Rural Liteacy

In his article Rhetoric and Realities: The History and Effects of Stereotypes about Rural Literacies, Kim Donehower states that culture plays a very important role “in shaping public notions of literacy in rural communities”(37). Kim believes that this culture may appear in others’ eyes as something strange and then it turns into stereotypes or stigmas. And in his article, he gives Appalachia as a region that suffers a lot from such stigmatization. One of the stereotypes associated with Appalachian natives is that “they are either barbarians or paragons of the pioneer spirit or, somehow, simultaneously, both”(39).
What struck me the most in the article is the suggestions that Shapiro made to remove these stigmas. The most destructive suggestion is relocating Appalachians to cities and their suburbs. In my point of view, this is an unreasonable solution. First, these people have the right to live in the place they were born into. Second, the country needs farmers and cattlemen. And if they are evacuated, who will take their place? I find his suggestion that these people be modernized is very logical. It is the role of the government to provide them with all modern life conveniences such as technologies and economical systems.
I am coming from a rural area in the Green Mountain, Libya where people farm and raise cattles. In 1950s and 60s, 98% of the population were illiterate because they were cut off from the urban life with all its systems including cultural and educational ones. So, people in that region were stigmatized with ignorance and barbarism. In 1970, the government began its project of developing all rural areas in Libya and one of them was ours. The government spent generously to turn these areas into small modern towns with telecommunication systems and well-equipped institutions. If you wander these towns now, you will see a small model of big cities. In spite of what the government did so far in the region, it could not wipe out the stigmas associated with “mountaineers” (as we are called in big cities). We are still ignorant and barbarian.
I do support Kim in his claim that stereotypes are cultural. I can say that all stereotypes about mountaineers in Libya are projected in jokes, comedic serials, and films. They are part of our popular culture and have become fossilized concepts. For me as a mountaineer who studied in a big city, I did not feel embarrassed when I heard these stigma though some of them were insulting. The reason was that I led the same life as they did and I spoke and learned the same accent. I was completely assimilated into the city. The problem was with those mountaineers who showed little difference, especially different accent or behavior. Once they were recognized, they were peppered with jokes and criticism. I know many who left the city and their academic study and came back to the region. And this is the most destructive part in this issue.