Thank you for that thoughtful comment. I've spent a long time debating whether the problems I experienced growing up were because of the community where I was raised, or familial issues. My problem was thinking that it was one or the other and I'm only now starting to see how both contributed (or how the two brought out the worst of each other). I appreciate that you agree with my observations and conclusions here. When I submitted this, I still didn't know if my community was unique. Based on the comments, the things I described here appear to be widespread. I think there's just a huge gap in the kind of people who write for the media and the people who grew up in small towns. Again, thanks for your thoughtful comment, it's given me a lot to think about.