food service or manual labor.

Re: Who's Missing from America's Colleges? Rural High School Graduates

#308

Post by jjeaff »

maxerickson wrote: post #304
jjeaff wrote: post #303

Earlier quoted context omitted.

An AR-15 is a good all purpose weapon. Great for intruders but also excellent for shooting racoons or opossums that are killing your chickens. Or coyotes that are chasing your cows. They are also good for use in a well regulated militia, being necessary to maintain a free state and all. You know what the difference is between an AR15 and your typical .30-06 hunting rifle? Beside the fact that the 30-06 will do more d…

Plenty of semi-automatic hunting rifles have a small magazine with a plate that closes over it and won't accept a larger magazine without modifications. You're right that "semi-automatic" deserves more focus than "black". I do wonder how likely it is that the "typical" hunting rifle is actually bolt action though.

Bolt action are usually cheaper, but a semi-auto hunting rifle is exceedingly common as well.
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