Have to agree. I grew up in rural areas, and my experience was that everything around me was oriented around paying quite a lot of attention to making sure that everyone thought and especially behaved in the expected way. Moving to the city as soon as I could probably saved my life, since I was able to find a place where I could be my weird self without endless bullying from adults as well as children for being different. The part of the country I lived in, people were exceptionally (unbelievably in retrospect) cruel to Mexicans or anyone else who appeared foreign, and anyone who came across as non-straight.

I don’t think there is anything wrong with rural places or people, and I know many people can find happiness there (just like they can in cities). Many people are wonderful, just like many people in cities are wonderful. Many people in both places are not.

That the desert is filled with noble savages, uncorrupted by civilisation, is a fantasy though.

All that said, this article reads almost like a parody of something? I’m not entirely sure it’s intended to be sincere, or if it is mocking a certain kind of city person who idealises the countryside.

This works in both directions, there's even an acknowledgement of this within the original quote, "Some of them say “God bless” and “have a blessed day” without a hint of irony.” This shouldn't even be surprising as humans are social creatures that form groups which ostracizes those that don't fit in.

Cities tend to be easier simply because there are more people that will accept you, although certainly not everyone will. The more rural you get the less people there are and the more you're expected to fit in, you just don't have other options.

Yea Im not saying it doesnt go the other way too, Im just saying that people idealize rural living and the people who do it as extremely kind and caring or whatever, when its generally no different than living in a city.

It is much different. People who live in more dense environments experience more stress, and stressed people behave differently, they interact (or don't interact) with people differently. You are 2X more likely to have schizophrenia in a city, and this signal is much stronger than genetics. More than a third of all schizophrenia cases would be prevented if people were not born and raised in cities. And the higher the population density, the higher the prevalence. What causes this? Environmental toxins? Noise? Too much stimulation? You have a 70% higher risk of a psychotic episode in a city. I've lived all over the place, including DC, Chicago and LA. I like the energy, but res ipsa loquitur.

Large cities would not exist without agriculture. Agriculture is a technology. I understand why it's not popular to talk about this stuff. We're pretty much stuck with all of it, I get it.

Maybe they infer that you are making suggestions how they should live their lives? “Countless times” would indicate that it’s about you, not them.

That may be the anxiety that causes their behavior, but it’s an anxiety borne out of their own preconceptions. You don’t have to do anything in particular to set them off: mere passive existence is enough.

At least, in my experience.

I think maybe their own anxiety about thinking an outsider is going to tell them how to live could be causing it, but Im definitely not making suggestions for them. There have been multiple times at bars where the extent of the conversation was "hey how are you" -> "oh where are you from" -> "oh why dont you go back there" and thats it.

I try to fit in the best I can, but there are still obvious differences in how I dress, and probably in how I act, but I definitely wouldnt see myself as hostile towards the people around me.

If someone said a lot of people in a city were rude, there probably wouldnt be second thoughts about it, but it seems that a lot of people, especially in hn-type cultures idealize rural people and how they think they will act.

Somewhat tangentially, Id say that current politics and the whole "California boogeyman" make this trend significantly worse overall

Or he is just visibly noticeably different. Some rural places have in fact hostile culture. Others don't, sure, but some really do.