Trailer Trash

I am very angry about the article "But I don't cook meth: overcoming my own "trailer trash" misconceptions". The gist of the article is "I thought everyone who lived in a trailer was trashy until I wound up living one myself, but even then I was ashamed of it until I got approval from my friends and family." Excuse me, but what kind of entitled bullshit is this? Apparently, Kathleen, the writer and fledgling trailer occupant was knocked on her ass by reality. Now, it would be scathing and blatantly racist to say that the only people who live in projects are drug dealing minorities. We just can't go around saying things like that. But somehow it's OK to perpetuate the "trailer trash" myth?

Be it ever so humble . . . Source

I know what you're thinking: "The article says she's overcoming her misconceptions. No. Overcoming your misconceptions is going to the PJs and discovering that it's full of a variety of diverse and under employed people. Overcoming your misconceptions is going to the trailer park and discovering that it full of people who own their own homes and live within their means. Overcoming your misconceptions is NOT settling on buying a trailer and then keeping your new address "under wraps" out of shame, only to finally come to terms with your new residence in the last paragraph with a weak and non committal two paragraphs.

The author writes that when deciding to buy the trailer, they were making a decision that they could live with for 5 years. That tells me that as soon as their student debt is paid off, they are getting the flock out of dodge and once they've found the perfect trendy apartment, they will sit in it imbibing alcoholic substances while laughing at the time when they were "trailer trash". I am by no means saying that they should have to stay in the trailer. What I am saying is that the author didn't overcome anything, she's just trying to make the best of what she sees as a humiliating situation until she can dig her way back out. My point is, living in a trailer should not have to be humiliating in the first place. It's a fucking roof over your head and you own it. Be grateful.

I don't know from whence the stereotype came, and I don't want to know. All I know is that it's an old tired cliche and it needs to go away. Just because a person lives in a trailer does not mean that they are trash. Not all trailers are found in trailer parks. Not everyone who lives in a trailer cooks meth in their bathroom, nor is it a requirement to have at least one car up on block in the yard. I know there have to be places where this is, or a lease was true, but I have never seen such a thing in my experience, and let me tell you, I have seen a lot of trailers. I grew up in one.