The Lexus and the Pothole

I was born and raised in Jackson, Mississippi. My parents still live there. Recently I actually was interviewed for an article in Mississippi Today about why millennials leave Mississippi. Mississippi is my home and it is where I am writing this blog post. As I think about Mississippi I think about the contradictions that have always existed, but even seem more pronounced now. Mississippi has the nicest people in the world, but also people that continue to elect politicians like James Eastland, Tate Reeves and Cindy Hyde-Smith. 

One contradiction that I keep going over is the Lexus and the pothole. I have zero data to back this up, but the Jackson area seems to have an absurd amount of luxury cars and potholes. People correctly assume Mississippi is a poor state, but it is a poor state with a ton of rich people. There seems to be extreme income inequality that produces a few logical outcomes:

-Jackson public schools have a terrible local reputation. But there are 3 good private schools in the Jackson area. (I went to one of these 3 schools)

-Jackson roads are truly awful with potholes the size of a large dog. But there are plenty of rich Mississipians avoiding their potholes in their luxury cars

-Jackson has wonderful homes, but homes that are surrounded by large gates and I assume elaborate security systems.

-Jackson has a nice Apple store - guarded by police officer with a very visible gun (so not a mall cop by any stretch).

-Mississippians are kind / wonderful people who will welcome you in a way I haven't seen living in Ohio / Minnesota. Mississippians (relative to the rest of the country) also won't get vaccinated. In the past 24 hours I've learned one friend of a friend testing positive for COVID after she refused to get vaccinated. I've learned of two incidents at work where people have come into the office unvaccinated and unmasked and later tested positive for COVID. One of those people was not vaccinated, felt sick and still came into work and eventually passed along to Cover to her coworker. 

It is hard to get over the contradictions. It is hard to reconcile in my mind how much I love Mississippi but can not stand what Mississippians do. At my low moments I shake my fist at the sky and curse the individualist culture here that shows up in their votes, concerns and actions. I don't really know what else to write or if this makes much sense. It is all just so frustrating.