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Self Preservation in a Small Town

Redwood Heights, California

Story Narrative:

What does living in a small town teach you? 

"It teaches me that everybody's under the grand illusion that they're in some Normal Rockwell painting where they get along really well, and they respect each other, and each other's property, and each other's privacy. Really, the town's so small that they're in a social fishbowl, so people are just really afraid, you know. They're really afraid of being called out all the time. That old thing about people in glass houses not throwing stones, it's very true, but it's not out of someone's innate goodness. It's only out of self-preservation. Really, growing up in a small town taught me that people are way more motivated by self-preservation, but they like to put it out there that they're motivated by community."

 

Asset ID: 7128
Tags: #SmallTowns #Community #Negative

Museum on Main Street storytelling platforms provide an opportunity for small and rural communities and their residents to share their thoughts, opinions, and anecdotes. However, the opinions and ideas expressed by individual storytellers’ may not necessarily be those maintained by the Smithsonian. Individual storytellers’ and their collaborators are solely responsible for the content of their narratives and stories. 

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