I don't think multigenerational poverty gives these "hicks" you speak of the choice to move the the Upper West Side even if they wanted. They don't choose their life anymore than the urban poor does

Not the point. And I didn't call them "hicks", I was just responding to the comment using their term (hence the quotes).

I'm surprised that it comes as news to some people that the political views and lifestyle preferences of people living in rural Tennessee are starkly different from those of people living in Manhattan. Or that while we can and should be civil with people elsewhere geographically and politically, people with diametrically opposed views and value systems are rarely all that eager to spend their lives together.

Yeah. I prefer trees to people. I'd take long distances between things and the occasional preachy christian or hick over city problems any day. I don't think I'm missing anything by drinking $1 gas station coffee and buying my bread at Walmart instead of Whole Paycheck.

City people should stay in the cities and country people should stay in the country and as long as neither group tells the other how to live we should be fine.

of course overwhelmingly we are beset by the tyranny of the increasingly small minority of "country people" telling us how to live due to how the senate and house are setup.

Cities dominate politics at the state level and that has a far greater impact on day to day life.

The rural Tennessee isn't really the part you should worry about. It's suburban Tennessee. The suburb culture throughout the state is basically white supremacist.