It is a common trope in pop-punk where bands sing about how much they hate their hometown, which tend to be small, rural ones.. And while casual/non-fans might attribute this to general teen angst, this hatred is not necessarily without merit. Let’s face it, a lot of small towns and its residents don’t have the same progressive views that punk and its many subcultures adhere to.
These traits range from petty ones involving aesthetics (i.e. freedom to sport “unnatural” hair color) to very problematic ones such as, y’know, casual racism, homophobia, and misogyny among others. Growing up in rural Iloilo, I was fed with plenty of these same un-virtuous virtues and for a long time I believed they were correct and outright defended them. I’m sure that’s how it is with plenty of other people growing up in rural (hell, probably even major urban areas as well) Philippines.
What’s important is that we, you and I, have learned that these outdated outlooks on people and society have no place in 2021. I know I have, and I’ve grown strong resentment to the fact that racism, homophobia, misogyny, and all the other ills of society still exist so casually in these communities. What are we supposed to do to fight this? Lecture people why it’s wrong? Good luck convincing them why their long-held way of life is bad.
I don’t know the answer to that one in all honesty, since I’m looking for answers myself. Regardless, despite my cynical outlook on the general populace, if at least one soul comes to me seeking enlightenment, I would not hesitate imparting whatever knowledge I have. Who knows, that might spark a cultural revolution. Hyperboles aside, I think that’s what a good philosopher would do. We all should strive to be philosophers.
Anyway, the point of all this is, I think I’ll write about all the typical bullshit mindset prevalent among the denizens of small towns. Also, just to clarify, I don’t intend this to be an indictment of how horrible rural people are. Obviously, the worst of our species reside in both rural and urban environments. It’s likely that more good-natured people with good intentions exist in these communities than the truly terrible ones. The issue here is the acceptance of problematic traits, and how they’re considered a normal way of life.
I understand that these traits are, to their point of view, normal behavior because of the type of society we had in the past. They’re still problematic traits regardless, and should be called out in order to shed light on the misguided. I’m going to enjoy railing on these traits soon.
To circle back on the intro, this song by A Day To Remember called “All Signs Point to Lauderdale” is my favorite pop-punk/metalcore song about hating your hometown lol.
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