People Raised Rural
In March of 2018 I led a small workshop for RCers in eastern Canada and the northeast United States who had been raised in rural communities or on farms.
We contradicted the predominant distress of people raised in rural areas, which is a feeling of insignificance. As people talked about what they treasured about their upbringing, it became clear that growing food, raising animals, caring for the environment, and sustaining small communities have great significance. However, because of the oppression of rural people, these abilities and accomplishments are often overlooked or discounted.
Not seeing our own significance can leave us quiet, feeling small, and not taking our rightful place alongside all other people in the world. If we feel insignificant, we also may not see ourselves as able to end sexism, racism, anti-Semitism, and other oppressions, which can allow distressed viewpoints to dominate.
An insight at the workshop was that we are not “isolated”—because even though many of us have been geographically isolated, we have had strong connections.
Freeport, Maine, USA
Reprinted from the e-mail discussion list for RC Community members
(Present Time 192, July 2018)